Futuretech Part IV: Interactivity

The Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard article that Maree Michaud included in her scrapbook serves as a reminder of how practice shapes process ala Brown and Duguid. While a device such as this would certainly makes input easier, especially within the constraints of mobile computing, why are we still typing?

In Orwell’s novel 1984, Winston Smith has to rewrite history every time the official party line changes – the ultimate information management challenge. He does this by simply speaking into a device called a speakwrite and the official party version of history is changed.

In any case, I’m looking forward to the day when typing will be optional, mostly because I’m a lousy typist, as anyone who’s read my online entries can attest to.

Another article Michaud include in her scrapbook outlined a plan for a new search model based on histograms (I didn’t know what a histogram was until I looked it up on Wikipedia.) It allows the user to manipulate a graphical representation of search results, which, ostensibly, will make it easier to locate web content when completing an assignment such as this.

The demonstration included in the scrapbook led me to believe it would be easier to search this way as opposed to the current text-only search results output.

However, the 3-D model described in this article was more appealing. It would be even better if it were integrated with virtual reality hardware such as visors and/or gloves (refer to the 2002 film Minority Report) and an actual 3-D projection in which objects could be physically manipulated.