Chapter 6: A Creative Programming Environment
Author: Henry Lieberman
Venue: MIT Media Lab
Summary:
Lieberman discusses Pygmalion, a graphical computer language created by David Smith in 1975. Steve Jobs "borrowed" the idea for his Macintosh, and this is the foundation of all graphical systems today. Lieberman then used the concept of "programming by example," from the paper by Smith, to develop several systems and books.
Discussion:
This was actually pretty interesting. I thought it was funny to read about Steve Jobs stealing ideas when eh had ideas so famously stolen from him. I wish I could have seen this system actually running.
Chapter 7: Fundamentals in HCI: Learning the Value of Consistency and User Models
Author: Sara Bly
Venue: Sara Bly Consulting, Oregon
Summary:
This chapter discussed Xerox Red Book, a 400+ page document specifying the requirements and aims of the then-new Xerox Red Star 5.0. The Red Book created consistency in the functionality and changed how user specifications were created.
Discussion:
I liked this chapter a lot. I had to read the sentence about the number of pages twice because I couldn't believe the specification document was so long. Also I thought it was interesting to see how this changed user specifications.
Chapter 9: The Disappearing Computer
Author: Norbert A. Streitz
Venue: Fraunhofer IPSI, Darmstadt, Germany
Summary:
This chapter focused on making a computer "disappear." There were two types of disappearance discussed: physical- making the computer small so they become integrated and "invisible," and mental- though the computers are large, they are viewed as normal objects and are interactive, such as interactive walls or tables.
Discussion:
We've continued to try to make computers "disappear," as this chapter suggests. I found interesting to think of designing computers with this in mind. It seems this is exactly what we're doing, whether it be with netbooks, smartphones, or tablets even.
Chapter 10: It Really Is All About Location!
Author: Anind K. Dey
Venue: Carnegie Melon University
Summary:
This chapter discussed location based services, such as GPS, and how they stemmed from the Active Badge system from Xerox. The Active Badge sent out a signal every 15 seconds, which was captured by an inexpensive receiver. This allowed phone calls to be routed to reach the intended person more effectively, as well as keep track of where people are.
Discussion:
Overall I didn't find this too interesting, but I did find it fascinating to realize how far back location-based services went. The Active Badge didn't really interest me.
Chapter 46: The Essential Role of Mental Models in HCI: Card, Moran, and Newell
Author: Kate Ehrlich
Venue: IBM Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Summary:
Mental models and the work of Card et al. is overviewed in this chapter. Card et al. created the GOMS model, which stands for goals, operators, methods, and selective rules. This model focused on "routine cognitive skills," but was criticized for focusing on low level operations and highly skilled users.
Discussion:
I thought this chapter was really boring. I expected it to really expand on mental models, but it really didn't get too much into how humans use mental models or anything. I didn't think the writer was very skilled either.
Chapter 47: A Most Fitting Law
Author: Gary M. Olson
Venue: University of Michigan
Summary:
This chapter was about Fitt's Law and how it applied to certain HCI interfaces, such as popup menus or Mac vs Windows. In Mac versus Windows, Windows selections are always harder because they are not on the edge, as Mac choices are. The edge is the best place to put things because the cursor cannot go passed them.
Discussion:
This was mildly interesting because I've already read a CHI 2010 paper on Fitt's Law. This chapter was much more informative about the practical applications of Fitt's Law, which I appreciated. I prefer when these chapters actually discuss interfaces.
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