Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Directions for the net :: first pass -- end user experience

In the rush of new tools, services, etc. for building and distributing content on the net (cellular, wifi, Internet, etc), its easy to miss some broad trends.
The end user is not an end user -- computing and communications resources get embedded everywhere. Ubiquitous computing. Concrete walls get smart.
A web page is not a web page -- browsers become tools for distributing loosely coupled apps which play the role of minimalist operating systems as well as providing end user functionality.
A computer is not a computer -- the computer really is the network.
The network is not a network -- it may be better to forget all about computers/networks and think about human communication. The net becomes a way to augment human communication and perseption. Its easy to see how it is augmenting vision, hearing, and speech, but surface computing is moving in a tactile direction (think iPhone) and body language is even finding enhancement (think Wii). Some are experimenting with olfactory communication as well.

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