Divining a digital future: mess and mythology in ubiquitous computing

TLDR

Ubiquitous computing, the third wave of computing, evolved from mainframes and desktops into pervasive, small, powerful devices embedded in everyday life, now seen in Internet‑enabled phones, GPS, wireless networks, and smart appliances. The authors investigate the mythology that has driven ubiquitous computing and the messy everyday realities that have emerged. They map the current state of ubiquitous computing, analyze dominant narratives around infrastructure, mobility, privacy, and domesticity, and propose future research directions on methodology and conceptual foundations.

Abstract

Ubiquitous computing (or ubicomp) is the label for a third wave of computing technologies. Following the eras of the mainframe computer and the desktop PC, ubicomp is characterized by small and powerful computing devices that are worn, carried, or embedded in the world around us. The ubicomp research agenda originated at Xerox PARC in the late 1980s; these days, some form of that vision is a reality for the millions of users of Internet-enabled phones, GPS devices, wireless networks, and smart domestic appliances. In Divining a Digital Future, computer scientist Paul Dourish and cultural anthropologist Genevieve Bell explore the vision that has driven the ubiquitous computing research program and the contemporary practices that have emerged--both the motivating mythology and the everyday messiness of lived experience.Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the authors' collaboration, the book takes seriously the need to understand ubicomp not only technically but also culturally, socially, politically, and economically. Dourish and Bell map the terrain of contemporary ubiquitous computing, in the research community and in daily life; explore dominant narratives in ubicomp around such topics as infrastructure, mobility, privacy, and domesticity; and suggest directions for future investigation, particularly with respect to methodology and conceptual foundations.