Flowers without Bees

"You can't just make displays or you are going to be like a flower without the bees," said Bill Buxton, Principal Researcher with Microsoft. Buxton's message to the display community on hand to listen to his keynote speech at Display Week this morning came through loud and clear: It doesn't matter how great an individual device is if it doesn't work with other devices. What's more, it has to work seamlessly, and appropriately. An example of non-seamless technology Buxton offered is the multitude of remote control devices the average household is required to use in order to watch TV or play a game. Inappropriate technology, or perhaps inappropriate use of technology, includes texting while driving. A device that allows such unsafe communication can be considered inappropriate (in addition to its user!).

If designers, display and otherwise, do not consider the role of a given device in relation to other devices, humans, and overall usage "flow," that device may well contribute to the ever-confusing buildup of interactive devices that do not interact with each other. The future health of the industry, said Buxton, depends on designers recognizing the necessity of "cross-pollination" among myriad devices. --Jenny Donelan