Developing Usable Experiences

Musings on emerging technologies

March 24th, 2009 7:12 am —  10 views

shadow2I just updated a plugin1 by clicking a button. I knew updates were available because a very noticeable red circle appeared on this interface.

Before it was possible to update with a single click, I’d connect to my server, download the update, then put the files in their place. Not as easy as a mouse click.

Perhaps we don’t think about it this way, but our computers, applications, services, all have a type of awareness. They pay attention in a way. At the bare minimum they pay attention to a clock. But at a much higher level, they do what we tell them to, and when. Though if they don’t, it’s no fault of theirs.

I wonder how aware applications are going to evolve and if it means our household appliances, cars, flashlights, and vacuums will email us or update an RSS feed telling us they need something.

The web and web services2 make it easier for systems to reach each other any time they want. This is changing our service expectations, social networks, and how we connect (or don’t connect) with people we know are a click away.

Brings to mind an impression I’ve had when in a big city where hundreds of people are going about their business seemingly oblivious of the people around them.

Image: Taken heading to the parking garage after representing HCI to candidates visiting SI at the Michigan Union.

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  1. Plugins are additional bits of functionality that people besides the creators of WordPress write that anybody can use. [↩]
  2. Open APIs, SOAP, Servlets, PHP, ASP…basically anything running on the server accessible via web ports. [↩]

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