Adam Greenfield argues that the convergence of various fields within technology is ushering in a new era of ubiquitous computing he labels “everyware”. In the “everyware” era, things like wireless networks, RFID tags and sensor devices conspire to keep us perpetually in contact with information systems. And this era has already arrived.
But what makes this book stand out is the cautious and ethical way in which the subject is approached: Greenfield may be a technologist but he’s no techno-utopian. He carefully considers the social implications of ubiquitous computing systems, both positive and negative, and provides examples of ways in which poorly (or maliciously) designed systems can inadvertently humiliate people.
“Everyware” also defines the challenge posed by ubiquitous computing to the user experience community. The concepts, approaches and documentation that allow us to create complex websites barely begin to scratch the surface of what will be needed to specify fully ubiquitous systems: systems which decipher and act upon phatic inputs (body language, non-verbal communications, pregnant pauses) and other messy, real-world events.
One finishes this book feeling a keener awareness of the underlying trends that sit beneath this new smartphone, that new barcode scanner, or this new RFID-enabled card. But this awareness of where things are headed, or have been heading for some time, isn’t necessarily accompanied by optimism or wonderment. “Everyware” doesn’t try to give you the answers: instead it gives you an understanding of what questions we need to be asking in this new era of pervasive computing.
