by Sören Stamer February 17, 2007 at 09:27 PM

When Apple introduced the iPhone, Steve Jobs used the word "multi-touch" to describe a breakthrough in the field of user inferfaces. Apple calls multi-touch "the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse". And in fact it seems to be true. Multi-touch enables us to interact with our computers in a highly intuitive way using no more than our own two hands:

[via ahlers]

This video about multi-touch comes with some explanations:

[via el ton]

There is something to discover here: The mouse was great to point and click in a two-dimensional world. However, in a three-dimensional environment its usability is pretty limited. Multi-touch seams to overcome these limitations. Just take another look at the demonstrations. It looks like it was especially made for interactions with three-dimensional environments. This might be the secret behind the intuitive nature of multi-touch.

Now, think of the amazing growth rate of 3D environments like SecondLife. Again, it seems to be the three-dimensional nature of this new medium that makes it such an intuitive environment for us.

Putting one and one together: The concepts behind Multi-touch and SecondLife look like core building blocks for the next generation Internet - definitely a three-dimensional Internet.