HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION UCSD & Advanced Technology

Emerging HCI Technologies Tablet PCs Handheld computers PDAs Smart phones

Background Don Norman is an HCI ‘guru’ Founder of Norman Nielsen Group Edited seminal book:  User centred system design Author of lots of popularising texts  The psychology of everyday things  Things that make us smart

Norman’s thesis Good products sometimes fail PCs are too complex ‘Information appliances’ are the solution GeneralityComplexity Non-Optimum Performance

Norman’s thesis... Courses like this try to cure the symptoms of bad usability, not causes PCs are fundamentally complex and difficult to use Therefore don’t need new ideas about better designed PCs......but something better than PCs  ‘Information appliances’

Why Some Products Succeed? Product Business case Is the product actually needed? Good technology Good marketing Good usability

Good products that fail… Bad technology?  Betamax vs VHS Bad marketing?  Boo.com  ($223 million on advertising) Bad usability?  Microsoft Office

Complexity of Computers PCs are general-purpose information technology devices. For the PC: the task is everything and the users are everybody which makes it almost impossible to make sensible design decisions Ex: General-purpose piece of clothing Norman argues that because PCs are general purpose, they force us to do things in uncomfortable, inelegant and difficult ways.

Information appliances The technology is hidden  hence ‘The invisible computer’  Complexity comes from application, not the appliance Single purpose  Does one thing, but excellently Allows free interchange of information  New systems can be invented by the user  ‘Serendipitous flexibility’

Summary The future is in information appliances