Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies

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MIT Press, 2003 - Computers - 269 pages

Ben 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.

 

Contents

II
1
III
4
IV
9
V
11
VI
14
VII
18
VIII
21
IX
22
XLI
130
XLII
133
XLIII
134
XLIV
137
XLV
140
XLVI
144
XLVII
149
XLVIII
154

X
24
XI
26
XII
32
XIII
35
XIV
36
XV
42
XVI
44
XVII
46
XVIII
48
XIX
51
XX
52
XXI
53
XXII
58
XXIII
61
XXV
64
XXVI
70
XXVII
72
XXVIII
75
XXIX
76
XXX
80
XXXI
83
XXXII
87
XXXIII
90
XXXIV
99
XXXV
108
XXXVI
111
XXXVII
112
XXXVIII
117
XXXIX
118
XL
129
XLIX
157
L
158
LI
160
LII
166
LIII
175
LIV
180
LV
183
LVI
184
LVII
186
LVIII
194
LIX
197
LX
204
LXI
207
LXII
208
LXIII
209
LXIV
212
LXV
214
LXVI
217
LXVII
223
LXVIII
227
LXIX
230
LXX
233
LXXI
234
LXXII
241
LXXIII
242
LXXIV
245
LXXV
251
LXXVI
259
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About the author (2003)

Ben Shneiderman is Professor of Computer Science and Founding Director (1983- 2000) of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park.

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