DonaldA.Norman,apopulardesignconsultanttocarmanufacturers,computercompanies,andotherindustrialanddesignoutfits,hasseenthefutureandisworried.Inthislong-awaitedfollow-uptoTheDesignofEverydayThings,hepointsoutwhat’sgoingwrongwiththewaveofproductsjustcomingonthemarketandsomethatareondrawingboardseverywhere-from“smart“carsandhomesthatseektoanticipateauser’severyneed,tothelatestautomaticnavigationalsystems.Normanbuildsonthiscritiquetoofferaconsumer-orientedtheoryofnaturalhuman-machineinteractionthatcanbeputintopracticebytheengineersandindustrialdesignersoftomorrow’sthinkingmachines.Thisisaconsumer-orientedlookattheperilsandpromiseofthesmartobjectsofthefuture,andacautionarytalefordesignersoftheseobjects-manyofwhicharealreadyinuseordevelopment.
