Zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs) have received a significant amount of attention in the 18 years since they were introduced. They have enjoyed some success, and elements of ZUIs are widely used in computers today, although the grand vision of a zoomable desktop has not materialised. This paper describes the premise and promise of ZUIs along with…

The use of ICT to enhance teaching and learning depends on effective design, which operates at many levels of granularity from the small to the very large. This reflects the range of educational problems from course design down to the design of activities focused on specific learning objectives. For maximum impact these layers of design need to be…

Introduces five articles in a special journal issue devoted to research about, design of, and use of multimodal interfaces. Article highlights include: algebra instruction; presentation of data summaries; interaction with complex spatial displays (maps); access to computing for the visually impaired; and design for portable devices for use in…

Described are some of the ways in which computers can enter invisibly into people's lives. The social issues that embodied virtuality will engender are discussed. The hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves, and infrared that will allow this to occur are described. (KR)

The House Armed Services Committee asked the GAO (General Accounting Office) to examine the HPCC (High Performance Computing and Communications) program in terms of: (1) the effectiveness of the program's management structure in setting goals and measuring progress, and (2) how extensively private industry has been involved in the planning and…

The development of information technologies such as public access catalogs and online databases has greatly enhanced access to information. The lack of automation in the area of document delivery, however, has created a large disparity between the speed with which citations are found and the provision of primary documents. This imbalance can…