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The secondary title for this book, "Why Good Products Can Fail, The Personal Computer Is So Complex, And Information Appliances Are The Solution" intrigues from the outset, especially if you're an Amiga user. Chapters like the fourth, "What's Wrong with the PC?" and eighth, "Why Is Everything So Difficult to Use?" set out to explain what is wrong with today's technology. In short, the author claims that it is centred around the technology itself rather than the people who use it or the tasks they are designed to perform.
Norman argues, quite predictably, that there is no magical cure to the "technology fever" that has gripped the computer industry in recent years, but human-centric technology and Information Appliances are the way forward. He even goes so far as to disprove five proposed solutions to the "Difficulty of Use" problem, namely: speech recognition, three-dimensional space, intelligent agents, the network computer and small handheld devices. Although you may disagree with him initially, Norman presents his beliefs in such a way that you are unable to dismiss them out of hand, instead encouraging you to look again at both sides of the argument.
As well as suggesting the move to simple, human-oriented devices, Norman looks into the lifecycle of technology, from new devices packed with features to well established products. There are three stages, he argues, and computers are still in the first, where technological superiority still triumphs over user experience and convenience.
One particular section of the book, entitled "Why You Really Don't Want to Use a Computer (even though you think you do)", underlines the advantages of computers becoming invisible in everyday life, as has already happened with the electric motor. He goes on to point out the irony of the computer industry, "whose business model is based upon the need to make their customers unhappy" in order that they might sell them something bigger and faster with the ppromise that it will make them happier.
"The Invisible Computer" makes perfect sense a lot of the time, yet it borders on being patronising when Norman continues to regurgitate the same arguments several times throughout the book. The example of Thomas Edison's phonograph crops up with unnerving regularity, and who hasn't heard the story of superior Betamax videotape versus better-marketed VHS already?
However, despite being slightly long winded, Norman provides some well explained, reasoned arguments and the occasional 'moment of clarity' along the way that invite you to keep reading to the end. If you've ever been frustrated by the clumsiness of modern technology, "The Invisible Computer" will give you hope for the future of computing.
Originally reviewed in issue 11
by David Stroud.
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