His basic argument in this book is that the computer industry has matured to the point where it can no longer just cater to the early-adopter technologists and must appeal to the masses to continue growth. Unfortunately, the industry doesn't know how to do this and continues to deliver technology for technology's sake, leading to fat computers and technology that aren't that useful or appealing to most people, and are beginning to exhaust the technologists too. He introduces some recent, but standard models of technology adoption for discussing the problems, customer-centered design in cross-disciplinary teams (marketing, engineering, and user experience) for designing products that transcend the problems (explicitly discussing Contextual Design a few times), and "information appliances," multitudes of small, task-focused technology products that will replace our big, cumbersome, general-purpose (but not great at any) PCs.Norman's forte is definitely cognitive and experimental psychology in product design, and not being a technological or product development process visionary. I found very little new or interesting content in the book, and I don't think he articulated even some of the derived ideas very well. The whole book could have been condensed into a long magazine article. His prose is wordy and redundant, and the book is regrettfully lacking in many of the detailed case studies and examples he's used in previous books to elucidate his ideas. I want the idiosyncratic and outspoken psychologist professor back, such as he was in The Design of Everyday Things, or the powerful academic argument of Things That Make Us Smart. His short stint as a VP of HPs "Information Appliances" division, and his earlier work at Apple, was not enough to give him a deep understanding or insight into the problems of the current technology-product market.He does make some good book recommendations, however, and I'll add my favorite articulation of the problem, that I think articulate the problem and potential solutions much better:C. M. Christensen, _The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail_, 1997. G. A. Moore, _Crossing The Chasm: Marketingand Selling High-Tech Goods to Mainstream Customers_, 1991. T. K. Landauer, _The Trouble With Computers: Usefulness, Usability, and Productivity_, 1995. The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Solution
I'm a fan of Donald Norman's work so when I finally had achance to pick up "The Invisible Computer" I had high hopes.Unfortunately, this work didn't provide the same insight andfocus as his previous books such as "The Design of EverydayThings".Throughout the work Norman draws upon "Crossing the Chasm"and "Inside the Tornado: Marketing Strategies from SiliconValley's Cutting Edge" [both by Geoffrey Moore]. Alsoheavily emphasized are the ideas put forth by "TheInnovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firmsto Fail." All of these books are interesting--but I wantedsomething from Norman himself.Chapter 7, "Being Analog", was more in line with what I hadcome to expect from Norman. He ends this chapter with this:"Alas, most of today's machines, especially the computer,force people to use them on their own terms, terms that areantithetical to the way people work and think. The result isfrustration, an increase in the rate of error (usuallyblamed on the user--human error--instead of on faultydesign), and a general turning away from technology. Willthe interaction between people and machines be donecorrectly in the future? Might schools of computer sciencestart teaching the human-centered approach that is necessaryto reverse the trend? I don't see why not." That's what I'mlooking for! If only the rest of the book had followed thatpassion.Instead focusing on human factors and man-machineinterface issues, Norman wanders discussing substitutablegoods vs. nonsubstitutable goods, a rehash of why softwareis hard to write (and the mythical man month), and even someembarrassing admissions now that he'd spent some time outsideacademia and worked a bit in industry: "Time, or rather thelack of it, I was starting to learn, is one of the greatestbarriers to quality". As my young nieces would say to me,"duh!"Finally, although written in the late 1990's with thepaperback edition published in 1998, I found the text toalready be a bit dated. You don't realize how quickly thecomputer industry moves until you find a book frozen in timelike this one.My recommendation is to read Norman's other works and theworks he recommends here (Crossing the Chasm, Inside theTornado, and Innovator's Dilemma). Finally, I recommend"Machine Beauty" by David Gelernter. It provides morepassion and keener insights than this work--and is generallymore fun to read!
The book is a rallying cry for the technology industry, a call to arms for the geek troops. Sure, the writing is like a beta version that the publisher decided to go live with, but the essential concepts and emotion come through loud and clear.Norman builds a solid foundation for his arguments, citing historical cases and several written works. The book was a fun, easy read. When I finished Invisible Computer, I felt the same sort of illumination and clarity that came after reading Alan Cooper's About Face.His vision of ubiquitous information appliances and devices will undoubtedly come true in ways none of us can imagine. But what will become of the PC? Will I have 100 individual devices replacing the 100 software programs I have installed? Hardly. But the book doesn't really address the ongoing need for a general purpose computer.In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone involved in technology. It definitely altered my personal perception of where tech products have come from and where they are headed. Time will tell if his ideas are strong enough to truly help shape the future of software and product development. - Ubiquitous Computing - Interaction Design - Product Design - Donald A Norman'
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