Author of 'Leonardo's Laptop' to Speak Dec. 9

released December 09, 2003

Ben Shneiderman, professor in the Department of Computer Science and founding director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park, will deliver a lecture at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in Room 126 of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 501 E. Daniel Street, Champaign. The talk will be based on his new book, "Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies."

"Leonardo's Laptop" earned the IEEE book award for "Distinguished Literary Contribution furthering Public Understanding of the Profession." Chapters 1, 5 and 11 of the book are available for free download at http://mitpress.mit.edu/leonardoslaptop/.

A book signing will immediately follow the lecture.

Shneiderman posits that while the old computing was about what computers could do, the new computing is about what people can do. He says that in order to accelerate the shift from the old to the new computing designers need to: reduce computer users frustration; promote universal usability; and envision a future in which human needs more directly shape technology evolution. Shneiderman argues that Leonardo da Vinci could serve as a muse for the new computing, pushing designers to improve quality through scientific study and more elegant visual design.

 

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