The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution
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The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution Overview
"Don Norman's dramatic transformation from design critic to digital
designer has made his observations in The Invisible Computer even
more insightful and inciteful." -- Michael Schrage, Research Associate,
MIT Media Lab, and author of Getting Real
Technologies have a life cycle, says Donald Norman, and companies and
their products must change as they pass from youth to maturity. Alas,
the computer industry thinks it is still in its rebellious teenage
years, exulting in technical complexity. Customers want change. They are
ready for products that offer convenience, ease of use, and pleasure.
The technology should be invisible, hidden from sight.
In this book, Norman shows why the computer is so difficult to use and
why this complexity is fundamental to its nature. The only answer, says
Norman, is to start over again, to develop information appliances that
fit people's needs and lives. To do this companies must change the way
they develop products. They need to start with an understanding of
people: user needs first, technology last--the opposite of how things
are done now. Companies need a human-centered development process, even
if it means reorganizing the entire company. This book shows how.
More information is available at our book-of-the-month site.
The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution Specifications
Currently, computer users must navigate a sea of guidebooks, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and wizards to perform a task such as searching the Web or creating a spreadsheet. While Donald Norman acknowledges that the personal computer allows for "flexibility and power," he also makes its limitations perfectly clear. "The personal computer is perhaps the most frustrating technology ever," he writes. "It should be quiet, invisible, unobtrusive." His vision is that of the "information appliance," digital tools created to answer our specific needs, yet interconnected to allow communication between devices.
His solution? "Design the tool to fit so well that the tool becomes a part of the task." He proposes using the PC as the infrastructure for devices hidden in walls, in car dashboards, and held in the palm of the hand. A word of caution: some of Norman's zealotry leads to a certain creepiness (global positioning body implants) and goofiness (electric-power-generating plants in shoes). His message, though, is reasonably situated in the concept that the tools should bend to fit us and our goals: we sit down to write, not to word process; to balance bank accounts, not to fill in cells on a spreadsheet. In evenly measuring out the future of humanity's technological needs--and the limitations of the PC's current incarnation--Norman presents a formidable argument for a renaissance of the information appliance. --Jennifer Buckendorff
