Visualization and direct manipulation in user interfaces: Are we overdoing it?

The current tendency on the part of software designers to place more and more information onto the computer screen is resulting in an increased burden on end-users' physiological capabilities and cognitive resources. Users must constantly survey a large amount of data, resulting in a considerable strain on their eyes. Furthermore, the work on their primary task is often seriously disrupted when direct manipulation techniques are used to issue commands to the application program.