As a techy I find this hilarious. As a pragmatist, I find this scary.

The problem with computers is that you have to use them through an interface. You, as a user, are stuck on one edge of the system, the user interface (UI). The problem is that until somebody invents a working neural shunt or interconnect like the ones seen in the Wachowski brothers’ film The Matrix, we have to make do with some sort of UI for our computers and gadgets.

There have been some great looking user interfaces invented purely for entertainment on the TV and movie screen. From the slick research screens used in CSI, to the somewhat creepy gloved hand interfaces in Minority Report (which are somewhat reminiscent of modern multi-touch UIs), but it strikes me that all of these would have to be learned just the same.

Recently it has been getting more and more obvious to me that we are stretching current UIs to breaking point. Most folks put up with them at best, some learn them quite well but almost everybody has at some point been frustrated or upset by a computer interface.

Crying and spilt milk

What to do about it? Well there are plenty of people who are frustrated by the status quo. Let me guide you through the grievances I have with current UIs, using the words of greater writers than I.

Apple yesterday announced results that clearly surprised the market:

Profit rose to $1.23 billion, or $1.35 a share, Apple said today in a statement. Sales gained 12 percent to $8.34 billion in the quarter ended June 27. Analysts on average predicted profit of $1.17 and sales of $8.21 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey.

I don’t doubt that Mr Gruber is going to have a field day with all sorts of people’s incorrect predictions leading up to this quarter, so I’ll leave you to have a watch for his signature ‘Claim Chowder’ posts.

One interesting fact that came out of the results and the conference call is that although sales of the iPhone, Mac and iPod touch are all up, sales of the regular iPods must therefore be a long way down. Sales seem to be indicating that the iPod is dying and is therefore coming to the end of its sales life in its non-touch guise.

I therefore predict that September will see the introduction of both a tablet and nano touch-style iPod players that both run OSX. However, I don’t think that there will be any new non OSX iPods, other than perhaps a new variant on the shuffle. If we see a new shuffle, I also expect to see some sort of evolution on the ‘music player that talks to you’ theme, as I think this concept has room for more innovation.

Mr Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote this remarkably prescient piece on what he expected to see in the keynote speech at WWDC, but he wrote it before the event which seems incredible in hindsight. Indeed MacRumors, who normally play down unsubstantiated rumours, linked to this page purely based on his WWDC prediction track record.

So if I were a betting man, here’s how I’d handicap expectations for the WWDC keynote:

His five tips would have made him some handsome winnings had he found a bookie to wager against.