A big limitation of almost all computers is that they are passive: They only do what we tell them to do. But what if they could actually learn from our actions? What if they could take the drudgery out of locating files? More of us could use computers if only our computers were smarter.
Scott McGregor, general manager of Atherton Technology's Ahead Division, thinks smarter computers are the next step beyond the ease of use we get from graphical user interfaces, or GUIs
In his article, "Prescient Agents: A Radar O'Reilley for your Desktop," (The X Resource, Fall 1991; O'Reilly ad Assoc.) McGregor draws the analogy between the Radar O'Reilley character on the television series M*A*S*H--who was always able to anticipate the colonel's needs for files and information--and computers that can actively give us information with minimal effort on our part.
Many people are just beginning to understand how GUIs make computers easier to use by making them easier to command. But prescient user interfaces, or PUIs, promise to teach our computers to learn from what we have done and serve as an active helper. While McGregor doesn't expect commercial products for two or three years, he is convinced of their usefulness to attract new computer users.
Here's an example of how a PUI would help me work. I manage my DOS files using Microsoft Window's File Manager. Each time I use File Manager I must tell it how I want the files arranged and what I want to know about each one. These are options that I can select, but I must select them each time I use File Manager. If File Manager were smarter, it could anticipate my needs based on my habits of using it.
Of course, the best way to handle my files would be to have my computer handle them for me--by understanding how I work, what I need when I work on certain jobs, and so on. In this way, my computer acts like an assistant that hands me the right plans, tools and materials as I need them.
PUIs could also help us work smarter in group situations. As I'm writing this, I 'm also handling off part of a project to another person who would be more productive if she could work at my desk--complete with all my tools, notes, files, and lists of contacts. In a PUI world where all these objects are linked, she would be able to recreate my desk as her own.
McGregor goes into far more detail about how prescient user interfaces and session managers work than I can fathom. For me, more interesting than how they work is how the thinking of programmers is changing in response to the needs of non-programmers and the new technology of object methods.
ogrammers and the new technology of object methods.It's critical that both my computing environment and my applications be configurable in ways that make them easier for me to use. But I don't want to become a programmer to get this benefit. This leaves me with two options: hire a programmer to help me run my life, or buy software that understands what I want and anticipates my needs.
We all want computers to make us more productive. But before that can happen, there is much to be done to make computers easier to use and less problematic. If programmers are beginning to recognize the needs of naïve users, we are likely to see improvements in how computer work for all of us.
David Flack
UnixWorld Editor