The Unfinished Revolution CD: Making Computers Human-Centric

With wry humor and searing wit, the man Time magazine calls ""MIT's #1 computer guru"" disparages the high-tech devices (PCs, laptops, Web-friendly cell phones, hand-held digital organizersDwhat the author dismissively calls ""weird animals"") we've come to rely on so heavily but that often take forever to boot up, then crash and frustrate us to no end. (In a few years, he warns, there will be 10 times as many of these ""creatures biting at"" us.) Enough is enough, says Dertouzos (What Will Be). Instead, he envisions a time when we alternate ample leisure with intellectually stimulating work, seamlessly integrated by technology that spares us the inconveniences of modern life. The key, says Dertouzos, is ""human-centric computing,"" technological devices that ""talk with us, do things for us, get the information we want, help us work with other people, and adapt to our individual needs... [that] truly serve us, instead of the other way around."" These are not generic recommendations; the book discusses both the existing technology and what is needed to bring it up to human-centric standards. It then offers a five-pronged approach that takes into account ""both the human and computer sides of the relationship."" A weakness in Dertouzo's argument, however, is the lack of discussion of competing design views or past failures in implementing these ideas. Human speech interaction, in particular, has been controversial since the 1960s and has occasioned many expensive flops; there is also a school of thought that early adopters have consistently preferred cutting-edge features to user-friendly ones. Still, the book is a readable and sensible application of design principles to computer technology, written at a level accessible to nonprofessionals. Agent, Ike Williams. (Jan. 31) Forecast: A well-known futurist and technology expert, Dertouzos will command significant attention on his 15-city tour to East and West Coast technology hot spots.