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Loading... Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologiesby Ben Shneiderman
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. The book lacks an audience. It's certainly not for those in the field or in a position to make the changes the author describes, as it repeatedly fails to engage details or simply omits them. It might be aimed at someone in charge of an IT staff or development team, be that a politician (or his/her aid) or a boss of some sort. This will give them some vague ideas they'll be hard-pressed to communicate to anyone in their employ (for lack of specificity). Perhaps run-of-the-mill computer user might get a rush on the underdeveloped material found here, but it seems Shneiderman chose to focus on breathless potentials rather than the more interesting questions of how and in what manner, leaving the book feeling empty. (  ) Walker222 | Jun 5, 2009 |  This is the book that answers the question "Why should I care about usability?" By drawing on his understanding of the interplay between culture and technology (framed by Leonardo ad Vinci's life) Shneiderman expounds on how important it is that everyone be able to use information technology, and why it is a problem that so many of us find our interactions with technology anxious and frustrating. (  ) danamckay | Oct 2, 2007 | Schneiderman is perhaps the most respected scholar in the field. ( ) wfzimmerman | May 9, 2007 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0262692996, Paperback)2003 IEEE-USAB Award for Distinguished Literary Contributions Furthering Public Understanding of the Profession. and Selected as a Finalist in the category of Computer/Internet in the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs) presented by Independent Publisher MagazineBen Shneiderman's book dramatically raises computer users' expectations of what they should get from technology. He opens their eyes to new possibilities and invites them to think freshly about future technology. He challenges developers to build products that better support human needs and that are usable at any bandwidth. Shneiderman proposes Leonardo da Vinci as an inspirational muse for the "new computing." He wonders how Leonardo would use a laptop and what applications he would create. Shneiderman shifts the focus from what computers can do to what users can do. A key transformation is to what he calls "universal usability," enabling participation by young and old, novice and expert, able and disabled. This transformation would empower those yearning for literacy or coping with their limitations. Shneiderman proposes new computing applications in education, medicine, business, and government. He envisions a World Wide Med that delivers secure patient histories in local languages at any emergency room and thriving million-person communities for e-commerce and e-government. Raising larger questions about human relationships and society, he explores the computer's potential to support creativity, consensus-seeking, and conflict resolution. Each chapter ends with a Skeptic's Corner that challenges assumptions about trust, privacy, and digital divides. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:53 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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