Monday, January 24, 2011

HCI Remixed Microblogs

Comments
Reference Information
    Title - HCI Remixed: Reflections on Works that have Influenced the HCI Community
    Editors - Thomas Erickson and David W. McDonald,

Chapter 1
Summary
     The man in this article described himself as a music man and had never had any interest in what computers had to offer. He was conned into going to use a "music machine" by his step brother. After a few days experience he was able to do wonders with this.

Discussion
    I found this story to be quite amazing. We have a man who has never used this machine before. And after just a couple hours of teaching, he was able to work independently on his own. The researchers behind this music machine did a wonderful job of making the system extremely user-friendly. They were able to create a system so that almost anybody, no matter how naive, could use it.

Chapter 4
Summary
    The author emphasized the importance of keeping  CHI and computer science closely linked. It would be increasingly difficult for computer science to move forward without solid CHI research on the systems that will be produced. The author also mentioned that designing systems for expert usage needs to be improved. He discussed that the systems, in the past, had been designed mostly for naive users and not the experts.
    
Discussion
    This chapter was very interesting to me. I enjoyed reading about the sketch pad system and its usability. The idea of using a light pen to work and draw was extremely fascinated. The author did a good point in explaining the usefulness of Sutherland's work, even in today's time. I also enjoyed the section in which the author critiqued and discussed how CHI can be improved in the years to come

Chapter 5
Summary
     The author of this article discusses the work by Englebart and the importance of demos. He explained that the first time he saw Englebart's demo of the mouse invention he could barely stay in his seat. He later goes on to mention that his studies as a master student, involved almost daily demos. Lastly, he discusses the concept of "the big idea." The author knows that Englebart was ahead of his time with the invention of the mouse, and without his great demo it may have never been recognized.

Discussion
    This article really caught my attention. The author did a great job of explaining the importance of a proper demo to the reader. I agree with the author that demos can be a big time waster. However, without an excellent demo of your product, it may never be recognized for what it's worth. My favorite part of this chapter is the concept of the big idea. My favorite quote from this chapter would have to be, "it doesn't have to be right. It just has to compel us to go out and do stuff"

Chapter 18
Summary
     The bulk of this chapter discusses a drawing tablet. This tablet has the capability for multiple users to interact at the same time. Also, information about the research was discussed involving the evolution of the graphical interface.

Discussion
     I thought this article was very interesting in the aspect that a single tablet had such vast capabilities. Its amazing to me that multiple users can interact with it at the same time

Chapter 20
Summary
     This chapter mainly discusses the topic of CSCW and how important it is. The majority of this article is about how group work can be integrated.
Discussion
      I really enjoyed this chapter and its discussion of involving CSCW in everyday work. I know there are several companies that have switched over to video conferencing as an alternate to sending employees on costly trips.

Chapter 23
Summary
    This chapter does a good job at pointing out how important commuication is in today's world. The idea of somebody "being there" was a very prominent aspect of this chapter
Discussion
    This chapter was very interesting to me. I really enjoyed the part about the dying mother and how she was able to "be there" due to the family creating a website.

Chapter 24
Summary
   In this chapter, the Author describes some ground-braking speech regonition software. The majority of this article discusses the "Wizard of Oz" method in which an algorithm interveened between a skilled typist and the subject speaking into the computer
Discussion
  I enjoyed this article for the most part. It was very interesting to me to look at the development of speech regocnition software. I also enjoyed reading about the trade off between vocabulary and speed

Chapter 25
Summary
    The author of this article, at the time, worked for the Systems Concept Labratory at PARC. The group he was working with decided to check out a project called Hole in Space. After being weary at first, the group was stunned by the technology that had been developed

Discussion
     I really liked reading this article. The most parted I enjoyed the most was how hesitant the author was to even check out the project that was recommended to him by a close of his. After finally getting together with the developers of the project, he was blown away by what they had accomplished. It was also interesting to see how one of the first live video-feeds was discovered because of how popular they are now

Chapter 26

Summary
    In this chapter, the Author discusses Edward Tutfte's 1 + 1 = 3 theory, in which he explains that two black lines next to eachother also created a 3rd white line in between. This chapter relates to an experince the author had with a trip on an elevator in which he or she was confused by the close and open buttons

Discussion
   I really enjoyed reading this chapter. The 1 + 1 =3 concept really intreagued me. Also, this chapter reminded me of the "design of everyday things" reading we had done previously.

Chapter 27

Summary
     This article was discussing the revolution of of graphic design and the involvement in industry. The author discusses the idea of a 3D graphic design. He discusses the pros and cons of using 3D to design

Discussion
    Reading about the pros and cons of developing graphic designs in a 3D interface was really interesting to me. I idea of text turning into  a line or even dispersing in an odd concept. I never really thought of that happening but I guess as the angle moves around a text object the text would look like a line

Chapter 28

Summary
    This chapter's main focus was the idea of over storage of information. The author argues that there are a ton of people that hold too much information. This information may never been seen again but will be backed up on a mail server.

Discussion
   I find this article to be very interesting to me. I, for example, don't delete any non-spam e-mails. I always feel it may be necessary to come back to them one day. You never know when you might need some information sent you a couple years back. 

Chapter 34

Summary
   The author of this article brings up the relation of Native Americans and current ethnographic research. The author also explains how to em better our research in CHI materials

Discussion
      This article did a good job of bringing up the topics of ethnography and research. I enjoyed the discussion brought up by the author.

Chapter 6
Summary
     This chapter was about the creative programming environment Pygmalion. This file system was the first to use the notion of icons, which is used is almost all operating systems today.
Discussion
     I enjoyed reading about the background of the Pygmalion system. I find it funny that I had never heard of it before even though it revolutionized how we use computers today. I also thought it was interesting to see that Macintosh "borrowed" the idea

Chapter 7
Summary
   Chapter was 7 was mostly centered around the Xerox Red Book and its advancements. The author also goes into detail about what can be learned from it in today's world.

Discussion
    Basically, The Xerox Red Book was a dummy's guide to building graphical user interfaces. I really enjoyed reading about the Red Book and how important it was to interface designers.


Chapter 9
Summary
   The author discusses the work of  Mark Weiser in this chapter. One of the main concepts discussed in the chapter deals with the dissapreance of computers. The author was able to develop several tools that allow humans to interact with themselves and information on computers that have "disappeared" into walls and desks. 

Discussion
   I really enjoyed the concept of moving away from CHI and toward a more human-inforation interation concept because of the idea that novice users only care about the information. This chapter is one of my favorites by far because it deals with the integration of computers in our every day world (more than they already do) It seemed Weiser was way ahead of his time with his paper written about CHI.


Chapter 10 
Summary
    This chapter focused on the concept of location based services. The main subject dicussed was the Active Badge system. Users wearing the badge could be located by anybody in the building using a partciular software application. This helped out receptionists in the building with calls getting to the correct person. 

Discussion
   I really enjoyed reading about the Active Badge system. This seems liek it would be an extremely useful tool in the business world. I find it quite amazing that such a useful system was developed several years ago. 

Chapter 46
Summary
   In this chapter, the Author discusses the mental model of computer interaction. The GOMS system is introduced which is a method of describing a user's tasks and how they could go about completing them. A GOMS system called the keystroke model was also discussed. This was a system used to predict error-free performance in text editors. 

Discussion
   I found it interesting for researchers to develop a mental model for approaches user will have in using their software. I also liked reading about of mental models because I haven't had very much previous knowledge on the topic.

Chapter 47 
Summary
  In this chapter, the author discusses Fitz's law and it's applications. This law is the only quantitative law in all of CHI. Fitz's law is most applicable when dealing with menus, icons, the edge of the screen, etc.. 

Discussion
  I really enjoyed reading about Fitz's law and how it was used to develop many things. The idea of the menu  edge was something I never really thought about before. Also, the concept of expanding items as the cursor moves toward them is very useful I believe. 
    



No comments:

Post a Comment