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Several years ago, an acquaintance recommended I read what he said was an amazing book about design. The acquaintance is Dan Bricklin, a brilliant designer who conceived the idea of the spreadsheet and co-designed the first one, so I wondered what could so impress him. I bought the book, The Psychology of Everyday Things, by Donald Norman. And Dan was right. The book was, in fact, liberating. Dr. Norman's elegantly simple principles even helped me overcome minor feelings of inadequacy, such as when I'd try to walk into an office and pull on the handle of a glass door, only to find to my embarrassment that I was supposed to push it. Dr. Norman says handles mean "pull," so the fault was the designer's, not mine. More importantly, Dr. Norman shows how computers are badly designed and notes that designers have convinced us the problem is ours, not theirs. They do this by arguing that we have to become "computer-literate" to avoid being left behind in the Information Age—an idea that Dr. Norman shows is nonsense. We, as a society, have come a long way in understanding that computers should adapt to us, not we to them. But we have a long way to go. I was startled to read a long article in the New York Times the other day that described a "breakthrough" voice-recognition system. The system lets a caller buy an airline ticket without ever dealing with an agent, after spending only 10 minutes learning to use it. What does the caller gain by using the system? Nothing. This is progress? Given my high regard for Dr. Norman's work, I was delighted that he was willing to adapt material from his latest book, The Invisible Computer, for the Man and Machine column. He argues that the personal computer's design will always be confusing and that computers shouldn't just adapt to us—they should become invisible to us. The other major theme that shows up in this issue—a theme that arises repeatedly in Context —is the surprising nature of technology. Among the features, "New Kid on the Block" tells how a cable-television installer took the casual advice of a roommate and, with just $150,000 of financing, used the Internet to become a major player in the telecommunications industry. "Let's Make a Deal" explains how information technology is changing the nature of pricing, making it much more of a negotiation even for things that wouldn't seem to lend themselves to dynamic pricing—such as electricity, hotel rooms, and possibly even soft drinks. "Rumors of My Death" shows how changes sometimes don't happen even though technology seems to be driving us in a certain direction. While it's been trendy to say that technology will let companies sell directly to their customers and "disintermediate" middlemen, it seems that middlemen won't go quietly. As always, we're not pretending to give you all the answers. We're just trying to help you find a better way to think about how technology may disrupt your business and to create new types of opportunities. Call it a better perspective. Or, if you like, a better Context. Cheers, Paul B. Carroll
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