WWW: Beyond the Basics

24. Ubiquitous Internet Computing

24.2 What is Ubiquitous Computing?

Ubiquitous computing (Weiser:1996a) puts computing in the periphery of our lives, as a tool, not a focus, out of the way so that we can get on with the true tasks we wish to accomplish. The term 'ubiquitous' is used because computers and computation will be everywhere, embedded in the fabric of our lives. It envisions appliances that can dial in and download or schedule repairs, control panels that know the location of your coworkers, or even clothes that know when they need to be washed. The 'Things That Think' (Things That Think:1996) group at MIT phrases it succinctly:

'In the past, shoes could stink.
In the present, shoes can blink.
In the future, shoes will think.'

A future like this would help with the problem of 'information overload.' Instead of filling our minds with all sorts of things to remember, the things could remember for us. Your car could remind you that the oil needs changing; your kitchen cupboard could tell you that you are out of coffee. In fact, why not have the kitchen doing the shopping, by sending an order directly to the grocery store? The type of music coming out of your alarm clock in the morning could tell you what kind of day to prepare for (Weiser:1996b).

An example of a ubiquitous technology present today is literacy. (Weiser:1991) Words are displayed on every surface and body part imaginable, and they convey information to us automatically, without invoking our conscious mind. We don't suffer from 'literacy overload', cases of stress because we are being surrounded by too many words (unless it is that stack of journals every engineer feels compelled to read). We automatically read a street sign and it guides us without undue effort on our part.

Ubiquitous computing will bring the Internet into our daily lives with less effort. Instead of keeping lists of pertinent URLS or 'favorite places' on our browsers, the devices that need the information can find it themselves. Instead of 'surfing' to find and sift through all of the information available to us, some other agent or device will do the searching for us.

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Copyright © 1996 Ingrid E. Burbey, All Rights Reserved

Ingrid Burbey <74001.1443@compuserve.com>
Last modified: Tue Dec 10 1996