Microblogs on HCI Remixed

Chapter 10: It Really Is All About Location!

Summary
This chapter introduces the start of the location-based services era. The author Anind Dey mentions that he was inspired by Mark Weiser's location-based system proposition. In 1990 a system called Active Badge system allowed you to detect users by detecting badges with sensors. He gives the example of Olivetti Research, where an interface was built for the receptionist to use in order to locate users. This not only tracked users, but allowed the receptionist to identify the closest telephone extension.
Discussion
It is unbelievable to find out that a person in 1990 was implementing a system that resembles exactly how a GPS works. I think if there is an area of computing that I am really interested in, it would be this location-based services. With smart phones popularity growing exponentially, more and more applications are becoming dependent on let's say Google Maps. If you travel to another city in which you have never been, there is nothing to worry as LBS will take care of you.

Chapter 46: The Essential Role of Mental Models in HCI: Card, Moran, and Newell 


Summary
This paper talks about the idea of users using mental models to understand their interactions with computer systems. This is an important idea as this can help developers understand the process to construct systems in a way that will be intuitive for users. The author also talks about the immersion of ideas from science and psychology to create what is now known as human computer interaction.
Discussion
As I was reading this chapter, the first thing to come into my mind was a Microsoft Office presentation I attended about two years ago. In this presentation, the speaker claimed that 70% of all of the issues the users report about Microsoft Office are already present in the product. People often rely too heavily on their mental models that they do not try to understand the full capability of a certain product, such as Office.
Chapter 47: A Most Fitting Law


Summary
This chapter talks about Paul M. Fitt's law. Fitts was a psychologist who was interested in problems of human performance. Fitts served for the U.S. Army Air Forces and trained pilots. Fitts is well known for engineering psychology, which focuses on equipment design to better accommodate with human behavior. 

Discussion
The idea of engineering psychology sounded really weird at first, but then after reading his law and how it fits with HCI it seemed pretty reasonable. It is very interesting to read that these people were coming up with these ideas 60-70 years ago. I cannot wait to see what we as computer engineers will create in the next 20-30 years.