Ch-Ch-Changes

When I started reading Leonardo's Laptop by Ben Schneiderman, I thought to myself "How refreshing!" I was excited to be finished with Understanding Digital Libraries (Michael Lesk), and thought that reading this would be much better.

Well, it is. And it isn't. Why is it taking me so long to read this one? I flew through Double Fold in two days, and even The Structure of Scientific Revolutions didn't take me longer than a weekend. I am going on my second week with Schneiderman, and I can't wait until the ride is over. I guess the book began to get tedious, or maybe it is just too idealistic for me.

I like the idea of the technology user being able to dictate how interfaces are designed, but is it realistic? Now that we have been doing it this way for so long, won't it be hard to change the mindset of not only the technology designers but the users themselves?

Maybe I have become too cynical, or worse, more resistant to change than I thought I was. It does sound like a nice world to live in though, where technology isn't the enemy.