Historical Perspective
From CS160 User Interfaces Fa06
Lecture on Nov 15, 2006
Readings
- As We May Think. The Atlantic Monthly. 1945. Bush.
- The Computer for the 21st Century. Scientific American. 1991. Weiser
Optional Readings
These are very interesting papers that give more background on the begining of HCI as a discipline.
- In Memoriam: J.C.R Licklider 1915-1990. Digital Systems Research Center. 1990.
- The Xerox Star: A Retrospective. IEEE Computer. Sep 1989. Johnson et al.
- Sketchpad: A man-machine graphical communication system. University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. Reprinted 2003. Sutherland.
Jason Shangkuan - Nov 14, 2006 02:58:08 pm
As We May Think
Point 2 is interesting where it states: "a record, if it is to be useful to science, must be continuously extended, it must be stored, and above all it must be consulted". This point really ties together the digital pen and ever other point addressed in the article. The main focus is manipulation of data. A record by the article is defined as something generated from the push of a pen or tap on a computer. The digital pen encompasses both these aspects and allows for a record to be continuously edited and changed. The flexibility of technology enforces the overall theme of the article which is control over knowledge and environment. If something can be continuously changed and stored, a user can refer back, make changes, or use previous knowledge to form new thoughts.
The Computer for the 21st Century:
The concept of ubiquitous presented in this article does not seem far off from what we currently have today. The article looks relatively dated, but the notion of connecting multiple computing devices is similar to having a wireless network of laptop, tablet pcs, desktop computers, and media centers. Products such as the Anoto pen and Ron's project using large printers push the boundary further on ubiquitous computing since physical objects can now be integrated with computers. It seems as if we are already there, but the major hurdle is for widespread acceptance of digital pens and computers and how the integrate in our daily lives.
Aleksandr (Sasha) Ashpis - Nov 14, 2006 06:28:24 pm
As We May Think
The article makes some good points about science and his apparent dissatisfaction that unfortunately war drives science the most. On a different note, part 1 claims correctly those things that were both impossible and/or improbable before are elementary now, and thus who knows what the future will hold. But the main issue now and in the future is how to get the information already discovered and/or recorded to the people that need or rather will use it to further the science. Its like the old saying goes, don’t reinvent the wheel every time, but with the world of information we have today, it is hard to stay on top of all the developments going on all over the world, and that is the next challenge that will need to be conquered to make significant progress
Computers for the 21st century
This is an interesting article, on one hand I do believe computers or at least miniature ones will become so inexpensive that we will be able to treat it as scrap paper. However, I don’t see the day where a room is filled with 100’s of computers and they all work properly and correctly. Most people cant get there desktop to do what they want let alone all these gizmos and gadgets. I steer away from the word never, because it is very strong statement, but I don’t see this being practical anytime soon. Lets not also forget the fact that is all going to be possible because of wireless technology, that needs to be better secured because I don’t think people are going to like the idea of someone pulling up to a house and knowing everything that is going on in it, that’s a paparazzi’s dream.
Patti Bao - Nov 14, 2006 09:34:29 pm
As We May Think: In the ten years since this article was written, I think that we have in fact made some progress towards extending our mental powers. Bush's push for better storage and associative selection of records has started to come into being - isn't this what Google has taken on with its mission to "organize the world's information"? We can already keep track of our previous searches and associate them with the links we have clicked, much like the "memex" trails described by Bush. What I find interesting is the implication that applications of science must either be for war or for peace. Given that we seem unable to stay away from war, does that mean that we will never be able to develop applications for peace? Ironically, many of our most widespread inventions today (read: Internet) originated with the military, so perhaps they are not mutually exclusive after all.
The Computer for the 21st Century: So this is where the first two lines of the article come from! I have heard the same idea expressed elsewhere, but like Jason, I don't think we are too far away from ubiquitous computing. The pads described by Weiser sound somewhat like the desktop metaphor demos (e.g. the piles one) we have seen in class, and very much like the paperful office they are working on at Stanford. In fact, I think there is even an SNL clip on a similar idea to Weiser's "scrap computers". Yet the scenario described at the end of the article is a little disturbing, not so much because of the privacy issue, but more because everything seems too readily available, with information about virtually anything literally at your fingertips - and not just when you're at your computer.
Tak Wong - Nov 14, 2006 10:41:45 pm
As we may think: The article described using the interface as tapping a few keys. Not only is this important, but it also says that the human mind is associative. So not only should interfaces be used by tapping a few keys, but they should also be easy to recognize. This is one of the themes in this class and it's interesting how the author gave a long description of an example to show this.
The computer for the 21st century: Similiar to all the other "fantasy" models of computing, this one wants to develop a computer to do what a typical person wants to do at the fingertip. We always want the future forcast of things that we would encounter and be able to interact with people without physically walking to their office. I think we are certainly working toward this goal. There are real time traffic information avaliable to most of the freeways in the bay area. Checking parking spots is an easy-to-implement project if companie sare willing to invest in it. Teleconferencing technology is certainly avaliable and with the use of tablet PC or even the Anoto, it should be easy to share information. The only problem is for people to get over the learning curve of trying out and adapting to these new technology. Having a good UI will certainly help in this aspect.
Robert Held- Nov 14, 2006 11:09:39 pm
Bush: I enjoyed how the author insisted that the world stop and consider how to manage the exponentially increasing amount of available information. He shows an amazing level of insight at the beginning of the computer age. It seems like a simple concept, but the idea of an intuitive user interface to manage large amounts of data is critical to the development of any information-based infrastructure. It would be interesting to do a literature search to see how many people referenced this article in the following decades.
Weiser: Google is a good example of how computing has almost transparently made parts of our lives much easier. In particular, when one wants to research a topic, look up a definition, or get directions somewhere, one simples throws a few select phrases in the google toolbar and can have the information within seconds. Personally, I believe this process has become almost second nature. If I'm reading an article online and don't know a word or want to look deeper into a subject, I immediately google it, find it, read it, then get back to the original article. It's seamless and extremely powerful.
Bowen Li - Nov 14, 2006 11:48:47 pm
As We May Think
I think it's kind of amazing and sad that the world we live in is as Mr. Bush described in the 40's. It's amazing because through the use of computers we have been able to produce the dreams that he mentioned: machines that do symbolic calculus, cameras as small as walnuts that take hundreds of photos, hundreds of volumes of information that fit onto a single desk. It's amazing that we've been able to come that far. However, at the same time it's sad because we take it all for granted. We don't feel like we're living in a dream. We feel that it's just business as usual.
I think the machine he mentioned, the Voder and Vocoder is very interesting. Voice analyzers these days are all digital and probably don't employ the same methods of detection.
What he said about the existence of all the data in the world is completely true. No one in today's world can even comprehend the amount of data that is being produced every day, let alone try to read all of it and follow along. Even "experts" on a subject cannot scratch the surface of all there is to know.
In the section where he talks about selection, he says the machines are too slow. However, today's machines are billions of times faster than what existed back then. However, the amount of information is also much more. I think it's interesting that we're running into the same problems.
I think it's really interesting that he mentions the associativity of the memex is the most important part. I think this is still true today. We notice this in recent years through the advent of "tagging" and folksonomy.
21st Century
Since this article was written, I think there have been great advances in the "embedding" of computers in our world. The article references 50 million personal computers sold. A quick search says that there are going to be at least 2 billion computers sold by 2008.
"Today's multimedia machine makes the computer screen into a demanding focus of attention rather than allowing it to fade into the background." I think this is changing as well. For a lot of people, the computer has become a media center that is always running (I know I'm always playing mp3's even if I'm not using the computer itself). However, to have the level of integration the author talks about is going to be more difficult. He makes the analogy to the car, when starting a motor may be noticeable, but not even worth noticing. To some degree, embedded systems have become like this: clock-radios, VCRs, cell phones. However, the personal computer is still not as trivial.
I think the article brings up a good point in that the technology exists for us to be more "techy" and integrate computers more with our world, but it just isn't done. I think part of it lies in economics. Technologies exist, but unless they are mass produced and truly cheap, it won't become a household item. Things like the 'pad' system could easily be developed in this day and age, but a good pen and paper is just so much cheaper.
Tony Yu Tung Lai - Nov 15, 2006 12:14:37 am
As we may think
It is fascinating to see something like memex, which was viewed as a fantasy about 60 years ago, to be more or less a reality. The popularity of computer made a desktop or a laptop more or less a furniture in a household. While we do no use much microfilms as Bush imagined, the use of printer and information transferring devices such as discs and flash drives are even better solutions for the task. And selection through association is a technique that many web sites use such as Amazon. I’ve always like to read about people’s prediction in the past: make me feel that we as mankind has come a long way.
the computer for the 21st century
I’ve once heard a quote “when things are done right, no one would even notice” from the cartoon Futurama that; that quote just about summarizes Weiser’s idea of the 21st century computer. Like Weiser said, the thought of have hundreds of computer in a room is a scary thought, especially when they recognize who you are and greet you by name. Yet, I suppose it is something that we will even get used to and accept as the norm.
Roland Carlos - Nov 15, 2006 12:16:26 am
As We May Think: One of the points from this article that stuck in my mind was the line "creative thought and essentially reptitive thought are very different things". Bush was careful to note that we can develop (and have devloped) machines to speed up our reptitive processes but nothing will ever replace the creative thought of people (although we can make the creative thought process better as well). Bush apparently had enough foresight to describe a lot of the upcoming challenges and machines for the coming computer age. He even managed to mention a little bit about how the human mind works in relation to information retrieval ("The human mind works by association"). Using this principle of association he was able to envision a machine that used this association technique that helped with information retrieval in a world that finds itself with exponentially increasing information amounts to sort through.
The time this was written (1945) is also evident in the article, as Bush cautions us several times about the possiblity that better technology may be used for war, a problem we still face today.
The Computer for the 21st Century: It's interesting how the article starts up by saying that we have two possible paths of development, virtual reality or supplmenting our own reality with computing. In the end aren't they both heading towards the same thing? In any case, that a philosophical argument not fit for this comment block.
It seems to me that the goal of ubiquitous computing is to making computing almost so prevalent that we don't want to notice its presence (making it "disappear into the background"). I guess this makes sense, because we want the computer parts to become so natural that they seem to blend seamlessly into the other interfaces we're used to, like paper for example. It describes to us a dream state, but I think the hard part will be the middle phases, i.e. finding those interfaces that will help bridge the gap between reality and computers. At some point it seems inevitable we'll need to ask users to make some allowances for the computer side, the hard part is getting the majority of them to accept it so progress can be made.
Andrew Tran - Nov 15, 2006 01:45:54 am
As We May Think: In the example where Bush talked about man going through records and filing systems, he mentioned that the human mind does not work the way how once we find information, we go through another path. He then talks about how the human mind really works, the text in blue. Bush states that the human mind works by association, and this is very true. His description of how the human mind works like this left out some details. The idea is called spreading activation, when one concept gets activated, other concepts associated to that concept within the network gets associated as well. A concept can be anything, i.e. dog, house, red, Britney Spears, etc. So when one of these concepts gets activated, others associated with it will become active also. So if the concept dog gets activated, concepts like dog house, puppy, bone, will become active too. I just wanted to give another example for this part in the reading if no one understood it.
The Computer for the 21st Century: I am wondering when was this article written? From the pictures, i guess it was written sometime in the 90s just when computers are starting to be widely used. I found it quite interesting how many of the "technologies" being developed by them were actually carried through. Things like the tablets, wired, and wireless networks for office equipments came true. I find it funny how they speculated that "future homes and offices will contain hundreds of these tiny computers" (referring to the pads). Well i guess i would like to ask what happen? How come most of us don't have them in our homes today? I guess they didn't foresee laptops.
Maksim Lirov - Nov 15, 2006 02:08:19 am
As We May Think: This was an interesting account from the 1940's on the future of information sharing and maintenance. I found parallels between the virtues of Anoto and the "future investigator" example that Bush gives on page 40. Bush describes the investigator who's actions are instantly timestamped and his notes and comments are tied together. Anoto timestamps pen strokes and the digital copy is an identical backup of the paper copy. Also it is interesting to note that he mentions that the human mind operates by association and that in the future we must do a better job at indexing information so that people can access the right information in a shorter amount of time. I think this is one of the biggest goals that we are facing even today and will continue to face for many years to come. Some of the functionality that he describes in his memex device seems to be realized in some of the internet's features like search engines, digital library indexes, etc....
The Computer for the 21st Century: This article forecasts that many computers will be everywhere to do everything that we want. I found the example involving a day in Sal's life interesting in that a lot of this functionality does exist today - we can check traffic, scheduling programs, option to email articles (the example of her circling with a pen a quote on the newspaper and it instantly is sent to her office is very identical to the Anoto system, although in this case it's the paper that possesses the intelligence and not the pen itself). Computing power is everywhere - just today I read about some features about the Oakland A's proposed new stadium in Fremont - Cisco Field. The stadium will have wireless capabilities and allow fans to receive replays and other forms of information on demand, order food, and buy tickets through their phones. In addition, if tickets were bought through a cell phone, sensors would automatically sense this when the fans arrive to the gate. Read more about it here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/15/FREMONT.TMP
Jason Lee - Nov 15, 2006 01:41:43 am
As We May Think: As many have already stated, it is interesting to note the insight that Dr. Vannevar Bush had in the direction that methods of storing information and records would grow even 60 years ago. The device he describes as a "memex" may not be exactly as he imagined it, but a personal computer combined with access to the Internet essentially fulfills all the functions of Bush's imagined memex. It allows the user access to books, records, and nearly limitless amounts of information. With the advent of laptops, memexes have even become transportable and are not confined to a desk as Dr. Bush envisioned. It is interesting to think that such a device that seems comfortable and home to us was only imaginable 60 years ago, and it is interesting to think about ways that information recording and storing will grow in the next 60 years.
It is also interesting to note that Bush states that "A record, if it is to be useful to science, must be continuously extended, it must be stored, and above all it must be consulted." The ability for a record to be continuously extended is also possible through the advent of wiki sites, such as Wikipedia, where records exist through the contributions of users. This, of course, means that we must take these records with a grain of salt, as anybody could come along and alter it maliciously.
The Computer for the 21st Century: This article strikes me as looking for solutions to a problem that doesn't necesarilly exist. Perhaps I will be in the minority, but the notion of having a small computer (in tab form) in every single minute object around the workplace and house seems to me to be not only unnecessary, but somewhat of a nuisance, not to mention very expensive. The idea of ubiquitous computing is an interesting one, but not at the cost of having a small embedded machine in every object. Even in a modern day and age, it sometimes pays to do things the old-fashioned way, as it keeps us from getting lazy and too realiant on machines (machines that may fail on us at any given time). Marc Weiser stated that he belived that ubiquitous computing would become the reliant method of computing within the next 20 years, and although we have made some steps in that direction, I for one am thankful that this prediction has not come true.
Kang Chen - Nov 15, 2006 01:41:46 am
As We May Think
Under point 2: Bush made a very valid point about the evolution in the technology of archiving data. One of the examples he named was the evolution of the different types of media being used to archive data, from paper and pen to photography, film, etc. I think in addition to the different types of media, there's also been a huge leap in the use of each technologies. As technologies advanced, we were able to create replica of the world using only 2D images. What's more interesting is that recently researchers have leverage on the improved capabilities of photography to provide super HD scans of art drawings and distribute them across the world.
The computer for the 21st century
I agree with Weiser's point that the most profound technologies are the ones that disappear. While disappear might not be technically correct when referring to the technology's state, it's a good way to think of it. When new technologies first appear, it usually causes waves of shock such as the introduction of computers. This certainly made sense since the older computers are about the size of a room. however, as technologies improve and made computers more accessible, it's almost expected that every household owns a computer of some sort nowadays.
Antonis Mannaris - Nov 15, 2006 02:11:56 am
The Computer For the 21st Century Information technology is by far the fastest growing field in science today. The internet made encyclopedias and even libraries redundant. Information has never been more accessible and unbiased. So it is no surprise at all that computers are becoming more and more necessary and incorporated into every day life. Some may say that computers will never be completely omnipresent in our lives but I disagree. For many people, their cell phone is an absolute necessity and a fully functional computer. Before cell phones, people knew phone numbers by heart but now people remember no numbers. The same goes for GPS. Pretty soon, travelers will be lost without one. So in short, a future where computers are taken for granted and are everywhere (at least in developed countries) is not fiction but reality.
As We May Think Written in 1945, this article has some incredible insight on the road of science and technology. Its predictions are surprisingly accurate and for the most part have been realized. The article centers around the recording of knowledge and the mechanization of logical processes. This could easily be the definition of computers today. It also raises the important point that human thought cannot be put into a machine, but information retrieval and computation are essential parts of the human thought today.
Jonathan Yen - Nov 15, 2006 01:47:05 am
As We May Think I think the most interesting point of this article is that human discoveries have progressed far more rapidly than advances in technological applications. Given this information, it is probably not too surprising that Bush has made many predictions about future devices that are nearly in existence today. We seem to have many theories about what we can potentially accomplish with technology, but it always takes many years before the first prototype appears. I find it interesting how close Bush's predictions match up to what we have in the modern world.
The Computer for the 21st Century It's kind of curious that the computers we have at present aren't that much like the ubiquitous computers described in this article. Computers today aren't concealed from view and the way that we interact with computers still demands our full attention in order to work with them. The computers that we use today are essentially the same as the ones we used over a decade ago, just faster and more efficient. Today, the trend no longer seems to be about ubiquitous computing, but about nanotechnology. It's amazing how much things can change in just a few years of time.
Yimin Yao - Nov 15, 2006 02:08:24 am
As we may think: The article by Bush is a very interesting one that takes a bold look into the future of recording and data storage; and more interestingly is that living in a part of the future he was envisioning, we are able to verify the validity of his claims or predictions of future technology for recording. I definitey feel the extensiveness of the data and record available today which extends ar beyond our present ability to make real use of it. Researchers nowadays (especially in interdisplinary biological sciences) spend significant amount of time digging through the large volume of information, old and new, trying to find helpful information from studies being done at some other corner of the world. The data IS there, but what needed is the rapid access and linkage of relevant information. The memex system envisioned by the authot possesses features that might be useful in such situations, before we are able to intepret anything practical out of neural signals.
The Computer for the 21st Century: Weiser envisioned a future with two characteristics of computer use: ubiquitous and invisible. Computers are ubiquitous nowadays, they exist in almost every corner of our lives, perhaps not quite to the extend described in this article. However computers are not invisible, most operations of computer are conscious operations of computers or devices with embeded computers. However, developments of such "invisible" computer products are underway, such as the embedded computer with screen projected onto the bathroom mirror for people to read their calender or emails as they brush their teeth. Teh desscription of Sal's typical day was very interesting, and some of ideas such as traffic checking will likely be incorporated in the future (probably not on the rear mirror). However personally I do not see the employment of the pads and tabs described by Weiser, for the benefits from such devices is not obvious enough to exceed the low cost and convenience of the paper/pen, also consider potential health issues from replacing paper with computer screens everywhere?
Michael Mai - Nov 15, 2006 12:26:05 am
As we may think:
Written more than 60 years ago, many of the ideas and concepts discussed in this article are common place and are taken for granted. The mechanization of speech has already occurred through methods similar to those discussed in the article. The creation of a memex is certainly possible and would make for a useful extension of our working and long term memory stored on a hard drive. I would be most interested in how a person would search through data that is organized associatively rather than the standard indexing that we see in the real world. The interface design for such a device could be quite simple with clusters of information and the ability to tie loose ends or incomplete paths quickly. Finally, I have to agree with the author of the article on the topic of war and technological advances. Survival is the most potent motivator and when people feel threatened, they are able to work harder and faster on more creative ideas.
The computer for the 21st century:
Although the idea of this world sounds appealing to some, I do not think it will come to fruition for a long time. I believe that only with a new generation of computer users/people who are comfortable with so many processors around them would this world be possible. Even now, computers are just starting to permeate every household even though computers have been out for decades. The article’s age as well as the long list of obstacles to overcome shows that the world is not ready for so much high tech equipment. The cost of so much equipment in a home can also be staggering. I am not saying that such technology is not possible. I feel that it just is not feasible. I believe that only time can make a technology become absorbed and indistinguishable by society.
Michael Moeng - Nov 14, 2006 12:29:20 pm
As we may think:
Although I found the essay a bit thick, several parts of it I thought were particularly interesting, especially the amount of progress made in different fields. In 1996, when the article is dated, Dr. Bush speaks of televisions with a relatively measly 16 frames per second, and using typewriters--possibly most significantly, of using photos and papers as a "primary way" of recording data. By contrast, the Voder described is still somewhat modern in comparison to today's speech generation efforts, which have made little progress compared to many other fields.
The Computer for the 21st Century:
Mr. Weiser obviously underestimated the power of the "worldwide information network." Rather than becoming integral to our lives by being "ubiquitous," computers in most industrialized nations have become integral by being overwhelming. Instead of wanting a touchscreen on a wall, people want bigger desks or nicer office chairs--for their computers. Instead of needing pads that are accessible no matter where one is in the house, the computer room is made more comfortable, and spending time there accessing the world-wide information network increases. I suppose the fact that Mr. Weiser worked at a Xerox research lab had something to do with his focus on portability in computing's future.
Chen Chang - Nov 15, 2006 02:54:25 am
As we may think - Like Bush stated at the beginning of the article, I believe that science and new instruments (in this case referring to new technology and gadgets) increase control of the material environment that drives lift forward (food, clothing, shelter, security, etc). I particularly liked the part where the author mentions that the human mind does not work in a linear fashion and rather operates by the association of ideas. To quote, "With one item in its grasp [the brain], it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate web of trails carried by the cells of the brain". I think this is true for everyone and an example off the top of my head would be a student planning out what homework is due in all his/her current courses - this easily branches off to topics such as: when do I have my telebears for next semester? what classes should I sign up for? are these professors tough or easy? should I study abroad? what does my finals schedule look like this semester? etc etc, you get the idea.
The computer for the 21st century - This article dates back 15 years of age in trying to predict what computers would be like in the 21st century world. I found some information I could relate to as well as some predictions that didn't happen the way "they were meant to be". For instance, the article mentions that a terabyte of disk storage will make deleting old files virtually unnecessary and I believe thats true (at least for the current moment in time) because we are just getting to the 1 TB retail hard drive solution (I believe the current maximum available in a single drive solution is 750GB manufactured by Seagate). On the other hand, computers are certainly everywhere today, but can it be said that each and every person has a PC? I think not as it could be easily evidenced by the less fortunate socio-economic classes camping out in front of retail stores on a freezing Thanksgiving night to try to snag a $99 machine during Black Friday.
Edward Karuna - Nov 15, 2006 03:18:00 am
The author's dream of ubiquitous computing feels much like the paperless office movement. It evokes all the ability of automation that we have always dreamed of, along with everything reduced to portable screens instead of stacks upon unwieldy stacks of paper. Some goals that I suppose we would have to surmount before such a movement can come to pass are to 1) increase the reliability and usability of computing devices in general. Once they become, as the article states, as second nature as using pens and pencils (which the Anoto pen attempts to achieve) then the dream will truly be possible. Also, 2) the devices must be affordable, or else this dream of ubiquitous computing will be merely a dream of the rich. Dreams of the rich tend to die out fast, while if the technology can be made available to anyone, it would be here to stay.
It is unsettling to think of the leaps and bounds that we have taken in technology since this article was written, and upon reading it he cannot fail but to do just that. Thinking back over the years, it occurs to me that not only have we made great strides, those advances began to come faster and faster as time goes on. So many of the technologies we develop are intended to facilitate the transfer, the exchange of information, so as information becomes more readily available, so too does development of new information also become faster. It is almost like a vicious cycle, the vicious cycle of technology development. Who knows what the future may hold, really, when in a couple of years, even months, we could already be a hop, skip, and a long jump away, lightyears ahead of current technology... because of this production acceleration.
Patrick Rodriguez - Nov 15, 2006 08:29:29 am
As We May Think: If managing huge amounts of data was a big concern when Bush wrote this article, then it is an even bigger concern now, and will continue to be an issue of importance as the quantity of data continues to explode. With the Internet, we have access to so much information that we need an efficient way of interacting with it all. In the time between Bush's predictions and today, we certainly have developed better methods of managing data. Like some of the above posters, it does seem as if society has taken our technology for granted. But just imagine how things will be in another 60 years. The technology in the future will be just as amazing as our technology seemed in the 40's. However, given the exponential growth of data, are we just in a neverending race to keep up?
The Computer for the 21st Century: I think it's a little too early to say whether Weiser is accurate or not in his predictions: We have 90 years left in this century. Like some have mentioned, computers literally are almost everywhere, though not yet "ubiquitous." That is the key prediction, not the specifics about "pads" and the like. Will computers be a key component in every part of our lives? Come back to that question in a few decades.
Eric Yoon - Nov 15, 2006 08:44:22 am
The Computer for the 21st Century. A very cool article. Not too long ago, before I came to the EECS program, I probably would have been slightly sketpical than the processor and digital technology would make its way so deeply into our lives -- into our classrooms, badges, maybe even under our skin or attached to our clothes. But more and more I see that this idea of "ubiquitous computing" very likely will be the future. A bit of evidence: I have a friend who has a two year old, and she gets confused sometimes when she goes to other people's houses to watch TV. Why? Because at home she has learned how to use TIVO, so she thinks that every show she wants should be hers for the choosing, at any time. With kids like this, any cultural resistance to the idea of ubiquitous computing is bound to fade by the next generation.
As We May Think. Articles like this really make you appreciate the efforts of many scientists, mathematicians, and inventors that have gone before us. To think of the things they dreamed of -- dry photography! Arithmetic counting machines! Linking text to text! Procedures for processing and storing large amounts of data! And now look where we are, to a large degree because of the foundations that they built, even if some of their dreams could not be realized within their lifetimes. Nevertheless, in my own studies I am reminded of how many puzzles we have yet to unlock -- some of which were thought of even in Bush's time. Bush, for example, rightfully praises the amazing ability of the human mind to link by association, with lightening speed of the likes that computers still cannot come close to matching.
Ramy Ghabrial - Nov 15, 2006 09:22:44 am
As We May Think: This paper is extremely interesting from a HCI perspective. I particularly liked the walnut camera idea, although the cord leading to the arm seems it would be extremely inconvenient, and if it exists right now it would probably only be used for extremely specialized purposes. I wonder what Bush would think of today's computers. Certainly they seem to satisfy his call for a way to record data for later consumption, and perform advanced computational and logical analysis. I found his assumption of the creation of a new language to be interesting, as well as his assertion that "the machine of logic will not look like a cash register", when it actually sort of does. Finally, his discussion of trails reminds me in many ways of a simple website.
The computer for the 21st century: I thought this reading painted a very compelling image of a world where computers are ubiquitous. I am unsure why this world does not yet exist; perhaps displays have not advanced as fast as he wished; certainly there is still a lot of work to be done in the area of transparently linking computers; in any case, there is still a ways to go before his notion of linked disposable tabs and pads becomes commercially feasible. Until then, I do not think computers will achieve ubiquity, and users will still have to enter another world to use computers. Finally, lack of privacy in such a world is an obvious objection, and I am not sure that encrypting the data would be enough to prevent it from potentially falling into the wrong hands.
Scott Friedheim - Nov 15, 2006 10:16:07 am
As We May Think
Very similar to the Computers for the 21st century comment I make below in that although technology has grown as fast as it has, it is still the limiting factor in realizing the ideas and dreams of researchers. In particular the management of data is still a new field and one companies are actively trying to figure out. It's a fact that the world has so much more data than it knows what to do with; but the data is also the key to greater understanding of so many things if harnessed correctly.
Computers for the 21st century
I got a kick out of the way they outlined the fact that their "Pads" had FOUR MILLION BYTES OF RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY! I suppose that was something to drool about at the time. What always amazes me when I read articles or watch videos of researchers at that time period is the ideas and products they were trying to develop. So many times they were trying to accomplish tasks that are still trying to be accomplished or perfected these days. Their vision was only hindered by the technology at hand during those times. But I think they had the right idea; these days we are trying to digitize everything and surround ourselves with computers to access our music, maps, schedule, etc. Eventually we will have some sort of extensible desktop.
Yen Pai - Nov 15, 2006 10:30:59 am
As We May Think: I actually read this article earlier in the semester for a Rhetoric class. What is very interesting about the piece is how amazingly prophetic Bush is. Though not all the speculated products have been come to pass exactly as described, many of the ideas have been realized either as trends or actual products. The "Cyclops Camera" can be said to describe digital to paper photograph services like Shutterfly, but also the millions of sound recorders, video cameras, closed circuit surveillance that are operating in society today: recording devices are everywhere. And of course, the closest equivalent to the Memex in our time is probably Google.
A side note and additional historical prospective: this article was written after WWII, in the aftermath of the first atom bombs, and can be said to signal scientific guilt. Notably, Bush begins his article with the words "This has not been a scientist's war..." and then moves far away from the role of science in the destruction of human lives by describing how the collaboration enforced by the nature of war has led to great technological advances which may be constructive to society.
The Computer for the 21st Century: This article articulates and gives an example of the ideal of "ubiquitous computing", an ideal which is slowly but surely being realized, but in a slightly different form. While devices like laptops, cellphones, iPods, and PDAs - often linked in one way or another by the Internet can be said to be examples of implementations that obey the philosophy of ubiquitous computing, it is the Internet that forms the backbone which makes ubiquitous computing possible. Ubuquitous computing, in this sense, is not external to the user, but has become a feeling, desire, or mode of living that has become internalized by the user. The rise of the Internet and its ubiquity has created a feeling among users that we are or can very quickly be connected to a large community or have instant access to any sort of information.
David Hoffman - Nov 15, 2006 09:42:58 am
The "As we may Think" article is a really good assessment of where technology is going. Many of Bushs predictions have come true. He discussed cameras, displays, information storage, and voice recognition. All of these things have become possible with modern computers. Possibly the most interesting part of the article is his vision for paths detailing research and the visual system used depict these trails of thought. Now we have something similar, we have footnotes in journal articles with links to other sources which can be followed to see the other paper. However, this lacks the continuity and obvious nature of the path which Bush has invisioned.
The Weiser article is an interesting vision of the future bringing computers into everyday life instead of making people use computers on their own turf. I somewhat disagree with Weiser's gerneral opinion. If someone wants to build something with a hammer and nails, there goal is to use their hands to put a nail through two pieces of wood. The tool they use is a hammer, and it works. Tool companies don't sell the hammer glove which allows people to make the hammer part of their hands. People are tool users and computers, despite all the sci fi ideas about what they are capable of are tools. While they are very diverse and customizable, they still are made to make some task easier. I wouldn't want to introduce computers into my life where they are not needed. So, I don't see a clear benefit to making mini computer completely ubiquitous to do things where conventional methods work fine.
Tom McClure - Nov 15, 2006 11:38:06 am
The Computer of the 21st Century - I am extremely relieved that we have not yet realized the "Big Brother" dystopia that the author has zealously projected on us here in the 21st century. He pretends to address the privacy concerns that are raised by his utopian vision but then brushes them under the carpet with an aside, oh, we'll have to use some encryption when we design this thing. Right. Also, I'm not sure I understand how the massive proliferation of "tab" devices is going to make computers fade out of cognition and into the "periphery." If anything, I would be frustrated with managing and coordinating all my hundreds of tabs.
As We May Think - A prescient vision of the future. I left a trail to this article in my memex. Too bad we had to replace those rooms full of girls on stenotypes.
It is ironic to note by how much these articles underestimate the advances in computing and storage capacity (USB drives now hold 4GB for $60, a bit more than the predicted 60MB -- and in the 1945 article, the accounting machines of the future are only supposed to operate 100 times faster) and yet simultaneously underestimate the difficulty of problems that have taken decades longer than predicted to solve, such as handwriting and voice recognition. The predicted advance in polaroid development seems never to have materialized, although the problem was solved with the advent of the digital cameras and tiny LCDs.
Huangnankun - Nov 15, 2006 11:47:57 am
I liked this article because it gave a historical perspective on the computer. The author's decription of the interface has great insight since the development of modern interfacing technology has more or less gone in the direction he predicated. THe computer is very much a machine developed by man to create an abstraction layer on top of information to ease the management of complexity. He talks about associativity and this is an importatnt concept for computer users who are faced with information retrieval problems.
This article was written almost 8 years ago during the height of the Silicon valley boom and consist of a series of predictions about computers and interfacing in the 21st century. Now that we are actually in the 21st century, its interesting to look back at how some of his predications have come true. The google library project is one of the things that was started after 1999 and yet conforms to the vision and prediction of the article that all information will be at our fingertips given the organisation and retrieval power of computers.
Alex Wallisch - Nov 15, 2006 11:21:09 am
As We May Think
I am amused by Bush's description of the "memex" as the record storage and retrieval device of the future. It is not so much that the device appears (to us, today) bloated and unwieldly, as this is understandable given the time period in which this was written. Rather, Bush's description of what was supposedly the ideal interface for such a tool seems horribly inconvienient to us today. Imagine if there were no laptops; every time you wanted to dig up some piece of information, you had to go home and sit at your desk. Furthermore, you couldn't ctrl-f your way through a document; you had to remember approximately where in the document your desired info was and use a lever to scroll to that point. Back then, this sort of interface would have seemed incredible, but today it would make most of us scream.
The Computer for the 21st Century
I actually found this part of the description of Tabs to be sort of creepy:
- In our experimental embodied virtuality, doors open only to
the right badge wearer, rooms greet people by name, telephone calls can be automatically forwarded to wherever the recipient may be, receptionists actually know where people are, com- puter terminals retrieve the preferences of whoever is sitting at them, and appointment diaries write themselves.
This kind of aspect of technology is reminiscent of the government's Total Information Awareness program, which many people objected to as a violation of privacy. There is something nice about having information not move faster than humans do, to where you don't feel like every move you make is being permanently recorded somewhere.
Cheng-Lun Yang - Nov 15, 2006 12:03:36 pm
As We May Think Part of the computer science field focuses on the storage, retrieval, and manipulation of data. This idea corresponds to “a record, if it is to be useful to science, must be continuously extended, it must be stored, and above all it must be consulted”. Therefore, the field of database design and manipulation is created to comprehend the massive amount of data existing in the current world. No one person’s brain is powerful enough to handle and process all the data. Computer Science is, therefore, emerged as the top technology.
The Computer for the 21st Century In the 21st century, almost all kids grown up playing with a computer. The same thing can not be said 50 years ago. Even for my generation, 18~25 years old range, I did not own a personal computer until the age of 14. The age when first exposed to computer has decreased significantly. Right now, you can not survive in school if you do not know how to use a computer. Computer has became such a large influence in our lives that it is gradually “fading in to the background”, meaning that people are so used to it that it becomes part of their lives. The scary thought is that the technology is constantly expanding. There is no limit to how far computer science can grow and what our life styles will be like 50 years from now. Of course, it is both a good and bad thing. Only time and history can tell us which one is the case.
Robert Taylor - Nov 15, 2006 11:42:03 am
As We May Think: I thought this article was great. It's interesting to consider how we may apply war-time research to a peaceful age; the author argues that physicists have a harder job than biologists, but I feel this should be taken with a grain of salt - something like an atomic weapon can lead to progress in creating fission or perhaps fusion reactors. Of course it may still be more difficult to do that then continue research on medical trauma practices. Point 6 on storage mechanisms made a good point about how storing things alphabetically or numerically contrasts with how the mind actually retrieves data from its storage, through association (much as we learned with the Human Processor). Weighing the pros and cons of mechanical storage, associative or not, versus the mind's capacity for storage, makes for a good read as well.
The Computer for the 21st Century: This article was very interesting as well; I will attempt to comment on the author's ideas of tabs. It seems they are trying to force advanced computing technology into the same paradigm that "older" technology such as electricity ended up falling under. Embedded components will be very common in the future; and I can see how a number of devices that do work or provide services for us will become integrated, but I'm not sure I follow the tabs analogy per se. And what would come of putting research into an ID badge right now that does a number of other tasks right now? The infrastructure is not in place yet, and perhaps I'm naive but I don't see something like an ID badge getting integrated with what will eventually become a completely integrated PDA - security concerns with losing the badge seem too great a risk. Perhaps again though I am just naive.
Utsav Shah - Nov 15, 2006 12:08:09 pm
As We May Think..
I like the way Mr. Bush begins his article by questioning what are the scientists to do next ? It’s also interesting to see how he uses “physicists” as real scientists who are responsible for making new destructive gadgets as opposed to computer scientists. But that goes on to say that the article was written in ‘ancient’ times. Some of the predictions Mr. Bush made such as microphotography or vision about TV sets and computers are mind boggling. I wish Mr. Bush was alive today to see technology and it would also be interesting to see how he would write the same article today.
The computer for the 21st century
The idea of ubiquitous computing is very interesting and in some way or another we would all love to have it. I mean who would mind all the information readily available at their fingertips. To certain extent, Mark’s words did turn into reality as some people above mentioned Google. It’s amazing how it has become part of our daily lives that we take it for granted. Someone also mentioned that there are many more years left in this century and gradually we’re making our way to ubiquitous computing.
Rayhan Lal - Nov 15, 2006 12:12:08 pm
As We May Think: It is amazing just how many of the ideas Bush expresses have become reality. Microfiche, voice recognition, symbolic manipulation, recording research progression (hyperlinking) and interpreting neural signals are all the modern embodiment of ideas in the paper. One thing I noticed is the article also describes society changing to meet the needs of the technology, for example, developing languages that are conducive to recognition. I don’t know if we have yet developed a research web, where individuals can form trees depicting their train of thought.
The Computer for the 21st Century: Though the narrative towards the end of this article is very provocative, I am not sure if the ideas will come to pass. It should be noted that all the constituents needed to set up such a system have advanced, just as Weiser predicted. Processors and storage are now faster, smaller and cheaper. LCD displays are larger, better quality and extraordinarily cheap compared to 15 years ago. Some new ideas would even make charging these devices more practical [1]. For whatever reason very few have adopted the sort of system Weiser describes. One reason I can think of is the huge investment needed to get the numbers described. But why invest now, when the same product will be cheaper and better later?
Melissa Jiang - Nov 15, 2006 11:45:57 am
As We May Think: BUsh discussed the advancements of various technological advances over the ages. His discussion reminded me of an article I read for my History of Information class which talked about the advances of technology growing at an exponential rate (written by Ray Kurzweil). The technolgoical growth in the prior ages had been slow. However, the growth rate for the last few decades overshadowed the growth rate of the last thousand years. Kurzweil predicted that within the next 100 years, we will experience the technological advantages of 20,000 years. He also stated that in order for the human mind to develop those amazing technology, the human mind will improve intellectually at an exponential rate as well.
21st Century: I too believe that in this year and age, we have already integrated technology into our world fully now. With cell phones, we can contact people almsot everywhere. With laptops and wireless access, we have access to a ton of information presented on the world wide web. Video conferences happen already even if it is not to the extent presented by Weiser's Sal and Joe's example.
Another point worries me. Weiser's idea almost appears to make human work practically non-existant. All the work required of a human seems to be just their brains. Logging in is done automatically. Even finding a space is done automatically. Granted these technology's purpose is to help the human but I do fear that maybe it will become too much. Bill Joy provides a very interesting and very different point of view regarding the 21st century technology advances.
Joe Hart - Nov 15, 2006 11:32:15 am
As We May Think: As the amount of information increases the its usefulness increases only as our ability to sift through it increases. Right now our ability to create and store data is far surpassing our ability to find useful information in those stores. Google is a great example of the need for technology to make sense of all this noise created. The future of computing, I think, rests on the concept of being able to interpret data in a meaningful way. Part of this understanding comes in visualizing the data in meaningful ways. The future of computing will be greatly influenced by HCI people who understand this fact and capitalize on it.
The Computer for the 21st Century: The future is now. Maybe not quite what was described in the article, but very close. Take cell phones for example, these devices are pretty much ubiquitous in todays society and most people don't give them a second thought. They can tap into a vast network of information (web) through a simple interface and possibly soon speech. This is just one step away from being the future envisioned by Weiser. It seems that the bottleneck to the future of computing is not limited by the technology but by the publics ability to incorporate it into their daily lives. Society changes slower than the technology curve and thus limits what becomes available to all.
Vahe Oughourlian - Nov 15, 2006 11:38:39 am
As We May Think
I really enjoyed this article for two reasons: its far-reaching predictions and its accuracy of the world of today, though in function and not in form. Bush calls for a way to aggregate the data that has already reached, in his time, a staggering amount that few can find the information they want. What is the goal of Google today besides the aggregation of data? Another amusing section is when he speaks of the memex and how a user would create a relational database of data links. This is, somewhat, what Google does with their search rankings, but it relates more to the search engines that specifically ask the searcher the relevancy of the result of the search. The mention of "willing volunteers" is also hauntingly true, as many Internet users are exactly that: willing volunteers who try to aggregate the data out there, as seen in links on personal web pages, mySpace, digg, and Shoutwire. It is quite unfortunate, however, though unavoidable, that Bush would stick to newer, smaller, faster, and more reliable based upon the tools of his time, such as the microfilm, the electron beam, and the punchcard, and not be able to see the possibilities beyond.
The Computer for the 21st Century
What Weiser suggests in his article about the ubiquity of computing is, unfortunately, still not available. Why not? One, very practical reason is the fact that our sources of power are still quite limited in terms of the amount of power they can provide and the time it takes to charge and discharge these sources of power. In the past ten years the only revolution in battery technology that users have seen is the evolution from Nimh batteries to Li-ion batteries. This problem has caused a reversal in the field of laptop design: instead of refining battery technology further, designers have chosen to reduce the power load on these batteries, effectively waiting for the next great source of mobile power (which is apparently some nitrogen-based cell). The other great concern barring the way for Weiser's idea of ubiquitous computing and the idea of "throwaway" pads are the unfortunate aspects of our society that are capitalism, and thus competition. Competition keeps all parties involved on their toes, yes, but it breaks down the lines of collaboration that may lead to a better product. We see three different video game consoles, and say "If only those companies worked together to make one great one," and we see multitudes of MP3 players, each with their strengths and weaknesses, and we say, "If only Apple, Creative, Samsung, and IRiver got together, they would create a great product." Ubiquitous computing depends upon interoperability of devices and lack of user interaction. While, in general, companies have let organizations like IEEE dictate standards, such as TCP/IP, still users must fiddle with their home routers to get them to work properly, and, if one has different brands of routers or access points, it may be difficult to use them. Even wireless cards and access points sometimes have incompatibilities despite conforming to the 802.11 wireless standard. Apple is one of those companies poised to take over the ubiquitous computing market (which it has somewhat with services like .Mac), but it cannot take advantage of mass manufacture because of its small market share. Thus, like Weiser, it seems we have to wait some time before the companies get their acts together to work towards this ubiquitous computing future.
Michael Udaltsov - Nov 15, 2006 12:43:40 pm
As We May Think - A lot of the presented ideas may have been futuristic in 1945, but have already come true today. The quote "The world has arrived at an age of cheap complex devices of great reliability; and something is bound to come of it" has certainly proven true, since computers are everywhere these days, and are very small, cheap, and reliable. The idea of the small photo camera has certainly been achieved, with small but high-resolution digital cameras capturing thousands of photos onto memory cards instead of chemical exposure, giving instant access to the pictures. The presented ideas of microfilm storage have also changed into digitally stored documents, which allow a practically infinite, redundant, non-degrading storage medium. Same goes for the advances in speech recognition and synthesis, though of course it's still far from perfect even today. One of the issues highlighted is selecting, searching, and indexing information. It's still a major issue today, especially with the increased amounts of information available. Current search methods seem to work for simple queries, but it's nowhere near the human ability of association and recall. Also, most of the current search methods only search for text, while more and more content is either audio (music, podcasts, etc) or video. The next step in advancing these technologies is to allow better searching for content, regardless of the medium it's stored in.
The Computer for the 21st Century - It seems that in the recent decade technology has finally caught up with the requirements for ubiquitous computing: cheap, low-power computers with convenient displays, software, and a network to link them. The computers are definitely available now as low-power embedded chips. Advances in computer displays have mostly been in LCD technology, including thin foldable screens, including permanent "digital ink" technology. Larger displays are also starting to become available, though certainly more expensive, as the article predicted. Software is still an issue, though there have definitely been advances in distributed computing recently, and a lot of new development is being done. Networking has also advanced, and may now be at a point sufficient to allow ubiquitous computing. Wireless and bluetooth connectivity are already common, with fairly high speeds. Movement between different locations can be handled by mesh networks that automatically use closest access points for connection. The article predicts ubiquitous computing becoming dominant by 2011 or so, which I think is feasible, though it will probably happen slightly later. Most current computers, operating systems, and applications are still targeted towards the personal computer. However, many other devices, such as digital cameras, printers, phones, etc have begun to include wireless technology to communicate with each other without the need for a computer, so it's a start.
Johnathan Hawley - Nov 15, 2006 12:41:42 pm
As We May Think - This is kind of an inspiring article. It puts into perspective how far technology has advanced. It seems to propose that new technology is available, but might not be possible to implement at this time. His analogy of Pharoe taxing his whole nation to build a car that would break by the time it got to Giza illustrated that point. As an engineer, this statement seemed useful: "Whenever logical processes of thought are employed - that is, whenever thought for a time runs along an accepted groove - there is an opportunity for the machine." This statement might also be useful to an entrepreneur.
The Computer for the 21 Century - The goal the author has of fading computers into the background seems interesting. He says that when technology fades from consciousness, it's a sign that it's really good. While the team's goal is 100% opposite of that of virtual reality, I think virtual reality is winning the battle. Just look at the gaming industry. Games are becoming so realistic and powerful, that many choose to spend the entire day living in this fake world, rather than the real world. I can see how the Anoto pen runs parallel with the research team's 'live board' idea. One could eventually become totally unaware that the pen is an electronic device. Sending orders by checking a 'Send' box, for example, could eventually become common place. It seems like digital pens really exemplify the idea of ubiquitous computing.
Vijay Rudraraju - Nov 15, 2006 12:36:50 pm
As We May Think
It has been pointed out by others that what almost all of the current in advancements in technology today are accomplishing is the externalization of greater amounts of our cognitive processes and functions. This assertion can be made generally to encompass the internet, data storage, computation, wireless communication, photography, and a myriad of other devices and advancements. The question is whether the fact that these devices are allowing us to essentially outsource our memory, our senses, our thinking, our communication, and our motor functions frees us to "grow in the wisdom of race experience". If the type of wisdom that all of this advancement is nurturing is simply the greater externalization of our life experiences and cognitive processes than does this cyclical progression really contribute anything to the wisdom and advancement of the human race?
The Computer for the 21st Century
There are many ways in which we will all be enabled like never before as the current revolution in information technology becomes engrained in the lives of the human race. However, it does not seem like there is enough interest in actually figuring out what these new goals ought to be once silicon-based information technology fades into the periphery of human experience. Are the lives of millions of people going to be affected positively when technology reaches this point? When everyone on Earth has a cell phone and instant global communication and computational power become accessible to the poorest on Earth, what then? I would love to hear what some of these authors think happens next because that moment will be here sooner than later.
Simon Tan - Nov 15, 2006 12:57:02 pm
As We May Think: The technology we've developed, according to the author by the end of this reading - it's like outsourcing, for our minds. I ultimately think this is a good idea, but it increases our reliance on machines. For example, it's why math teachers today often are surprised when the SAT allows for the use of graphing calculators on AP exams, because the lack of such a machine forced people in older times to do a lot of math on their own. The advantages of this development in technology, though (i.e. in communication, health) outweigh the risk that we may lose all our independence in trivial tasks, though. Yes, we can use varying currents in a electric board and an LCD screen to view pictures of a sunset, but many people still prefer the real thing.
A Computer for the 21st Century: The author is supporting a very different concept for the future of silicon-based technology than most people think of. More and more people obsess over the the advance of computer technology as the increase of power and ability of these machines, but this article really brings technology into perspective. I like how he started by reminding us that even writing is a technology. How natural it is for us now is taken for granted - can typing on a keyboard (like I am doing now) ever become that natural? Is Anoto the answer to making computing ubiquitous? The computer scratchpads referenced seem to point to that or the Tablet PC.
Ming Huang - Nov 15, 2006 12:58:05 pm
As We May Think is a very moving account of the scientific community at the post-War period, where peace stirred research and knowledge grows so fast that it is difficult to organize, transfer, share, and extend. Various instruments have been in use that makes the process less clumsy, and they foreshadow the greatest of them all. The invention of a calculating machine, the computer, has been one of the greatest technological breakthroughs in the last century. They have completely transformed our ways of dealing with information and expanded our capabilities not as individuals having disparate ideas, but entities with common goals and constructive dialog with each other. A great point for us to take away is that the revolution did not come overnight; many other advances in materials, manufacturing, and improvements of the economy on a stable political climate and relatively peaceful time have contributed to the advent of computers. Human history can be perceived as incremental advances riding on the success of its enablers.
The Weiser article on The Computers of the 21st Century represents the vision of researchers on how computers will be decades into the future of the time of writing. It certainly has enormous insight into the developing trends in the industry by advocating the ubiquitous integration of silicon into every aspect of our lives as well as being minimally intrusive. The approach these people have spoken on seems to be exactly the directions the industry is trying for today. Many of the examples given have a similar implementation today than ones described in the article. For Instance, in the article, most of the computers that replace common writing instruments involve a screen and a pen, and perhaps some sort of handwriting recognition, then goes on to illustrate a future where the processing can be done in the pen itself and being in the unique affordances of paper into the mix. Therefore we can conclude that there are always more clever ways of sticking computer hardware for everything. The idea of shared medium across location and single-machine boundaries is clearly what we are striving for these days, too. Looking at all the Web 2.0 buzz there are an abundance of evidence that people are trying to get out of their “personal” computers and be able to store and share information across multiple computers connected together and move seamlessly from one to the other. Judging from today’s situation, where some laptops are still heavy, natural input methods not popularized enough, and privacy measure not fully rectified, we still have some ways to go. One day, perhaps, the computer industry will get to a point where most of the depictions in the article come true, albeit maybe in many different manifestations not limited to those in the paper.
Both readings have given us refreshing historic perspectives of people before our times whose vision we now strive to build, and we are getting there.
Siyan Wang - Nov 15, 2006 12:52:33 pm
As We May Think: I think this is a pretty interesting article in that it examines some of the past actions of scientists that resulted in some very useful utilities, despite the fact that they were originally doing weapons research or other wartime research. Then he goes to postulate on these thought mechanisms that seem like they might be ancestors of our modern day computer. His ideas about the "memex" are likewise pretty interesting.
The Computer for the 21st Century: It seems pretty interesting reading the predictions for the "21st century computer" from the inventors of the modern GUI. Their predictions don't seem too far off, as I think RF transmitters and the like are becoming more commonplace now. I only wish their prediction for the 1000x800 flat panel display were true. Their sketchpad replacement for the desktop seems like a nifty idea, like a physical version of the 3d desktop we saw in class.
Siu Pang Chu - Nov 15, 2006 12:18:47 pm
As We May Think: It was amazing that this article have been written 50 years ago. He has given the idea of future computer even though he has never seen any computer. In the article, the "memex" has been given by Vannevar Bush to the theoretical proto-hypertext computer system. The memex has influenced the development of subsequential hypertext and intellect augmenting computer systems. Memex is a model of the personal computer. It provides the function of data storage, communications and information processing. For example, Bush described Memex as the device that can connect to a library and display books and films from the library. It also can follow cross-references from one work to another. Bush's idea inspired the development of future computers.
The Computer for the 21st Century:
This article is very interesting for me since ubiquitous computers is being a new term for me. The article mentions that ubiquitous computers will help overcome the problem of information overload. Machines should fit into the human environment instead of forcing humans to enter theirs. The article also state that Personal computer is a misplaced idea. Computers should not be owned by people, but rather should disappear into the background framework. Computers should be used unconsciously. All attention should be given to the task itself. Ubiquitous computers are being made into different sizes so that they are suitable to all tasks, such as tabs, pads and boards. the future technological trends will assist ubiquitous computing, such as CPU speed, high-res display technology, the increase of storage size.
Bryce Lee - Nov 15, 2006 12:53:57 pm
As We May Think At first, I began reading this article without seeing the short introduction about the text being reprinted from 1945. In the beginning , Bush's predictions and overall intentions seemed to fit right in with modern times. Without the knowledge of the article's dates, his proposed technologies of the future ridiculous in detail - however, on closer analysis, the intentions and purposes behind the technology also fit inline with today's technological pursuits. For example, the idea of instant pictures has been translated into digital cameras and the compressed literature archive matches the power of the internet
The Computer for the 21st Century It's interesting how close the idea of the Xerox pads comes to Tablet PCs. However I believe technology will have to vastly change before such transition of technology into the everyday world can happen. It probably is not that far fetched (as demonstrated in the last article), however trying to fit today's technology into these roles leads to an unnatural presence which cripples productivity. Also, it's interesting to think about how some other companies have approached the issue of connecting data with the individual, instead of a machine. Google's products come to mind, with their calendar, email, and now document services that exist independent of any platform or location.
Sean Carr - Nov 15, 2006 01:07:12 pm
As We May Think: I do think this article was very interesting given that it was from 1945, but very little of it applied to user interfaces specifically. Most of it seemed to be general engineering or even other sciences. His description of an interface to browse through lots of information while researching a topic such as "why the short Turkish bow was apparently superior to the English long bow" was very interesting and seems to be way before its time. This description also makes me think of the annotation affordances of the Anoto pen because "occasionally he inserts a comment of his own", "he inserts a page of longhand analysis of his own", etc. In a very loose way, this description could also describe using something like Wikipedia with a tab based browser on a computer that supports annotations (such as a tablet).
The Computer for the 21st Century: I like a lot of the applications of ubiquitous computing and they touch on many of the good ones here. It is surprising that this article was written in 1991, but it is also promising since so many advances in making smaller devices has been made since then. Also, things like bluetooth and RFID are more popular now and both afford some of the ubiquitous features they discussed. Of course people get scared with the idea of being tracked or monitored, but as long as these things don't become required and they are used in places like offices I think they do more benefit than harm. Particularly given that many offices already track whether you are inside using RFID badges. Given more data from locality information and more info about each user, computers could become much more personalized and useful. As they point out in the article, with this extra data so much is possible without even needing to use any sort of artificial intelligence. Very exciting stuff.
Qingyun Tang - Nov 15, 2006 12:23:49 pm
As We May Think: It has been a while since this article was written, and a lot of things have changed. What he said about data was very true. There are huge amount of data produced everyday focusing on all aspects of human life. Even experts in certain field cannot follow all the information on that field. It is just not possible. However, lucky we have computer and internet, thus we have the information system and network. We can always pick up materials from the network, with information organized nicely. Yes, it is amazing humans come that far from pens and paper to this informative world. Everything is going digital.
The Computer for the 21st Century: The future described in the article has already somewhat been achieved today. Technology has developed so fast that it exceeded people’s imagination through the years. For example, the article mentioned about using infrared to connect computers and networks. This is old technology already. Infrared is not stable and slow in general. People that time couldn’t predict there would be much faster and more stable connection such as Bluetooth that are widely used today. I think soon in the future, better technology will come out to replace Bluetooth and wireless network will cover everywhere. With wireless-N coming out, it is much faster and it has much better range/stability than wireless A/G/B. We are confident wireless networks will dominant the future network instead of wired networks.
Andrew Hao - Nov 15, 2006 01:07:51 pm
As We May Think: The "memex" that the author proposes is an example of semantic encoding and storage of information. Information is linked to other information to create new meanings. These days, the Web promises to do much of the same as social sites such as del.icio.us and blog aggregators such as Technorati attempt to create new meanings through semantic relationships (via folksonomies: tagging and the like). That stuff gets me excited.
Dexter Lau - Nov 15, 2006 01:07:29 pm
As we may think: It's interesting to see the "wholly new forms of encyclopedias". I kind of think of wikipedia and enjoy how his ideas have evolved into today's technological world.
The computer for the 21st century: The computer has definitely changed the business and lifestyles of many. One of the biggies is the use of laptops that have replaced the bundles of papers with a single, battery-exploding device that can neatly and easily layout your work so that you are a lean, mean, productive machine. Moreover, the use of the internet has allowed people to communicate more easily. In a sense, the 'virtual' and 'physical' worlds have both evolved into something harmonious.
Tabassum Khan - Nov 16, 2006 09:49:11 am
As We May Think: This article emphasizes the fact that we have come a long way. Things that Bush called fantastical then, have become a reality for us. It is hard to believe that this paper was written in 1945 and I am sure that he must have thought of all this years before this article was published. Its unfortunate that he is not alive to see his predictions come true. The article focuses on automation and augmentation of human thought. The idea of memex is remarkably similar to hypertext.
The Computer for the 21st Century: This is also a prophetic article like the previous one by Bush. Computers have inarguably become an indispensable part of modern living if not yet ubiquitous. It’s amazing to notice that just a little over 50 years ago, if you looked up the word "computer" in the dictionary, it would say "a person who computes". Definitely, Computers have made our lives easier and better but the thought of a room greeting me by name when I enter just creeps me out. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be a nuisance? I would get really annoyed and disturbed if I keep hearing the room I am in greeting people as they enter while I am trying to get my cs160 reading done. By the way, isn’t Sal using a digital pen to make a circle around the text in a newspaper that will get transmitted to her computer?
Hiroki Terashima - Nov 16, 2006 11:46:26 am
As We May Think- I just read my friend Tony's comment about “when things are done right, no one would even notice” quote; I too thought about this quote, but didn't remember that it came from Futurama. Bringing some 6000 scientists to collaborate is one feat that I admire, and the fact that they were doing it for peace and good of society makes it even more commendable. Bush's idea about the memex is partly realized today, but I wonder why he didn't include a keyboard? From reading the article, I learned that Bush knew and understood that technology can be used for good and bad, and he used this knowledge to improve the life of people.
The Computer for the 21st Century - I learned that Mark Weiser was a man who devoted lots of his time thinking about making the relatively new computer technology "disappear" as did paper and pen. I liked the way he used the word "disappear" to mean submerge in our consciousness or get really used to. To some extent, we are already doing this in the academia, as many students are using the laptops to take notes and bring technology like the laptop, ipod, cell phones wherever they go. However, in reading this article, I also thought about some negative effects of making computer disappear: things like being confined to the capabilities of the computer that you own. I wouldn't want my computer to restrict my ability to do things that I could do without it; for example, if I were working in an office, I would rather get up and walk over to my co-worker and chat rather than thinking that I'd have to use a chat program. I fear losing the human touch a bit. The ID card is great and all, but I don't want to be wearing it all the time.
David Eitan Poll - Nov 20, 2006 08:59:27 am
As We May Think -- One of the things I found interesting in this article was the discussion of the failings of the infrastructure for sciences to keep up with the massive amounts of knowledge being accrued. In this day and age, the amount of information being produced by our scientists is massive, and we still use technologies and methodologies of a century ago to process and convey that information. In the meantime, it gets ever harder to sift through the overbearing well of knowledge that's out there to find information relevant to any given problem. This is a problem of science that must be addressed.
The Computer for the 21st Century -- What's amazing to me in this reading is just how ubiquitous computing has become. In just 10 or 15 years, computers have moved from being a giant box that you'd be lucky to own or see commonly to a fundamental part of our everyday lives. Most people don't even realize the computers that surround them in every little gadget, and even in places one wouldn't expect them. Old technologies (the motorcar, for example), have been revolutionized by the computer. The reading gives the example of an electronic badge. My dad, who has been working for Raytheon (speaking of tech for war) for 30 years has had a variety of different badges over the year. But now, with RFID chips in the badges, you wouldn't even know that these things could interact with a computer. Likewise for our student ID cards. They've truly become part of our lives. There's still a ways to go, but progress has certainly been made on the front of ubiquitous computing.
Julius Cheng - Nov 22, 2006 09:44:45 am
As We May Think - It is quite interesting to read these predictions from 1945 and to see that they have, at least in part, come true. Even if details are off, Bush ably predicts future technology by assessing the needs of the time and imagining possible solutions, such as the debit/credit/charge card to be used at department stores, and memex, which is essentially the Internet. But it's not just the predictions that are interesting. 1945 was a time in which the mechanization of information was data was just beginning, and Bush recognizes the limitations of human faculties to process the growing volume of data.
Computers for the 21st Century - Ubiquitous computing is becoming a truth in the modern world, but perhaps not exactly as Wieser imagines. We don't necessarily use computers for some everyday tasks like making coffee, and speech recognition is far from being in common use. Yes, computers simplify our lives and will continue to do so for years to come, but at the current moment in time, computers are not cheap enough to use everywhere and advanced modes of human/computer interaction like voice recognition are far from being adequately reliable. Nonetheless, computers are embedded in devices that often people are completely unaware of and are becoming the standard of the developed world. Knowing many teenagers who grew up with cell phones as a given and don't know what life is life without a computer, I truly understand that computers have "woven themselves into the fabric of everyday life."
CharlesLeung - Nov 22, 2006 10:28:15 am
As We May Think
I think that this article is very interesting and is still makes some very good points. I like the part in the beginning where he talks about the different breakthroughs that are make, but are lost for periods of time because ideas like Mendel's observations about genetics aren't distributed to the right people. I was also thinking that it also must be very hard for any scientist that is trying to keep up with the lastest trends to have to read the volume of new scholarly articles that come out regularly.
I think that the author's observations about the encyclopedia and the volumes of data that become easily accessible are very impressive. To have his insights during the 40's is truly remarkable because for the most part it is true that will a few keystrokes and the click of the mouse we can have huge amounts of data accessible almost immediately. I remember in elementary school I told my teacher that the skill of using a paper dictionary would soon become obsolete, if only she had Bush's foresight, then I would have been able to avoid detention...
The Computer for the 21st Century
The idea that technology dissapears from sight is actually very interesting because computers to a large extent have become so embedded within our lives that it is sometimes hard to spot computers. For example, in our cars we have a very computers running, but I definitely do not see my car as a bunch of computers. Like writing, computers have enabled us to automate things that we previously could not, and have expanded our basic skills and abilities.
I would agree with the concluding statement that ubiquitous computing will help technology permeate society. If we look at some older people, then we can see that some of them are reluctant to use personal computers because they are just so different from what they are normally accustomed to. However, if technology were to become seamlessly integrated into their everyday lives and not change anything drastically, they too can benefit from technology.
Yang Wang - Nov 22, 2006 11:11:27 am
I have to admit that the article was actually pretty confusing at the beginning. It actually took me half way into the article to realize that something is wrong. I did not realize that the article actually took place back in the 1940s. And after knowing that and re-read the article I understood a lot more about what the author is really trying to say. When I was reading that how the author is describing the future camera, a camera that doesn't require developing and people are able to see the pictures they have taken right away. I was like "does he mean by the digital camer?" and I was wondering how come the author didn't mention anything about the digital camera. But then I realize that digital camera was something of the future for people in 1940s.
Yangw85 - Nov 22, 2006 11:23:32 am
There are really two more things that I really thought about after reading the article. First thing that I really thought about is that it is so interesting that we are able to see the technology advancement from a different perspective. It is nice to see that people have vision that actually came true. It is really amazing to see that appear to be only in science fiction movies in the 1940s actually we use in life today. Another thought is that during this thanksgiving season I am really thankful for all the things that are provided to us by the miracles of technology. I feel that I really should not take all these convinences for the granted. This article really put me on the right perspective.
Sung Yi - Nov 22, 2006 12:09:10 pm
As We May Think
Comment #1: It was very interesting article in that it gives a prediction about the future, and it nearly came close to reality. Bush mentions about personal computers, efficient file storage, communications, and memex which is similar to the internet nowadays. Google is a great example of such functionalities via a search engine. Google I believe is currently working on digitalizing the hard copies of the books in the libraries.
Comment #2: The next generation of technology will probably be based on how to interpret the data and possibly analyze it effectively. The handwriting recognition part of our 160 project is a great example. Although it doesn't come as close to analyzing data, it certainly came close to interpreting the data. The field of aritificial intelligence is currently not as popular as people would expect it to be; however, I believe it should be the next prediction to make.
Computers for the 21st Century
Comment #1: I am not sure if Weiser's prediction about the future of ubiquitous computing actually came to reality. It somewhat came close to reality now -- Google. However, we can't really say it's "ubiquitous." Also, how likely is computer to stay or improve as the essential part of human lives in next few decades? I believe the next wave of technological advancement will be based on biology. Will this possibly remove the necessity of the computers?
Comment #2: One other thing I want to mention is that the social acceptance rate of technology is much slower than the advancement of technology. Many of technologies that seems very innovative but are rejected or postponed to actually apply are due to moral issues, relgious issues and so on.
Jonathan Chang - Nov 22, 2006 12:21:40 pm
As We May Think
Its important to remember that the author was writing this article relatively early in the computer age. Principles he describes has defined the direction of the development of interfaces through the years, goals of working towards one-touch computing. It still hasn't been attained, but we're approaching it in some tasks.
The article also made a good point about the importance of the free flow of information between people who need it. Reusing design patterns is a common, widely-practiced, and widely-acclaimed application development technique, but you can't use a design pattern that you don't know about.
Computer for the 21st Century
The author seems to be reaching into his sci-fi creative functions of his brain for these predictions. The advance of computers through our society can only go as fast as the developers can maintain transparency, because at this point there is far too much prejudice regarding technology taking over the world for that kind of integration.
At the same time, there is a lot of time left in the century for these predictions to come true. It's possible that this much time is just what people need to trust computers to handle everything around them. Also, for applications to be capable of such a thing reliably and efficiently, and in a way that doesn't require any large changes in people's lives.
Jae Chang - Nov 22, 2006 12:52:53 pm
As We May Think
Comment1: It is a very interesting article even if the article was written in 1945. It was very amazing that the author of this article predicted very well about science in the future. We might think that what he mentioned is very common, but I believe that it was very sensational in 1945. In the present, his ideas or predictions are implemented by a lot of software and hardware vendors; for example, memex is the internet nowadays. While reading this article, one question was in my head – what is next?
Comment2: While reading remarkable and precious prediction of the future by Bush, I considered what would be the next generation in the current future. Probably, the world will be interconnected wirily or wirelessly, and most of equipments or devices will be hidden in life without users notice them. The artificial intelligence will handle complicated problems or situations and provide the comfortable and convenience environment. The improved version of the Anoto pen can be good example for such environment; users think they use a normal pen but all the information will be stored remotely seamlessly.
The Computer for the 21st Century
Comment1: I was shocked when I read the statement, “specialized elements of hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves and infrared, will be so ubiquitous that no one will notice their presence.” I think that the frontier or father of the ubiquitous computing, Mark Weiser in Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, was just like the author of the article “As We May Think.” I believe the world of the technology is improving their user interface so that users can use the new equipments or devices without knowing their presents, and it will be the next generation of the technology.
Comment2: This article reminded me about a documentary I watched: the ubiquitous world. The ubiquitous computing provides the seamless environments to users, so that users can use devices or equipments without noticing their presence. In Asia and Europe, tons of companies are working on RFID chip to implement the ubiquitous world. The RFID chip can hold enough information, and The size of the RFID chip is from the size of the thumbnail to the size of human hair. Also, the RFID chip can be read remotely. One of the applications of the RFID chip can be used in the glossary store. Customers just pickup items and leave the store, but all the items are checked and paid by using the RFID chip. Also, I think the Cal Student ID Card is a good example of the usage of the RFID chip: just scan it on the reader, and grant their access.
Eric Vacca - Nov 22, 2006 12:41:21 pm
As We May Think
It is always fun to think about future innovations; here, Bush has done so while keeping a historical perspective. I found this article interesting but although Bush attempts to treat science and technology as a whole, it seems that his personal expertise comes through. While accurately treating advances in many fields of science, he completely ignores others. Biotech and medicine is briefly touched on, but no speculation is given in its regaurd. I liked the idea of tools and gadgets that encompass within themselves all of human knowledge. Tools that while contain tremendous complexity, but are still accessible to the masses, and thereby raising the overall level of human achievement.
The Computer for the 21st Century:
Weiser has definately isolated what makes a technology prevade all aspects of life. And while the idea of technologies that fade into the background of life, is a sound one perhaps it does not apply in the digital realm. He discusses frequently the idea of hundreds of small computers (tabs) in a room that are all interconnected. I get the feeling that such approach to achieve "ubiquitous" computers, is incorrect. The reason is that i think computers are by nature in the background due to their nonphsyical nature. His vision is just an extension of the "paperless office", and there is much more that computers can aid in everyday life. I think the direction which ubiquitous computing will arise from is computer parts attatched directly to people, rather than many disjoint parts.
Kimberly Lau - Nov 27, 2006 01:50:09 am
- As We May Think
One of the first points that Vannevar Bush makes is that scientists sometimes publish truly remarkable or significant academic results and papers, but are not recognized for their efforts or findings because people cannot understand what they have done. I completely agree -- it is extremely difficult for anybody to constantly keep up with the constant advancement of technology, news, science, etc unless he is always studying it. For any other person, the demands of everyday life alone are enough to occupy him for... a lifetime (haha) and it gets increasingly difficult to stay educated on all other issues. Unfortunately, this can translate into slowed progress, as people are unable to recognize the potential of great breakthroughs.
I also believe this extends past science. This is unrelated to our class, but for instance, many people are also unaware of today's world events and political issues, which can ultimately make it difficult for any significant progress to occur. In politics, many decisions are made via the public vote. One example would be the recall of Governor Davis several years ago in which a special election took place. But first, to initiate this special election, the official recall petition needed to first be signed by a certain amount of people. This petition did successfully pass, but at the time, I read that many of the people who did actually sign that petition had no idea what it was for, were uneducated on the issue, yet blindly signed it. At the same time, this is the sort of "war" that stimulates interest and advancement. People may not have been initially interested before the special election took shape, but once it had passed, we suddenly had hordes of random people running for California governor, newscasts across the state, and people discussing the election everywhere.
When Bush brings up the "calculating machine", I am reminded of another invention that, during its initial breakthrough, was not widely accepted -- the automobile. It was hard to manufacture and "slow". After all, people could walk a little faster and keep up with the machine. Thanks to today's advanced methods (and Ford's assembly line idea), we are able to mass produce billions of new and convenient devices that were inconvenient when they were first thought up. Things that we take for granted today.
Overall, Bush's paper is an interesting read on how war stimulates the most scientific advances.
- The Computer for the 21st Century
It is true and natural that when a person becomes so used to a practice, technology, or concept, it becomes a part of them and they can exercise that thought or action without really realizing it. A great example would be driving a manual transmission. Intially, new drivers must concentrate on every gear shift and preventing the car from rolling unnecessarily. However, eventually it becomes second nature and drivers just know when to shift and how to make smooth transitions. Another example would be wireless technology. On the UC Berkeley campus alone, Airbears was once located in specific areas only, so students who wanted to use it would have to consciously study there. Now, Airbears is everywhere, and students merely bring their laptops to campus under the (correct) assumption that they will have Internet access anywhere.
Ubiquitous computers seem like a very plausible concept. The current trends show that many people have at least one computer in their house, some have multiple machines; the Internet is a widely used phenomenon; people will continue to use to electronic devices. However, on the other hand, people sometimes also prefer the original non-digital interfaces, for example pen-and-paper. As such, it is important that in developing these new technologies, a balance is made between the new and the old to maintain the comfort level of customers. Sometimes having hundreds of computers per room can be intimidating.
Just for fun, when I think of a time in the future when ubiquitous computers will be commonplace, I think of the movie Gattaca. Taken place in the future, people were genetically engineered to be "perfect" and were permitted into their workplace only after confirming their "perfect" identity with computer checks.
Charles Lee - Nov 27, 2006 10:57:32 am
As We May Think 1:
Most of our greatest pushes in science have been funded for military purposes. However, an effective military also must be efficiently managed, and this efficiency can easily pass on to civilian uses. Modern basics like the internet were funded by the military for efficient communication, and now it the internet is an everyday staple for millions around the world. It is not neccessarily a bad thing for pushes in science to come from military funding, although it would be a lot more efficient for military funding to more directly benefit civilian causes.
As We May Think 2:
Bush mentions many things that are nearly in existance now, which shows great foresight, but there is a caveat. There have been many, many "futurists" that predict what is coming, and many of their predictions are less accurate, especially so far into the future. He could just be lucky. However, his rationale is pretty sound, and his predictions include many interesting ways to use information.
The Computer for the 21st Century 1:
Ubiquitous computing is slowly becoming more and more of a reality. Cell phones fulfill many purposes of basic computers, and they are becoming more and more a neccessity. The extent of ubiquitous computing in the article has not been realized, but only for reasons of cost. As Moore's law continues, and electronics get faster/smaller/cheaper, more and more frivolous uses of technology will become widespread, and the price of the devices will be small even compared to the decreasing gains of more sensors/sources of input for these devices.
The Computer for the 21st Century 2:
Google's free services provide many of the abilities that were to be gained from ubiquitous computing. As computers approach closer and closer to the thin client/terminal approach, the hardware required to fulfill a task will become extremely cheap, easily allowing for ubiquitous computing as represented in the article to become a reality. I do not believe acceptance of these new technologies to be the boundary - rather, it is their cost. People would happily buy an Anoto pen if they were one tenth the price. As hardware improves and cheapens, computers will truly be everywhere.
Anirudh Vemprala - Dec 13, 2006 12:35:30 pm
As We May Think: As a computer science student, its interesting to see the historical roots of a lot of the things we take for granted today. I think the Bush article managed to capture a lot of that. Its interesting to note that a lot of his discussion focused on miniaturization and improvements in efficiency and speed. Though this was, and continues to be a major trend in engineering today, its quite the opposite of what Weiser's Ubicomp thesis. To be fair, the only context through which Bush might have experienced computers was that of calculation and record storage and not necessarily communication or creative work.
The Computer for the 21st Century: Weiser's thesis is that for computers to be truly integral, they need to be invisible to people in their daily lives. He makes the point that this issue goes beyond user interfaces and but down to our basic conceptions of computers. He discusses how virtual reality is the opposite of where computing should be going - ie, rather than asking users to immerse themselves in an artificial reality, computers need to evolve into our existing reality. The example that he brought up of the Active Badges at Xerox Parc is an interesting one. My understanding was that this project failed as people didn't want to be tracked while at work. Though security and privacy issues are central to a discussion of Ubicomp, I believe they should be solvable going forward. One idea might be to limit the "knowledge" each device has of their owners and distribute this responsibility (in an abstract way) across the network. That way, if any one device gets compromised, the risk of private information getting out is lowered.
