Transforming Grounds

Apple has increased their s ales of Macs the last quarter and it is clear that more people are realizing that there is an alternative to the Windows Vista solution. New York Times believe that this is a sign that people are starting to appreciate a good OS. Maybe it is the case that good interaction design actually makes a difference.....

I am sitting at my kitchen table in the morning working. The weather outside is sunny and beautiful. Right behind me is a window with an outdoor thermometer. Instead of turning and reading the thermometer outside my window, I pull up my widgets and get the correct temperature. There are of course several reasons for this. I think I trust the widget better than my own instrument. It also, at the same time, gives me the temperature in other places around the world that I am interested in. And, I get some other things too, typical widget info. Anyhow, it is strange to observe this kind of behavior, especially if it is myself....

A few days ago I came back to my "old" office that I left three years ago and in the office was my Mac I used before I left. I started the computer and the desktop appeared, exactly as I left it three years ago! It was a strange experience. I was thrown back in time, and suddenly remembered what I was doing the last days in my old office. It was like looking at a photo in an album and it is of course similar, the desktop was frozen at a particular time. Anyhow, nothing extraordinary, but quite an experience...Who take pictures of the virtual world in a similar way as we take pictures of the real world? To remember when we get old :-)

This year I can't got to CHI in Florence due to family issues. When I am thinking about what I miss, it is obvious that the value of being at any conference is not so much in individual papers or presentations, but the sense of direction of the field that you can "feel in the air". This kind of experience depends on being there, it is extremely situated. So, what will the sense of direction for the future of HCI research be this year (which I will not be able to experience). I hope someone who is there will let me know!!!