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Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies
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Author: Ben Shneiderman
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0262194767
Publisher: MIT Press (04 October, 2002)
Edition: Hardcover
Sales Rank: 68,615
Average Customer Rating: 4.12 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 5 out of 5
An Outstanding book on Human Beings and Computers
Ben Shneiderman has written a wonderful book about computers and what human beings should expect to be able to use them for. He talks about "user centered" computer and how everyone should be able to use computers to do a better job. By everyone he means everyone, no matter who you are, disabled or not.
He goes into great detail about how the computer should be used and how it should be built to suit the user, not the user changing to suit the way the computer is built.
This is the way it should and must be. People should not serve computers, computers should serve the needs of the human population no matter who 0r where they are. He includes a great list of references and his examples of how the new computing should work are outstanding.
He makes his case well with detailed examples and commentaries on the subject. This books is a must buy for all of us!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Easy to read, yet thoughtful
Leonardo's laptop is not a human factors book per se, but rather a collection of thoughts on the future of our society, and on how technology could be used for the good of all. The writing style is very accessible and the point of views, illustrated by examples of everyday life activities, are definitely engaged and very optimistic.
I had the chance of meeting the author during a presentation of Leonardo's Laptop: the book itself is true to Ben Schneiderman's distinctive friendly and dynamic style as he describes the world he hopes can be ours tomorrow.
Rating: 5 out of 5
A fresh perspective on technology and people
Ben Schneiderman's book, Leonardo's Laptop, was a required text in a Cyberspace, Culture and Society course I taught this summer. The course was a combined upper level undergraduate and graduate seminar class that included students from a wide range of academic disciplines: English, sociology, psychology, anthropology, computer science, information systems, philosophy, interdisciplinary studies, Language, Literacy and Culture, and Policy Science. The students overwhelmingly indicated that the book was excellent: readable, inspiring, and thought provoking. Leonardo's Laptop urges users to promote better design by getting "angry about the poor quality of user interfaces and the underlying infrastructure" and to think big about the ways computers could "support creativity, consensus-seeking and conflict resolution." Shneiderman urges designers to build technology guided by the principle of universal usability to insures that all types of people, young, old, novices, experts, disabled, will be able to use technology to enhance their lives. Chapters dealing with e-leaning, e-commerce, e-health, and e-government suggest creative ways that technology can support humans as they seek to deal with pressing social issues. This book creatively explores a topic that, all too often, is dealt with in jargon and technical terminology that is not accessible to a wide audience and narrowly frames the discussion of technology and its effects. The book promoted interesting discussion between technical and non-technical students about the effects of technology on societies around the world. The students especially liked the "collect, relate, create, donate framework" that Schneiderman so skillfully uses to illustrate how technology can empower and liberate users. This book is interesting reading for anyone who is interested in technology, people, and the future.
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