[PDF][PDF] A comparison of input devices in element pointing and dragging tasks

IS MacKenzie, A Sellen, WAS Buxton - Proceedings of the SIGCHI …, 1991 - dl.acm.org
IS MacKenzie, A Sellen, WAS Buxton
Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, 1991dl.acm.org
An experiment is described comparing three devices (a mouse, a trackball, and a stylus with
tablet) in the performance of pointing and dragging tasks. During pointing, movement times
were shorter and error rates were lower than during dragging. It is shown that Fitts' law can
model both tasks, and that within devices the index of performance is higher when pointing
than when dragging. Device differences also appeared. The stylus displayed a higher rate of
information pmeessing than the mouse during pointing but not during dragging. The …
Abstract
An experiment is described comparing three devices (a mouse, a trackball, and a stylus with tablet) in the performance of pointing and dragging tasks. During pointing, movement times were shorter and error rates were lower than during dragging. It is shown that Fitts’ law can model both tasks, and that within devices the index of performance is higher when pointing than when dragging. Device differences also appeared. The stylus displayed a higher rate of information pmeessing than the mouse during pointing but not during dragging. The trackball ranked third for both tasks,
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