Computing
Mitch Kapor, of early killer app Lotus 123 and EFF fame (among other things), is leading development of an alternative to traditional approaches to organizing information in computers [
MIT Technology Review article]. Based on "contexts", Kapor and Co.'s Open Source app "Chandler" attempts to structure information and documents based on purpose and use rather than in hierarchical (and separate) locations. The "Co.", Kapor's "Open Source Application Foundation," includes Andy Hertzfeld, the programmer who built most of the original Mac OS.
Chandler is based around email functionalist, which Kapor sees as the central information application for most users.
The “to-do” screen, for example, could be a context, with e-mail mixed in with related task items. So if you’re planning a party, Chandler might put a calendar with key dates on it (when to pick up a cake, say), the invitation form, RSVPs, a task list, and even a budget on-screen at once. When a guest’s e-mail request for veggie hors d’oeuvres arrives, arranging for them would automatically be added to your to-do list. Contexts will mean Chandler can reorganize the screen every time the user shifts between projects, as if she were replacing her desk with a new one. That’s a far cry from today’s software, which forces people to dig through applications and file folders to find things, and to print them out if they want to see everything in one place. And while Chandler will offer preset contexts, Kapor expects other open-source programmers to build them, too. If someone develops a better way to run spreadsheet analyses, a user can simply pull out existing contexts and replace them. (Try that with Outlook.)
Sounds great on paper--I'm hoping it works as well.
Posted by johndan at October 25, 2003 01:26 PM
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