Requirements of a Digital Platform for Psytrance Parties

Human-Computer Interaction

Computers can be visualized as a closed box, more or less transparent, with input and output devices that enable the human-computer interaction (HCI). In this context we will consider that quality is the capability to provide a satisfactory experience for the user when interacting with a computing device and, assuming this definition, we can say that the quality of both the input and output hardware and software is fundamental to reduce the difficulty that many have in using computational devices (Hartson & Gray, 1992). The development of the body of knowledge in the HCI field is probably one of the reasons that justify the spread of mobile technology, namely smartphones, in the most recent years.

The classical input devices are the keyboard and the mouse. But it is interesting to verify that have changed with time. Mobile phones and tablets quite frequently do not include a physical keyboard, incorporating a virtual one that appears only when necessary. Also the mouse device has lost part of its importance because it is being frequently replaced by touchscreen technologies. The first evolution increased the portability of the devices while the later has not only achieved the same but also allowed for new user’s actions, once the fingers started by being used as pointer devices but evolved to allow for new multitouch gestures. This has transformed the actions related, for instance, with the zoom definition, and is also transforming the way that users login to their devices.