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Thursday, March 8, 2001
ComputerWorld: A good interview with Jef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh project at Apple, who argues that "a new interface that truly integrates PCs, PDAs, wireless and the Web could start up the [PC industry's exponential] growth engine all over again." We need more people like Raskin to develop new ideas for tools; we also need to develop a better human awareness about bits, their limitations, and their proper management. This awareness is the idea behind bit literacy.
Tuesday, March 6, 2001
Today I point to a few articles written by Gary Chapman, director of the 21st Century Project at the University of Texas in Austin. Chapman has written on the social implications of bits, and other technology, for some time and now writes the Digital Nation column for the L.A. Times.
In a recent column, Chapman argues (correctly) that many of today's PC users "are either ignorant of their software's absurdly bloated features or they couldn't care less about the features they don't need or use. And most are routinely exasperated by the ways these machines work or fail to work. What's wrong with this picture?"
He then quotes user interface guru Ben Shneiderman:
"It's certainly time to get angry about the quality of [PC] interfaces," Shneiderman said. "There are just too many frustrations in everyday use, and the public is tired of the industry's excuses."
Speak the truth, Ben. Computer users need to become more aware of their bits, and the tools that work with those bits (often inefficiently). We also need more awareness of the other issues Chapman has been raising in his columns:
Here's Chapman on software complexity: "Industry and society suffer when design bugs eat up worker hours and users who don't get with the program fall behind." (full column)
Chapman on operating system interfaces: "There's been a rising tide of criticism among technical innovators about the shortcomings of the desktop design for PC interfaces." (full column)
Chapman on the social implications of design: "Few people stop to think about how [information technology] systems impart and embed values into our lives." (full column)