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From: ralph@utcsrgv.UUCP (ralph hill)
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Cuddly as a Teddy Bear?
Message-ID: <2604@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 31-Oct-83 13:16:25 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.2604
Posted: Mon Oct 31 13:16:25 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 31-Oct-83 13:48:18 EST
References: <2597@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Organization: CSRG, University of Toronto
Lines: 31

(Personally, I have a stuffed dragon).

I think peterr has something there with the emotional response question.
I have noticed (when using vi) that I often do things using fancy vi
commands (lots of y's and p's) when I know I can do the job much faster by
simply deleting and retyping.  The reason I do this, is, it some way, it
is more comfortable.

Back to teddy bears...  Back in 1980, Nicholas Negroponte concluded his
position paper submitted to Seillac II with: " ... most creative thoughts
will come from a kind of magnanimity which at once can draw upon a
technical breadth and can ask without embarrassment the very simple
question - does it feel good?"

He suggests in this paper (and elsewhere) that eventually we will buy
computers not by there technical specifications, but be their 'feel'.
Just like we buy cars (or teddy bears).  The implication is that,
eventually, unmeasureable aspects of the interface will become very
important.

------
N. Negroponte.  (1980).  The  Metaphysics  of  Television.
     (in) R.A.  Guedj,  et al. (Eds.), Methodology of Interaction.
     Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company, pp. 311-316.

-------------------
         Ralph Hill   CSRG   University of Toronto

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