I think what you've covered is actually a bit different than what touch screen proponents have in mind. For serious work, you need a solution like the one you've outlined: an interface focused on long term use, even if it requires training to use. Many proponents of touch screens highlight the approach-ability of a touch screen. It requires minimal amounts of training, but it's rubbish for long term use or large sizes. Personally, I very much prefer the "efficiency and comfort over intuitiveness" approach. I am a die, hard keyboard/mouse user, and I edit text in Vim. I do think that the final win will be neural-computer interfaces, because then both catagories are satisfied: high easy of use and approach-ability, while requiring very little movement.
"neural-computer interfaces" are further off than you think. Even if you do decide to stick electrodes where electrodes don't belong (and you really shouldn't do that), finding the signals for fine motor control and then controlling for all the spurious stuff that isn't fine motor control is a hell of a lot more effort than, say, a mouse. I talked to the main brain imaging guy at the UW Dept of bioengineering back in 2005 to research a screenplay. One of those guys that was imaging thought using fMRI and the like back before it was cool. There's a whole bunch of "yeah, in theory we can do this, as soon as we solve this, that and the other thing, which we have no idea how to do, but we can see the pathway." I heard similar verbiage from Geoff Landiswhen I was consulting with him on crossing space-time using Visser wormholes. "Yeah, in theory we could open a gateway between two points as soon as we figure out how to harness 100% of the energy of a red dwarf star and if the reference points of the two ends are completely at rest because otherwise we have to absorb energy produced in accordance with Einstein's equation of general relativity." We use our fingers to do things. They've evolved for it. You might enjoy reading this. It illuminated a lot of the misgivings I had about UI and ergonomics that I hadn't been able to put into words.
Wow, what you've linked to is really a great read. As you said:
I think my random add-in about neural-computer interfaces was pretty much a non-sequitur, since I also realize that they are so far in the future as to be pretty irrelevant to the present.It illuminated a lot of the misgivings I had about UI and ergonomics that I hadn't been able to put into words.
We can always dream. Thing is, there has been a lot of progress lately that would lead one to believe we're getting closer. The issue is that when you learn more about it you have to recognize that even if you walk a few steps towards the South Pole every day you're still not going to get there any time soon.