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Jan. 31st, 2005
The next big thing?
Jan. 31st, 2005 06:16 pmStar Trek seems to have inspired a lot of real-world technology over the years. Kirk, McCoy and Spock had handheld computers, medical scanners, data blocks that they could pass around, doors that opened as you approached, etc.
Every once in a while, I see someone proclaim that the desktop interface that we all use on our computers is hopelessly outdated and that the future is some sort of 3D interface, where you can use your computer monitor as a little viewport into a fully realized environment.
I think a better approach is to take a look at Picard's desk. Sure, he's got a terminal to the ship's computer that looks a lot like my laptop sitting on my desk. But what else does he have? Lots of little PADDs -- the Personal Access Display Device.
Someday, someone is going to figure out how to produce these suckers and make money at it. They'll have a wireless connection to your network, which you'll use to park documents in the device's memory. You'll use the device to make changes to the document, which will be synchronized with your server. And they'll be cheap. Cheap enough that you can own several.
When this happens, the "user interface" won't be on your computer. It will be on your desk. Where did you leave your journal? You left it by the side of the bed. Where's my shopping list? In the kitchen, on the counter. If you just can't find where you left your presentation for work, pick up another PADD and park it there.
I found it surprising that the crew of the Enterprise D still passed these things around and shuffled them on their desks, given the fictional technology at their disposal, but after thinking about it, I realized that it's easier for us to keep track of real objects rather than immaterial ones.
I don't know if the folks producing the Star Trek episodes have figured all this out, but I think it's the next thing in user interfaces.
Every once in a while, I see someone proclaim that the desktop interface that we all use on our computers is hopelessly outdated and that the future is some sort of 3D interface, where you can use your computer monitor as a little viewport into a fully realized environment.
I think a better approach is to take a look at Picard's desk. Sure, he's got a terminal to the ship's computer that looks a lot like my laptop sitting on my desk. But what else does he have? Lots of little PADDs -- the Personal Access Display Device.
Someday, someone is going to figure out how to produce these suckers and make money at it. They'll have a wireless connection to your network, which you'll use to park documents in the device's memory. You'll use the device to make changes to the document, which will be synchronized with your server. And they'll be cheap. Cheap enough that you can own several.
When this happens, the "user interface" won't be on your computer. It will be on your desk. Where did you leave your journal? You left it by the side of the bed. Where's my shopping list? In the kitchen, on the counter. If you just can't find where you left your presentation for work, pick up another PADD and park it there.
I found it surprising that the crew of the Enterprise D still passed these things around and shuffled them on their desks, given the fictional technology at their disposal, but after thinking about it, I realized that it's easier for us to keep track of real objects rather than immaterial ones.
I don't know if the folks producing the Star Trek episodes have figured all this out, but I think it's the next thing in user interfaces.