Some time after a new type of interface is introduced, a handful of concepts tend to “win” and become a standard way of interacting with the interface. Keyboard shortcuts and right click contextual menus aren’t tied to a specific OS, they’re part of the standard toolset you get by using a keyboard and mouse. The iPhone popularized pinch-to-zoom, swipe, long tap, and many other useful multitouch interactions. With Garageband, Apple explored uncharted waters in user interaction and I’m going to talk about one simple control that has a few surprises in both use and implementation: the virtual knob.
These controls should make their way back onto the web. I implemented a button-knob for my podcast tracking component on the homepage, but it can be made more realistic and better to use.