I like Geoffrey Moore's call for a new metaphor for the PC UI that embraces multi-threaded information streams to appease our increasing demand for data:
The current UI is still tied indirectly to the PC’s original root metaphor, a typewriter. It needs to transition to another—the stock trader’s workstation on Wall Street. It needs to recast itself as a media machine, with many concurrent feeds that enable traders to scan for information, detect trends, and transact, all very rapidly.
This concept feeds into previous posts of mine and others on the increasing demands on our attention. While Geoffery does not discuss the fact that we are becoming overwhelmed with information, he rightly identifies the PC as being inefficient in relaying the multiple streams of information that we have come to require.
I would like to add to his request for a better UI by also suggesting that we need better tools for information management. There is a huge volume of information coming at us (or that we are mining) from multiple streams and the storage management of this information is becoming too difficult. I am struggling to find the right mix of tools to deal with all of the data that I wish to retain and be able to recall at some future time on multiple machines (work PC, home PC, Treo). I'm using a combination of del.icio.us, EverNote, ContentSaver, FolderShare, 37Signals, Outlook folders, and Windows folder structures to maintain information that I want to preserve for work and personal purposes, yet I feel like it's all a kluge. I need help in consolidating the vast amounts of information that I am trying to assimilate. AJAX is helping, but the panacea for this problem is not yet here.
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