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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>gorilla arm</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../G.html" title="G"/><link rel="previous" href="gorets.html" title="gorets"/><link rel="next" href="gorp.html" title="gorp"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">gorilla arm</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="gorets.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">G</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="gorp.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="gorilla-arm"/><dt xmlns="" id="gorilla-arm"><b>gorilla arm</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">n.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> The side-effect that destroyed touch-screens as a mainstream input
technology despite a promising start in the early 1980s. It seems the
designers of all those <a href="../S/spiffy.html"><i class="glossterm">spiffy</i></a> touch-menu systems
failed to notice that humans aren't designed to hold their arms in front of
their faces making small motions. After more than a very few selections,
the arm begins to feel sore, cramped, and oversized &#8212; the operator
looks like a gorilla while using the touch screen and feels like one
afterwards. This is now considered a classic cautionary tale to
human-factors designers; &#8220;<span class="quote">Remember the gorilla arm!</span>&#8221; is
shorthand for &#8220;<span class="quote">How is this going to fly in <span class="emphasis"><em>real</em></span>
use?</span>&#8221;.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="gorets.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../G.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="gorp.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">gorets </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> gorp</td></tr></table></div></body></html>