Paul DourishBesprekingen

Ubiquitous computing is one of the best-known myths in computer science and interaction design, dating back to visionary work at Xerox PARC in the early 1990s. What Dourish and Bell do is to look at how ubiquitous computing today is in fact a reality in many ways, albeit very different from the early visions. They draw on a very high level of scholarship in social science, critical theory and computer science to develop a whole range of aspects or perspectives on ubiquitous computing, many of them real eye-openers and going way beyond "implications for design" in suggesting promising new ways for research and development to proceed. In a sense, it is a fine example of book-length scholarly interaction criticism, and I would like to recommend it as required reading for advanced-level interaction designers.

This book illustrates the value of foundational concepts not only for abstract reasoning but also for practical design. Dourish introduces the notion of embodiment, based mainly in phenomenological philosophy. By way of definition, embodied interaction is taken to be the creation, manipulation and sharing of meaning through engaged interaction with artifacts. Embodiment integrates the fields of tangible computing and social computing; Dourish covers many existing examples and outlines fruitful directions and principles for future interaction design.