Table Of Content> leonardo’s laptop
> leonardo’s laptop
human needs and the new computing
technologies
Ben Shneiderman
The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England
©2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any elec-
tronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage
and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book was set in Garamond Three by Achorn Graphic Services Inc.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shneiderman, Ben.
Leonardo’s laptop : human needs and the new computing technologies / Ben Shneiderman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-262-19476-7 (hc. : alk. paper)
1. Electronic data processing. 2. Human-computer interaction. 3. Technological
forecasting. I. Title.
QA76 .S5145 2002
004—dc21
2001056277
For Jenny, Sara, Anna
contents
Preface> x
1 inspiration for the new computing> 1
Leonardo’s Humble Start
Envisioning the New Computing
The Old Computing Gives Birth to the New Computing
About This Book
The Skeptic’s Corner
2 unusable at any bandwidth> 21
Raising Public Awareness
Unusable Interfaces
Getting to the New Computing
The Skeptic’s Corner
3 the quest for universal usability> 35
Defining Universal Usability
Coping with Technology Variety
Accommodating Diverse Users
Bridging the Gap Between What Users Know and What They Need
to Know
The Skeptic’s Corner
4 new methods, new goals> 51
Shifting to the New Computing
Methods for Achieving User-Centered Designs
Moore’s Law Reexamined
From AI to UI—Artificial Intelligence to User Interfaces
Guidelines for User-Centered Designs
Why Focus on Human-Computer Interaction?
The Skeptic’s Corner
5 understanding human activities and
relationships> 75
Why Do We Use Computers?
Four Circles of Relationships
Four Stages of Activities
An Activities and Relationships Table
The Eyes Have It! Visual Information
Mobility and Ubiquity: Palmtops, Fingertips, InfoDoors,
WebBushes
The Skeptic’s Corner
viii > Contents
6 the new education: e-learning> 111
Why Can’t Every Student Earn an A?
Teaching and Technology
Applying Collect-Relate-Create-Donate
A Science Festival Scenario
The Skeptic’s Corner
7 the new commerce: e-business> 133
Why Shouldn’t You Get the Deal You Want?
Opportunities for Merchants
Advantages for Customers
Personalization and Customization
To Trust or Not to Trust
The Skeptic’s Corner
8 the new medicine: e-healthcare> 157
Why Should You Ever Be Sick?
Enabling Physicians
Empowering Patients
A Medical Scenario
The Skeptic’s Corner
9 the new politics: e-government> 183
Why Shouldn’t You Get What You Want From Your Government?
Getting What You Want from Government
Getting the Government You Want
Open Deliberation
The Skeptic’s Corner
10 mega-creativity> 207
Leonardo’s Creativity
Inspirationalists, Structuralists, and Situationalists
Three Levels of Creativity: Everyday, Evolutionary, Revolutionary
A Framework for Mega-Creativity
Integrating Creative Activities
Consultation Through Negotiated Expectations
An Architectural Scenario
The Skeptic’s Corner
ix > Contents
11 grander goals> 233
The Old Computing and the New Computing
The Next Leonardo
The Skeptic’s Corner
Notes> 245
References> 251
Index> 259
preface
Computing today is about what computers can do; the new computing
will be about what people can do. As users of contemporary technology,
we are often angry and frustrated because computers are not in harmony
with our needs and abilities. We feel powerless and do not see a role for
the individual in the process of technological innovation. This book is
primarily designed to raise users expectations of what they should get
from technology and to empower both users and developers to invent
computers that enhance our lives and our world.
We can accelerate the movement toward the “new computing” by
adopting Leonardo da Vinci as an inspirational muse. His integrative
spirit, combining science with art and engineering with aesthetics, can
help us envision more successful and satisfying experiences with informa-
tion and communications technologies.
With our new sense of empowerment, we can challenge technology
developers to more diligently focus on user needs so that they can pro-
duce more effective technologies. Such improvements can come quickly
to learning, commerce, healthcare, and government. Small innovations
such as jewel-like medical sensors and fingertip computing, will be cou-
pled with large innovations such as secure and immediate worldwide
access to medical information and million-person communities that
bridge the digital divide and enable consensus seeking and conflict
resolution.
acknowledgments
So many people helped me to see the future and inspired me. Several of
them helped by commenting on draft chapters: Ben Bederson, Alison
Druin, Amy Friedlander, Christopher Fry, Jean Gasen, Ruth Guyer,
Brian Kahin, Bill Killam, Charles Kreitzberg, Jonathan Lazar, Nancy
Leveson, Peter Levine, Henry Lieberman, Richard Mushlin, Catherine
Plaisant, Ron Rice, Ariel Sarid, George Schneider, Norman Schneider-
man, Barbara Tversky, and Ron Weissman. I am especially appreciative
of the people who read the full manuscript at various stages in its
development: Harry Hochheiser, Bill Kules, Kent Norman, Stephan
Parker, Arkady Pogostkin, Jenny Preece, Anne Rose, Helen Sarid, and
xi > Preface
the anonymous reviewers. My students over the years, graduates and
undergraduates, have been more than a testing ground for these ideas,
they are the continuing motivation for my development. I hope they
will put these ideas to work and then refine them still further. A contin-
uing inspiration and source of wisdom is my partner and wife, Jenny
Preece.
College Park, Maryland
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