Compacting Computers

After reaedin, it became apprent to me that transparency is indeed a lucrative aspect of digital design: everything about this field can and usually does center around the interactive interface. s Now, how these interfaces are perceived by the user is very important. These interfaces become literal gateways for one to view and interact with someone else's vision and work. The notion of the appliance is another interesting point--computers today are blurring the lines between what most would consider a tool and what one would consider a piece of art. The interaction between the user and the interface is key: how simple and user-friendly the interface is, in turn, directly influences the experience and perception of the user. When the interface is very organic, simple, and natrual feeling (as most computer interfaces are moving towards), it is most likely that the user will not even know it's there--the interface becomes seemingly transparent, yet still completely functional. The most interesting topin, I believe, is making the computer itself disappear. I cannot help but think about the current situation with smaller and smaller netbooks arriving, thinner high-resolution tvs, and streaming digital media. Where as before we had large and clunky towers sitting below our desks, we're starting to see most compact designs. Also, the interfaces are becoming simpler an easy to use--touch screens are becoming more and more prevalent. At this rate I believe we may see entire computers and televisions being compacted into simple panels: panels that can stream media, and even use processing power from different servers far away. The ipone is already hinting at such progress.

First Post

Oh my--