The invisible computer
by Donald A. Norman · first published 1998
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2recommended by
5HN commenters
2011–2025first – last mentioned
40% recommend60% neutral
In this book, Norman shows why the computer is so difficult to use and why this complexity is fundamental to its nature. The only answer, says Norman, is to start over again, to develop information appliances that fit people's needs and lives. To do this companies must change the way they develop products. They need to start with an understanding of people: user needs first, technology last - the opposite of how things are done now. Companies need a human-centered development process, even if it means reorganizing the entire company. This book shows why and how.
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_The Myth of Certainty_ by Daniel Taylor _Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing_ by Soren Kierkegaard _The Invisible Computer_ by Donald Norman _Death March_ by Edward Yourdon _War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning_ by Chris Hedges _What Do You Care What Other People Think?_ by Richard P. Feynman
on “Ask HN: What books have helped make who you are today?” ↗Along these design lines, I highly recommend Don Norman's "The Invisible Computer" https://a.co/d/7AnQMLW though his notions of mesh-networking and voice interaction illustrate the dated-ness of the book, but I think the idea of ambient interfaces with the smart-phone as "the hub"…
on “Personal Ambient Computing” ↗…issues rather than careful testing and conversation, the team will inevitably find themselves building more and more and more for no real benefit. I've quoted this before, but what Don Norman says in The Invisible Computer still applies: "Don’t ask people what they want. Watch them and figure out their needs. If you ask, people usually focus on what they have and ask for it to be better: cheaper, faster, smaller. A good…
on “Signs you’re working in a feature factory (2016)” ↗IIRC, I read this (or something very similar) in Don Norman's book "The Invisible Computer".
on “The Invisible Side of Design ” ↗Except most of these profound visions from Mossberg are things that have been discussed in the tech community for decades. Don Norman wrote The Invisible Computer 19 years ago. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/invisible-computer
on “Mossberg Final Column: The Disappearing Computer” ↗