Appliance. Compliance. Complacence
COMING 9/15
Abstract
The Personal Digital Assistant is not really personal and it capacity
as an assistant is questionable. The PDA comes loaded with and is
focused around it's core software. This core software is invariably
PIMs: software for Personal Information Management. That software,
those PIMs, are not neutral in their cultural value and use. They
support and enforce a very specific use of the device. Contrary to
marketing and advertising campaigns the reality of this device is
arguably not personal nor an assistant. However, society's seemingly
relentless desire to embrace the PDA reveals insights into our
relationship with technology and products.
Carl Francis DiSalvo is an interaction designer and theorist. For the past one and a half years he has been at MetaDesign San Francisco where he has been involved in the conceptualization and design of services and interfaces for mobile devices and PDAs. Fall 2001 he will attending Carnegie Mellon University as a Doctoral student in
Design. His area of focus will be the design of social experiences.
Hans Meyer earned a BA with first class honors in Design with a focus on critical theory at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia before moving to San Francisco. As part of his thesis Hans explored the theory and use of open-source and collaborative authorship environments. Working as an interaction designer at MetaDesign for the past year and a half, he has been involved in research, analysis and conceptual development of both hardware and software for mobile and PDA devices.
curator@voyd.com
