Was any technical minded person really influenced by that, other than cringing in front of the TV?
Anyone who has ever worked with any kind of media editor knows that "waving your arms in the air" is about the least desirable imaginable interface for such.
Minority Report is exactly what I think of when I'm trying to guess what bizarre combinations of gestures and swipes and pinches and shakes I need to perform to get this bit of smartphone software to do whatever trivial thing it's supposed to.
The only difference is that John Anderton seems to be able to get his software to do the stuff he wants it to do.
Exactly why people are influenced by it.