"The Internet revolution has barely started. It won't be done until everything is on the Web. Light switches, pagers, copiers, printers, as well as PCs, benefit from Web connections." Mark Weiser (Weiser:1996f)
Currently, when we think of accessing the World Wide Web, we think of parking ourselves in front of a PC or a workstation. When asked to think of other ways to connect to the Internet, perhaps we think of the NC (Network Computer), which is receiving so much press, or perhaps an Interactive TV. These devices all have in common that they force the user to focus on a single device, actively access the Internet and have the technical knowledge to perform that access.
Of course, there are all sorts of devices (Filo,Yang:1996) other than computers connected to the Web, including Coke machines, robot arms, cameras, pagers and even someone's plaster cast (Poor:1996). But most of these are interesting experiments and are not used in everyday work or home life.
However, future access to the Web may not always be through desktop computers. Common equipment, like telephones or even toasters, will connect to the Web, and the user may not even be aware of which appliances in the home are actually connected. Instead of the user taking an active role in connecting to the Internet, the user's tools will automatically connect, without the user's participation.
This concept of ubiquitous computing, began, not as an exercise in using the Internet, but as a study of how people work, how they use tools and where the future of computing might lie. The goal of ubiquitous computing is to move computers away from the central focus of the user's attention and into the invisible world, where they are used subconsciously, to enhance existing tools or communications. This article looks at the current state of ubiquitous computing, where it may lead and how it will get there.
Copyright © 1996 Ingrid E. Burbey, All Rights Reserved
Ingrid Burbey
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Last modified: Tue Dec 10 1996