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INF1520 - Summary
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
Summary of 25 pages for the course INF1520 - Human-Computer Interaction I at Unisa
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UNIT 1 – INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTIONHCI was adopted in the mid-1980s to denote a new field of study. Today it is a multi-disciplinary subject with computer science.
Psychology and cognitive science.
A – Historical context
1 – Early
< 1450 Persian astrologer, Al-Kashi, used a device to calculate the conjunction of the planets.
1600 The German mathematician, Wilhelm Schickard, developed a tool to perform simple addition and subtraction.
Blaise Pascal built a simplified replica of the Schickard device.
The user population of early PC users consisted mainly of enthusiasts and experts who built their own systems, so
there was little incentive to design for the casual end-user or improve HCI.
1700+ Agricultural & industrial revolutions in Europe increased trade, which increased the need to produce accurate
maps and navigation charts.
Charles Babbage built his Difference Engine to calculate 6th degree polynomials.
This machine was never completed.
Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine was programmed using punch cards, which can therefore be viewed as the
first solution to a user interface problem.
1900+ People from Ireland & Scandinavia fled from famines to the USA.
The USA government wanted to monitor the immigrant population.
Herman Hollerith developed a computational device, using punched cards, to calculate census statistics
1911 Computer-Tabulating-Recording Company, the first computer company, was founded.
1914 Tomas J Watson joined the Computer-Tabulating-Recording Company and built it up to form the International
Business Machine’s Corporation (IBM).
The term ‘computer’ was originally used in the early 20th century to describe the people who manually
performed calculations.
Mid-1900 The Second World War created another set of ‘narrow’ applications for computing devices.
1943 Alan Turing developed the Colossus to try and break German encryption techniques. The Colossus was the first
truly interactive computer.
The Colossus accepted input via a keyboard and produced output via a teleprinter.
1945 Vannevar Bush published his ‘As we may think’ article in Atlantic Monthly, introducing his Memex system.
The Memex was a device in which you could store records, retrieved rapidly through indexing, keywords… You
could also construct links through material.
The system was never implemented, but it conceived the idea of hypertext.
1946 ENIAC, the first truly electronic digital computer (1946), was programmed by physically manipulating plugs and
relays.
As with Colossus, the impetus for this work came from the military
1957 IBM introduced the FORTRAN high-level programming language.
mid 50’s Computers had displays, so it was obvious they could be used for pictures too.
1963 Ivan Sutherland developed the SketchPad system at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the first sophisticated drawing
package.
Hardware developments of that period include: graphics terminals, input devices such as data tablets, and
processors capable of real-time image manipulation.
Doug Engelbart and Ted Nelson took the concept of Memex and elaborated on it.
Nelson focussed on links and interconnections (which he named ‘hypertext’).
Engelbart focussed on the hierarchic structure of documents.
Engelbart published ‘A conceptual framework for augmenting human intellect’.
Mid 70’s Turning points in the development of the computer allowed it to become available to the man in the street
1976 Steven Wozniak produced Apple I, based on the MOStek 6502 chip.
1981 IBM produced their first PC with DOS. Casual workers appeared for the first time.
1982 Xerox produced the star user interface (Star VI), in which files were represented by icons and were deleted by
dragging them over a wastebasket. This marked the advent of the modern desktop.
Apple Lisa
1983 Apple Macintosh
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,Both Apple and Microsoft got the idea of the GUI from Xerox.
2 - THE INTERNET, WWW AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
1962 - Concern on how people will communicate after nuclear holocaust
APARNET – Grew into internet
1971- 23 host machines
1980 +/- 100 computers to the internet
1990 +/- 100 000 computer
1994 Over 1 million
1999 Over 200million
Internet explorer, Netscape and mosaic encouraged active participation of new groups of users.
Major development built on Internet:
1 – E-mail
2 – Word wide web
3 – Social networks
3 – Mobile computing
Mobile computation can take place over large distances using cellular and satellite telephone links. It has made internet access
an integral part of everyday life through notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) like the iPhone®, and standard
cell phones.
Two types of wireless access services:
• Wi-Fi - uses radio waves to broadcast an Internet signal from a wireless router to the immediate surrounding area..
• Cellular broadband technology typically - involves a cellular modem or card to connect to cell towers for Internet access.
B – CURRENT CONTEXT AND FUTURE DIRECTION
1 – CURRENT CONTEXT
The following aspects of computer use currently affect HCI:
• Distributed systems:
• Multimedia interfaces
• Advanced operating systems
• HCI development environments
• Ubiquitous computing (UbiComp): This refers to computer systems that are embedded in everyday objects and thus,
unobtrusively, become part of the environment. An example is a computerised control system found in a modern car
(for example, activating the windshield wipers at the appropriate wiping speed when it detects rain).
• Mobile technology
2 – FUTUR DIRECTIONS
The changing notion of ‘the interface’.
Increasing dependency on technology.
Hyper-connectivity.
Changes in the means of and reasons for recording information
Increased creativity through technology.
C – HCI AND RELATED CONCEPTS
1 – DENITIONS OF HCI
HCI is a ‘set of processes, dialogues, and actions through which a human user employs and interacts with a computer’ (Baecker
and Buxton, 1987).
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, HCI is a ‘discipline concerned with the design, evaluation, and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use
and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them
HCI is the study of people, computer technology and the ways these influence each other.
‘Human’ = whoever is trying to do something using the technology (individuals, groups…)
‘Computer’ = any technology (general / embedded computers, process control systems…
‘Interaction’ = any communication between a user and the computer.
(Direct interaction involves dialogue with feedback & control during performance of the task).
(Indirect interaction involves background / batch processing).
HCI is concerned with the design, evaluation, and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use, and the
effectiveness and efficiency of computer use. It is also concerned with studying and improving the factors that influence the
effectiveness and efficiency of computer use. It involves disciplines like: psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, sociology,
physiology, engineering, computer science, anthropology, ergonomics, graphic design, management, communication science
and linguistics.
HCI is a multi-disciplinary field of study, incorporating: Technology, ergonomics, physiology, perception, cognition.
.
Other terms used in conjunction with HCI:
• Ergonomics
• Human factors
• Usability
• User experience
• Interaction design
• Accessibility
2 – WHO IS INVOLVED IN HCI
The ideal designer of interactive systems should have expertise in a variety of topics including:
• Psychology and cognitive science, giving insight into the user’s capabilities, and perceptual, cognitive, and problem-
solving skills.
• Environmental factors and ergonomics to be able to address the user’s working environment, physical capabilities and
comfort factors.
• Organizational factors to be able to address training, job design, productivity, and work organization.
• Health and safety factors.
• Philosophy, sociology, and anthropology to help understand the wider context of interaction.
• Linguistics.
• Computer science and engineering to be able to build the necessary technology.
• Graphics design to produce effective interface presentation.
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