Technology should be simpler, more robust and more transparent

John Seely Brown makes a number of good comments in Forbes' "Back in Touch" interview, including this one:

"The real spirit of ubiquitous computing is to let technology disappear. I drive high-performance automobiles. What is the question you never ask when you buy a car: Is it powered by Unix or Windows? There is serious computing going on inside the automobile, but you don't even know it's there. With ABS braking, you don't have to activate a system. It diagnoses when you need help, moves seamlessly to help you, and then moves out of the way again. We're incredibly far from that with most technology. There has been no new innovation in interfaces for 30 years. We have to use the power of Moore's Law not just to design things that amplify our computing abilities but to keep things simple, robust, and transparent."

Related:
- John Seely Brown's page at PARC
- The Social Life of Information