Blogs



Wrong about MOOCs

Posted: Thu, January 28, 2016 - 3:04:01

This blog began in January 2013. There was a quid pro quo: You take the time to read my informal posts on a range of topics, I post observations only after convincing myself that they are viable. So far, only one has not held up, the first, January 2013’s “Wrong about MOOCs?” The third anniversary of the blog and the…

Job growth

Posted: Mon, January 11, 2016 - 10:03:16

Automation endangers blue and white collar work. This refrain is heard often, but could new job creation keep pace with job loss? Some leading technologists forecast that few of us will find work in fifteen years. They describe two possible paths to universal unemployment. 1. Robots or computers become increasingly capable. They have already replaced much human labor in farms,…

Thoughts on the SIGCHI Accessibility Report

Posted: Wed, December 30, 2015 - 10:43:54

This post is based around the SIGCHI Community Accessibility Report, posted on behalf of the SIGCHI Accessibility Community. Find us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/SIGCHIaccess/ and http://www.sigchi.org/communities/access; contact us at [email protected]. About 15% of people worldwide have a disability [1] and the likelihood of experiencing disability naturally increases with age. SIGCHI can attract new members, and make current members feel welcome, by making…

Crying wolf

Posted: Fri, December 11, 2015 - 2:58:59

In a stack of old papers headed for recycling was a Wall Street Journal article subtitled “Managers who fall for their office PCs could be the downside of the computer age.” In 1987, hands-on computer use was considered dangerous, for employees and employers alike! Since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), technology has often been viewed with dread. Woe unto us for…

Technology and nature

Posted: Fri, November 06, 2015 - 3:00:07

The black water mirrored the tropical forest above it so perfectly that the shoreline was impossible to pinpoint. The reflection included the palms with cannonball-clustered fruit that had stained the water. We kayaked for hours, seeing no sign of other human presence on the network of channels and lagoons that drain the marshes along the Caribbean coast. Or so we…

Action and research

Posted: Fri, October 09, 2015 - 6:01:55

Three favorite research projects at Microsoft that were never written up: automated email deletion, an asynchronous game to crowdsource answers to consulting questions, and a K-12 education tool. I expected they would be, as were projects that led to my most-cited Microsoft work: persona use in development, social networking in enterprises, and multiple monitor use. What happened to them? The…

Building troops

Posted: Wed, August 19, 2015 - 10:44:32

“Will you miss Khaleesi?” asked Isobel. At that moment, the samango urinated on Eleanor’s shoulder. “Ummm, yes?” Eleanor replied. The primates at the Riverside Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre outside Tzaneen, South Africa were abandoned or confiscated pets, survivors of massacres by farmers who left newborns behind, injured by predators or motor vehicles, and so on. Unexpectedly, the principal task of the…

Central control

Posted: Tue, July 14, 2015 - 11:14:10

Two impressive New Yorker articles described powerful, laser-focused leaders whose vision affects technology design and use. Xi Jinping consolidated control of the world’s largest country. Jonathan Ive did so at the world’s most valuable company. Both have reputations for speaking frankly while avoiding impolitic statements. They listen, then make decisions confidently. Each is a good judge of character who assembled…

Customers vs. users

Posted: Wed, June 03, 2015 - 10:41:03

Perspectives on handwriting and digital ink in schools. Going through customers to reach users is a challenge as old as HCI. When computers cost a fortune, acquisition decisions weren’t made by hands-on users. Those responsible believed that they knew what users needed. They were often wrong. Making life worse for designers, the marketers who spoke with customers felt they knew…

A matter of semantics…

Posted: Tue, April 28, 2015 - 12:07:54

In 2005, I wrote a blog post entitled, “Is ‘user’ the best word?” followed a year later by “Words (and definitions) matter; however…” The debate about the words we use in our field and their meaning has continued since that time, with many of the old arguments being resurrected. For example, regarding the beleaguered term user: Jack Dorsey dropped its…