John Archambault: Digitalist
MIT Media Lab Trip Photos The Ground Resume Home
Previous Entry << Blog Home >> Next Entry ARCHIVE | | | |
March 8, 2007 Digg | del.icio.us | Facebook | newsvine | Reddit
Interfaces: TVs, PCs and Remote Controls
For many reasons, I love to watch TV. In recent years I've become a particularly big fan of kicking back in my reclining chair, working on my laptop, and surfing through the channels on my TV, all at the same time. 'Tis a very passive form of multitasking. When sitting at his desk, my father is fond of employing a popular variation on this theme: using the Windows Media Center that came pre-installed on his Dell machine, he keeps one eye on a minimized "TV" screen while working on something else. Despite our differing postures, what we both seem to have in common is a desire to consume information from multiple mediums at the same time.

Beyond this are computers that are actually designed to work with your television: Apple's iTV is an example that comes to mind, and the internet has gotten in on the act with youTubeish websites broadcasting video. As we move closer to a point where a television is also a computer with a giant monitor, a question arises: what will the user interface be?

Several months ago I read an article on wired.com in which the author got rid of his cable TV plan and tried to live entirely off of video content downloaded from the internet. As I read the story, I kept wondering why there isn't some sort of device that allows the user to seamlessly move back and forth between television and internet-based content, all while being able to sit comfortably on a sofa or in a reclining chair.

Just now I did a search on google for "remote control computer" and found a few devices that supposedly allow you to control your computer with an ordinary TV remote, but what is really needed is a way to seamlessly integrate the experiences of watching a TV and using a computer. Having a simple, elegant user interface will be the key to this; there needs to be a way to consume all this media while reclining in a chair and holding a drink in your hand. There needs to be a device that lets a user interact with this machine using only one hand, much like with an ordinary television.

I've been prognosticating about the eventual union of television and personal computers ever since a particular sixth grade science project, and the machines necessary to make this into reality are almost here. Now what is needed is the right type of interface for the viewing habits of the typical user.