Word: buttoned
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Begin Again The reset button has been pushed. So what will be the protocols and look and feel of the America about to emerge...
...maybe, on some subconscious level, we never wanted the damn thing, as evidenced by popular culture's button-free futures. In sci-fi thrillers like Minority Report, computers are flat, seamless digital panels, controlled with an effortless swipe of the hand or the twist of a finger...
...that's just Hollywood whimsy - the button wouldn't be in serious trouble today without the pernicious crusade of Steve Jobs. The new iPod Shuffle is just the latest salvo in an ongoing battle, dating back to Apple's early days. For nearly a decade, Apple's mouse famously included just a single button (right-clicking be damned!). After years of complaints from users, Apple released a new "Mighty Mouse" in 2005 that still featured just a single button, although the design incorporated technology that allowed the mouse to detect clicks in different directions. This was deemed more acceptable...
...that's just a simple mouse: Apple has waged similar battles with each of its product lines. 2000's G4 Cube desktop computer was released with a touch-sensitive area to turn on the computer, eschewing the power button. The latest MacBook laptops remove buttons from the trackpad entirely; users click either with a tap of the finger or by pressing the entire trackpad down. The first iPod had five buttons; the current iPod Touch and iPhone have just two. Apple's even expanding the battlefield to its stores - the elevator in the Tokyo Apple Store has no buttons...
...Still, new Shuffle aside, the button's days may be numbered. Touchscreen and tablet PCs are becoming more popular, and the latest generation of cellphones like the iPhone incorporate gestures and on-screen keyboards. Microsoft is touting its next-generation Surface technology, bringing the day of the massive Bond-esque touchscreen ever closer. The button may be on its last legs, but may I offer one humble request: Please, leave them in elevators. Making 23 separate stops on the way up to work isn't my idea of a gleaming future, Mr. Jobs...