|
If our cars were as difficult to drive as our computers are
to operate, they would never leave the garage. Yet every day we put up with infuriating
complications and incomprehensible error messages that spew forth from our technology:
software upgrades crash our machines, Web sites take forever to download, e-mail
overwhelms us. We spend endless time on the phone waiting for automated assistance.
In effect, we continue to serve our machines' lowly needs, instead
of insisting that they serve us -- a situation that will only get worse as millions
of new mobile devices arrive on the scene. Our world
doesn't have to be this way. It shouldn't be this way. Wouldn't
it be great if using your computer was as effortless as steering your car? In
The Unfinished Revolution, Michael Dertouzos introduces human-centered
computing -- a radical change in the way we fashion and use computer systems that
will ultimately make this goal possible. The Unfinished
Revolution is nothing less than an inspired manifesto for the future of computing.
Dertouzos's vision will change how businesses, organizations, and governments
work with each other, and how individuals interact. It represents the dawn of
a new era in information technology. Human-centered computing
goes well beyond the empty promises of "user-friendly" interfaces. At
its foundation are five key technologies that will dramatically amplify our human
capabilities: natural interaction, automation, individualized information access,
collaboration, and customization. Human-centered systems will understand us when
we speak to them; will do much of our routine brainwork for us; will get us the
information we want, when and where we want it; will help us work with other people
across space and time; and will adapt on their own to our individual needs and
desires. When can all this happen? Dertouzos says the
time to start is now. You can begin simplifying and improving your relationship
with computers today. Dertouzos offers dozens of scenarios that illustrate the
potential of human-centered computing, as well as a preview of the MIT Oxygen
project -- a prototype now under development that aims to make pervasive human-centered
computing a reality. Dertouzos also provides the new century's first glimpse of
how upcoming information technology advances will significantly improve our lives
and truly revolutionize our relationship with the computer. This
is a book for everyone, professionals and non-specialists, who yearn for machines
that live up to the grand promise of the Information Revolution -- fulfilling
real human needs with greater simplicity -- that still lingers unfulfilled. The
Unfinished Revolution is for those who want to enhance their computer productivity
and fun, in short, for every person who wants to do more by doing less.
Michael Dertouzos is the director of the Laboratory for Computer
Science at MIT. He is the author of seven previous books, including the bestseller
What Will Be. | 
