Thursday, January 27, 2011

Book Reading #4 - HCI Remixed

Chapter 24: A Simulated Listening Typewriter: John Gould Plays Wizard of Oz
Summary
Chris Schmandt discusses the finding of John Gould relating the importance of speech recognition interfaces. In Gould's paper, the author tries to answer the following questions:
  • Would people enjoy using recognition for dictation?
  • Would such a system be speedy and efficient?
  • Could naive users dictate high-quality documents?
Discussion
Besides providing part of the history of speech recognition, I think the article provides an interesting discussion about the system employed to measure users' affinity to speech recognition interfaces.

Chapter 25: Seeing the Hole in Space
Summary
This article discusses the primitive roots of videoconferencing and similar technologies. Steve Harrison, the author, describes his time at Xerox PARC while working on Media Space. However, the author describes the encounter with Galloway and Rabinowitz who called themselves artists working on aesthetic research in telecommunications. It turns out, Galloway and Rabinowitz were working on one of the first videoconferencing technologies, which they called Hole in Space. The rest of the article narrates the story of the authors and Hole in Space.

Discussion
Hole in Space added several elements to the work collaboration environment. Researchers such as Steve Harrison came to realize that besides new forms of community, events were a big part of mediated communications.

Chapter 26: Edward Tufte’s 1 + 1 = 3
Summary
Scott Jenson discusses the problem of visual clutter as described by Edward Tufte. In this chapter, the author opens up the discussion by using the buttons on an elevator as an example. While the elevator contains two buttons that control the doors (open and close), they generate a third element described as the extra effort that is required by the brain to decode the information. The author closes this chapter by providing tips on how to solve this visual clutter.

Discussion
I am not convinced that the first recommendation to fix visual cluttering is the best. Maybe using the words "open" and "close" would have worked better as those icons seem ambiguous.

Chapter 27: Typographic Space: A Fusion of Design and Technology
Summary
Jodi Forlizzi talks about the birth of typographic space systems as described by Muriel Cooper. This system allowed artists to produce more dynamic types that could be used to convey all kinds of information not necessarily present in the text. For example, large upward (or downward) motions can convey a rising (or falling) pitch. Additionally, analogous motions that mimic human actions convey emotive content. This concept is called kinetic typography and it is now commonplace in television and the web.

Discussion
Kinetic typography is a feature that I have always taken for granted. When I first started reading the article, I had no idea that this concept was so involved in pretty much everyday life.

Chapter 28: Making Sense of Sense Making
Summary
Discussion

Chapter 34: Revisiting an Ethnocritical Approach to HCI: Verbal Privilege and Translation
Summary
Discussion

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