Interface as a mediator

I've used an analogy before to picture how the interface acts as a mediator in allowing users to communicate with the system.

The analogy used was a car, in that the interface includes the steering wheel, dashboard, switches etc. These became a mediator for drivers to command the car in which direction it goes, move, or slow down etc. The engines and the gears in the car are the system but the drivers do not need to be an expert in how they run, the only thing the driver needs is to know how to communicate with the interface. Taking this idea further, interfaces have different level of usability, the better the interface, the easier to interact. Cars have different features like auto gears, light steering wheels, navigators etc that makes the system interaction easier. Similarly in computer interface, with drag and drop functionalities, auto correct, cut and paste and even design improves the user experience.

"The modern computer interface has grown exponentially to provide users with a user friendly interface for their everyday task. Computers now have moved to graphical interfaces, using interface metaphors that users can relate to. So instead of users seeing a bunch of code on screen where users interact by typing commands, users are able to interact with mouse and keyboard." (Zaini,2008)

Above is an excerpt from my first assignment for this course in how I see the interface has evolved. This can clearly be seen in video games on the computer where the older games uses a text interface but nowadays it utilizes graphical art, even mimicking real life objects in looks and action.