but it seems the innovation "something relatively new" as described in your first post as "online awareness + buddy list + over TCP/IP protocal + messaging" need not have had anything to do with interface, as it crosses several existing interfaces. It was my point to argue that this list of operations are not new. I agree that interfaces are important also, but it wasn't the point of my original point. I think it might be good in these situations to consider the cultural form that we are talking about also. just what is instant messaging, what would it have been comprable to in 400bc, 100ad, 800ad, 1500, 1700, etc. etc. the concept embedded within the variety of world cultures is not new at all, this is a new implementation, the systems underlying it are not even new in terms of digital systems, though as i think we both agree, the interface is new to some extent, though i think we may be able to find metaphorical comparisons in other systems that have existed before, such as some of the shared textual environments. I remember when i used icq the first time, my impression was that the interface was similar to parts of the daedalus writing system. granted, once im systems went into more personal devices you again have a transformation of the interface, and different types of diffusion, but in the end, what's new about it? the interface? ok, that's fine, but systematically the operation of this is quite the same as many other things in the digital world as i've previously discussed. If the similarities aren't present in your understanding of the systems, then i think we may have different contexts that may be incommensurable in some manner. kindly remember that email is an interface too, and that capitalization of whole words usually means you are yelling. i would not like to think that is intended. have a nice day, Quentin (Gad) Jones wrote:
jeremy hunsinger wrote:
i don't see a substantial difference in either esp. when one gets to be a high end user of a unix system because everything you say is different is scriptable. most of the difference is entirely in the interface,
That is what HCI research is about THE INTERFACE, a different interface causes huge differences in behaviour. It causes huge differences in diffusion of innovation too.
Q.
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