New Metaphors for Computers and Data; Web Page Design, and Web
Issues
Updated:
2002-05-06
- Metaphors
- What is a metaphor in computing? Obviously, the desktop is
a familiar metaphor now. We are all familiar with the
components of the desktop metaphor: files, folders, the desktop
itself, the trash can, drag-and-drop, and other features.
Pioneered at Xerox PARC and later developed further by Apple
Computer and by Microsoft Windows, the metaphor has become the
dominant one of modern computing. But, are there other
metaphors out there waiting in the wings? The sites below give
some hints at other new ways of presenting information to the
user.
- Desktop Metaphor Substitutes
- If the desktop is dead, what will replace it? A 1997
article in the Chronicle of Higher Education showed
three possibilities (see below). Since that article's
publication, two of the sites listed have gone commercial and
are attempting to sell their desktop substitute. The three new
metaphors each attempt to replace the desktop metaphor with
another. Lifestreams groups information by date, Pad ++ uses
the cinema metaphors of pan and zoom, and Elastic Windows makes
it easy for users to see many windows at once. Think further
about computers. What other metaphors are posssible? How about
3-D metaphors like spaces. Could a representation of your
office make a good interface? Or, consider new hardware like
gloves and body suits. They could give new life to virtual
reality.
- Original Source
- Lifestreams
- Lifestreams--index,
basic, short, links, graphics
- This system stores everything on your computer by
the date. They believe that people remember things
based by when they did them. They describe Lifestreams
Office, one of their products, as follows:
- "With Lifestreams, your
workgroup can store and share office documents with
little effort, without the headaches of having to
name them, store them in folders, or announce their
availability. Instead, documents are easily added
to an office "stream" through a simple web browser
interface. Lifestreams users can organize and
filter documents "just in time" based on the
content and attributes of documents in the stream.
Users can also create and save their own streams
that continually filter documents as they are added
to the office stream. All this functionality is
accessible through an intuitive browser-based
interface that integrates and simplifies your
everyday computer tasks, from email to scheduling
to collaboration--and allows you to easily view
your documents through a variety of views,
including Stream, List, Calendar and Grid."
http://www.lifestreams.com/
- The
Computer of the Future--article, interm., long,
links, graphics
- Scopeware
- Pad ++
- Pad++--index,
basic, short, links, graphics
- A system that flies you over your landscape of
information, much like a plane, recognizing landmarks
that would make it easier to find information. This
tool lets you see more information on the screen at
one time, so that connections can be made between the
data. Other ways of describing this interface are
zooming interface or multiscale interfaces. The page
provides a guided tour, a FAQ, on-line papers,
documentation, press citations, and a download site.
http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/pad++/
- Elastic Windows
- Hardware and Software Issues
- Palmtop Computing or PDAs
- The Palm Pilot handheld computer was the first successful
palmsize computer. Earlier models like Apple's Newton failed
largely because they were too large and because of user's
dislike of its inability to learn their handwriting. By
simplifying its approach to those issues, the Palm Pilot
succeeded. Today, Microsoft and other vendors are attempting
build competing palm size computers using a new operating
system, Windows CE. The future may finally yield convergence,
the union of computers, telephones, and the Internet.
- The Death of the Newton
- Palm Computing
- Windows CE
- Handwriting Recognition
- Handwriting Recognition--tutorial, basic, medium,
links, graphics
- Discusses the past, present, and future of
handwriting recognition on computers.
http://cc.weber.edu/~itfm/hottopic/HANDWRIT/HANDWRIT.HTM
- Web Publications
- PDA
Dash--publication, basic, short, links,
graphics
- Piloteer Magazine--publication, basic, short,
links, graphics
- A Web publication devoted to the Palm Pilot.
(Requires authorization as of 3/6/2000)
http://www.pmn.co.uk/protected/piloteerviii/
- Purchasing and Reviews
- Buying
a Handheld
- PDA and Handheld
Direct, Inc.--commercial site, basic, short,
links, graphics
- Clio Takes Prize for PC Companions--article,
basic, medium, links, graphics
- Review of the Clio, a multimode "companion" size
PDA. http://www.msnbc.com/news/255416.asp
- Clio Page from Vadem--commercial site, basic, short,
links, graphics
- Manufacturer's page on Clio "PC
Companion."http://www.vadem.com/clio/index.html
- Why
You Should Hold Off Buying a Windows CE
Handheld--article, basic, long, links,
graphics
- Why
Windows CE is Struggling--article, basic, long,
links, graphics
- Why
Palm Keeps Beating Windows CE Hands Down-article,
basic, medium, links, graphics
- Wireless
Frenzy Drives Palm IPO-article, basic, short, links,
graphics
- Wireless Computing
- As the recent Palm IPO demonstrated, one of the next big
things to come in technology will be wireless connectivity to
the Internet. When devices and networks are constructed that
allow users to connect to the Internet from anywhere at any
time without wires, a great leap forward will have been taken.
- Mobile
and Wireless Computing Index-index, basic, short,
links
- Orinoco-commercial
site, basic, short, links, graphics, search
- Apple's
AirPort-commercial site, basic, short, links,
graphics, search
Web Design Pages
What is Web design? Where do you learn how to do
it? How does Web design compare to print design? What are
common mistakes? What is a good metaphor for the Web? What to
users think about Web pages? Fortunately, most of these
questions can be answered from the Web itself. The sites below
provide some of those answers.
Web Design
The
Design of Graphic
Images--tutorial, interm.,
medium, links, graphics
Lichfield
Graphics--commercial site, basic,
medium, links, graphics
A
Guide to Web
Style--tutorial,
basic, short, links, graphics
Crafting
a Nifty Personal Web
Site--tutorial,
basic, short, links, graphics
Mistakes
Print vs. Web Design
Metaphors
Users
Issues
The most compelling issue is the Web's future.
Nielsen predicts the Web's future on a regular basis and some
of his predictions are available below. Looking at the Web's
past is also instructive and the links on how the Web has
changed provide a basis for future predictions.
What is the Web's Future?
Predictions
for the Web in
1998--article,
basic, long, links
Predictions
for 1998
Revisited--article,
basic, medium, links
Jakob Nielsen recaps his 1998 predictions
and shows how the Web did go international, but did
not provide value added Web services nor did
self-optimizing ads and content evolve. He also
predicted correctly that the bandwidth problem would
not be solved, micropayments would not appear, and
that Internet Explorer would not become the only
browser. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980101_revisited.html
Predictions
for the Web in
1999--article,
basic, long, links
Jakob Nielsen predicts the future of the
Web in 1999. He cites mobile access, Web standards,
automated customer service, Web patents, and Y2K
problems as the main stories for 1999.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981227.html
Predictions
for the Web in
2000-article,
basic, short, links
How has the Web changed?
Changes
in Web Usability Since
1994--article,
basic, medium, links, graphics
Jakob Nielsen reviews older and newer
surveys of Web users. Old findings that still are true
include: users scan not read the Web, users are
impatient, users print pages for later use, tolerance
for slow downloads has decreased, and search features
are de
rigueur for large sites. Newer
surveys reveal that animations are annoying, applets
should sometimes open their own window, frames are bad
Web page design, and colored text and backgrounds
should be used with care. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9712a.html
Better
Than
Reality--article,
basic, medium, links
Jakob Nielsen provides some hints on how
Web sites can be better than actually being there. To
be "better than reality" sites should be non-linear,
customize their products and services to the user, be
asynchronous, link to other sites freely, provide
search engines and multiple views, be small, cheap,
and free, and should ignore geography.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980308.html
Conservatism
of Web Users--article, basic, long,
links, graphics
Jakob Nielsen relates data collected from
user surveys. Users are more conservative than most
page authors realize. Users are slow to upgrade,
upgrades are perceived as less compelling than in the
past, and new users are less likely to be technically
sophisticated than in the past. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980322.html
Back to CS Home Page