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Network Computer:
Anoop Sinha

Introduction:

Consider two broad underlying, new capabilities provided by the network computer:

access to a given information depository from many locations
access to greater computing power.

The term network computer is meant to include all networked information devices, not just the desktop network computer.) These two new capabilities in turn open up new human factors considerations. In particular, access to greater computing power than presently available in desktop personal computers opens up the possibility of new, computationally-intensive user interfaces, such as speech and haptic displays. Access to information in an ubiquitous network should help enable interfaces to be customizable, perhaps automatically. A given user might possibly be presented with the interface that best suits him or her, rather than having to fit his or her interface preferences to the device being used.

One could picture network computers that are able upon sign-on by the user to provide a customized color scheme, providing the users favorite colors and interface elements. The user should also have the ability to choose configurations from networked depositories, choosing from all available capabilities on computing servers. Storing possibilities on servers should make it easier to find a
display scheme that suits a given user, since more likely than not, groups of users will have similar preferences. This model of desktop customization is going to be adopted by Netscape Communications Corporation in their Constellation application. A user will be able to sign-in to any given networked computer terminal and use a customized desktop.

Physical Form of the Network Computer

At present, the Network Computer proposed by Sun/Oracle/IBM will resemble a computer, with screen, computer box, keyboard, and mouse. This feature caters to the Human Factor of familiarity; it will resemble a tool that many potential users will be familiar with. Certainly in some form, the Network Computer will be wireless and portable, resembling a laptop computer, once again appealing to familiarity. Certainly once the network computer become more portable, it could also take a variety of forms, such as the PDA. It might even be able to be more novel, such as a watch computer or some other wearable device. One example of a wireless network computer is the Infopad, a device with form factor resembling a pad of paper. This design was meant to be appealing in that it allows the user to walk around, easily gripping the pad in one hand.

Interfaces to the Network Computer

The Infopad's presently uses pen and speech input for control; there is no keyboard. The pad is equipped with handwriting and speech recognizers, which take and interpret the input into either ASCII characters or commands. These interfaces are thought to be generally more appealing and natural to users than keyboard and mouse. However, the dynamics of Human Factors suggests that the keyboard and mouse are so familiar to present-day computer users that the users will not be resistant to using a keyboard and mouse as input. The only problem with keyboard and mouse for this device, though, is that since it is meant to be handheld, two hand are not available. A restriction that both pen and speech input handle quite well. Additionally, the access to greater computing power through the network makes speech and pen recognition possible on the Infopad. All of the computation is done on fast workstation servers, which enable the computationally intensive handwriting and speech recognition. One might speculate that the access to increased computing power will novel, enabling user interfaces in the future.

Why would people prefer paper over a computer screen?

In the present, paper generally appeals to readers more than computer screens. Paper is lo-tech: lightweight, pleasantly reflective, high contrast, powerless, readily available, cheap, easily modifiable. A computer screen on the other hand is usually very heavy and large, only portable in portable computers, luminescent rather than reflective, not easily markable, of varying quality, lower resolution than paper, expensive, and generally less familiar to most users not to mention causing more eye-strain than paper. At present, many users prefer printing out readings rather than reading them on-line if a printer is available. The preference for paper is definitely supported by the Human Factors considerations that we have mentioned above.

Will the network computer help eliminate paper?

A network computer will theoretically be able to access any information on the network with small delay. This means there might be no need for standard newspaper delivery, since all of that information is available in digital form. Right now, the human factors variables show that people largely prefer reading from paper ahead of computer screens.

Does HF suggest that the NC will succeed?

This is the multi-billion dollar question, the answer to which will only be known after some time of seeing whether NC's are adopted and why or why not they are adopted. Right now we can present two different viewpoints, one for and one against success of the NC according to HF. It is interesting that HF can argue either way, and hence does not give any one specific for or against answer to the question whether the NC will succeed according to HF.

One against argument is that users are already more familiar and comfortable with regular PC's and hence will resist using Network Computers. This argument is easily countered by suggesting that NC's can have the same user interface as regular PC's or some facsimile thereof. The look and feel will be the same, though the internal arrangement of files and applications residing on the server will be hidden to the user. From an HF perspective, we can only hope that network delays and network lags will not present intolerable delays (delays greater than a couple of seconds) for users of the NC.

On the for side, it is not difficult to argue that NC's will be appropriate for certain users and match those certain users human factors needs quite well. For instance, airline reservation systems and other present terminal based corporate systems would probably be able to use an NC. No need to store information locally on those machines. The reduced administration hassle is the big plus for NC's as far as human factors is concerned.

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