TL;DR - the user interface paradigms that we current use are still pretty similar to the interfaces that were developed at Xerox PARC (bought by Apple). Not much has changed.
It doesn't have to be this way.
What are the principles of current interfaces / what could the future principles be (if we're not stuck with the constraints set by the current batch of WIMP interfaces)?
- Users are "The Post-Nintendo Generation" (grown up with computers)
- Work, play, groupware, embedded, and ubiquitous
- Humongous computer (multi-gigabyte RAM, Cray-on-a-chip RISC processors)
- Rich communication (computer can see you, knows where you are, large high-res
screen, new I/O devices)
- Connected system subjected to constant change
- Language (instead of icons)
- Strong object-orientation (large number of small objects with rich attribute
sets)
- Personal information retrieval as unifying principle with atomic information
units as basic interaction object
- Information comes to you (rather than you browsing your hard drive)
- You won't always have to work that hard
Neilsen wrote this in 1996, but it seems to predict an emerging trend of pervasive social networking, cloud-storage, Google (omniscient agents with a natural language interface), and location APIs, embedded cameras, gesture-pads, etc. Of course I could be looking for evidence selectively, but I will leave that judgment to you.
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Upvoted in the hopes that somebody will provide a summary...
TL;DR - the user interface paradigms that we current use are still pretty similar to the interfaces that were developed at Xerox PARC (bought by Apple). Not much has changed.
It doesn't have to be this way.
What are the principles of current interfaces / what could the future principles be (if we're not stuck with the constraints set by the current batch of WIMP interfaces)?
It's a 'what if' article.
Makes sense.
If we take anti-mac as the future principles, then many of them have in some ways become true...
Indeed .. I think that's a good point, but I'd also argue that I'm using a WIMP interface right now to write this message.
Maybe Chrome OS is more of an 'anti-mac' interface?
Nielsen's initial summary points out that the article forecast the coming of an 'Internet desktop', but I'm not sure what an 'Internet desktop' is ..
I managed to read through the whole thing, and I'm upvoting it for the same reason.
Amen
Example traits of an "anti-mac" computer:
Neilsen wrote this in 1996, but it seems to predict an emerging trend of pervasive social networking, cloud-storage, Google (omniscient agents with a natural language interface), and location APIs, embedded cameras, gesture-pads, etc. Of course I could be looking for evidence selectively, but I will leave that judgment to you.