Chapter 6
Summary:
This chapter talked about creative programming and its introduction that lead to programming by example. The author recounts when he was working on a programing environment aimed at children to help them learn. He wanted to do it in a more graphical manner. He was introduced to a thesis paper that changed his life. It talked about creativity and graphical programming such as drag-and-drop. Icons were introduced. The author was able to meet up with him to discuss the creative programming assignment where a rush of influence and creativity overcame the author. The author finishes off by stating that the HCI community advances in small increments but that works such as this take giant leaps towards the field.
Discussion:
It is very interesting to me because I used to teach children how to program using graphics and drag-and-drop style programming. I agree that this paper did make a giant impact on the HCI community. I thought it funny that the word "icon" had to be explained because now everyone knows what you mean when you refer to an icon.
Chapter 7
Summary:
This chapter discusses the Red Book from Xerox. It is the documentation for the Xerox Star project and holds documentation of user interphases and introduces the notion of desktop and other relatable physical objects into the computer so that users with no understanding can have some knowledge of how to use it.
Discussion:
It is interesting to see how the concepts of folders, windows, and desktops came to be. It seems like it was a big step forward in regards to HCI.
Chapter 9
Summary:
This chapter talks about ubiquitous computing and its birth in Mark Weisers work. It illustrates the idea of disappearing computers in 2 senses. One is the disappearance of a computer by physical disappearance in hiding them in everyday artifacts, and mental disappearances where a user forgets they are dealing with a computer. The chapter also discusses the LiveBoard and its evolution to stretch from a small board to a wall to integrate in larger environments for multi-purpose tasks.
Discussion:
I enjoyed reading about the progression of a technology and where it started from to where it is today. It seems the initial idea has greatly changed to spread its influence over a greater environment.
Chapter10
Summary:
This chapter dealt with location based services. The example given was researchers with badges that have sensors on them. Throughout the facility sensors would be places around the complex so researches could be tracked and re routed phone calls to phones nearest to them.
Discussion:
This seems like a great idea but many might view it as am invasion of privacy to constantly know where a person is.
Chapter46
Summary:
This chapter deals with the mental model users make when trying to figure out how to use a system. In HCI, the goal is to make a system in which the technology fits the users' mental models in order for their use to be intuitive. Users construct a model in their heads of how they think something should work, not necessarily how it does work. Catering a system to a user's mental model would be greatly beneficial.
Discussion:
This is a great way to go about designing things so that the user automatically knows how to use a system because of their mental model. It would save a lot of money printing instructions.
Chapter47
Summary:
This chapter discusses the time it takes to move to a target is a function of the length of the movement and size of the target. This is referenced in the application of closing, minimizing, and maximizing a window when selecting critical buttons for a set action. The goal is to minimize selection time to move things along faster.
Discussion:
It gave me an interesting view on layout of menus and buttons. It does seem natural the way things are layed out, or it could be that I just got used to it and wouldn't be able to do it any other way.
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