Reading 8:Interface culture - Steven Johnson

Chapter 2: The Desktop

It is extremely interesting how this writer describes these events with the use of metaphor and analogies and I understand his usage of them, as it can be very difficult to describe some of the more technical aspect without the use of technical details that could be hard to decipher without prior knowledge or an in-depth understanding of operating systems. The birth of the desktop metaphor, which has played a major part in mainstream computers, was made possible by the advances in interface design. This was described as a physical representation of a working desktop within an office, this analogy gave people the impression that it was a simple transition from normal office working practices to the more modern one of the computer environment. The new interface gave the user an easier way of navigating the computer from previous interfaces such as DOS and command line. Enabling the user to navigate the interface with the use of a mouse and a visual representation of objects such as folders, files and application made it even more appealing. The desktop was an important step in interface design and leapfrogged personal computers into nearly everyone’s mind, the idea that this could develop into today’s consumption and need for computers was surly not envisioned on the scale of today.

Comments

This book was an interesting read and each chapter gave good explanations on each of the subject presented. It’s well worth a read if you get the opportunity.