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Ambient Findability
book

Ambient Findability

by Peter Morville
September 2005
Intermediate to advanced
204 pages
6h 13m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Ambient Findability

Chapter 1. Lost and Found

At the seashore, between the land of atoms and the sea of bits, we are now facing the challenge of reconciling our dual citizenship in the physical and digital worlds.

—Hiroshi Ishii

MIT Media Lab

I’m sitting on a beach in Newport, Rhode Island. Seagulls and sandpipers hunt near the water’s edge. The Atlantic ocean sparkles in the early morning sun. To my right, the Cliff Walk winds its way between the rugged New England shoreline and the manicured gardens of the Newport mansions, opulent “summer cottages” built with industrial age fortunes made in steamships, railroads, and foreign trade.

I’m sitting on a beach in Newport, but I’m not entirely there. My attention is focused on a device that rests in the palm of my hand. It’s a Treo 600 smartphone. I’m using it to write this sentence, right here, right now. As a 6.2 ounce computer sporting a 144 megahertz RISC processor, 32 megabytes of RAM, a color display, and a full QWERTY keyboard, this is one impressive micro-machine. But that’s not what floats my boat. What I love about this device is its ability to reach out beyond the here and now.

By integrating a mobile phone and Palm Powered organizer with wireless email, text messaging, and web browsing, the Treo connects me with global communication and information networks. I can make a phone call, send email, check the weather, buy a book, learn about Newport, and find a restaurant for lunch. The whole world is accessible and addressable through this 21st Century ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 0596007655Errata Page