Chapter 23

1975
Nicolas Negroponte
Soft Architecture Machines

• shows direct relationship between architecture and human-computer interaction
• some of the most influential architects in this field were: Michale Benedikt, Marcos Novak, William Mitchell, and Nicolas Negroponte
  
• architecture proved the need for virtual reality to see visualizations of physical buildings
• use of architectural knowledge about space and design have inspired work with computers
• users should be empowered by computers
• computers should have certain levels of awareness about its programs and users
• Negroponte opened the MIT Media Lab in 1985 to conduct research into technology applications

It's sad to think that we have all these great intuitive ideas about computer software, written over 30 years ago, and we still don't (not that we can't) put them into practice. When he mentions the movie program that turns on the screen saver 5 minutes in, I was reminded of all the times that has happened to me, and how simple a code that would be to withhold turning on a screen saver when the movie application is open; this seems like a no brainer. There are many other awareness issues with technology we have today, and perhaps we need to be taking more advice from the founders of these tools.