Director's Letter

In this issue of the CRITO Review, we explore how computers, the Internet and related technologies in the home are affecting our lives. This focus is especially fitting given that this is the 25th-year anniversary of the IBM-PC which debuted in August 1981, and gave birth to a whole new industry.

Although the familiar desktop PC was the heart of the industry early on, it now also includes PC-based servers, and various portable devices such as notebook PCs, tablet PCs, PDAs, personal music players, and smart phones. The PC has undergone considerable innovation and change since the first desktop was introduced. The traditional PC is no longer expected to be the sole locus of innovation in the future, but simply one of many devices “orbiting the user” (The Economist, 2006). Communications devices, such as phones and PDAs, are gaining computing capabilities so people can now download music and send e-mail through a mobile phone. Other devices previously linked to the PC have become independent of the PC; for example, digital camera photos can be transferred directly to a printer. All of these activities used to require a PC, but this is no longer the case. Nevertheless, over 200 million PCs were produced in 2005 (IDC, 2006) and the PC is often the first place for innovations to appear that may migrate later to other devices or to the Internet.

Few predicted the incredible strides that would be made in the technology or in bringing computers into the home. Even leaders in the computer industry, such as Ken Olson, co-founder and president (1957-1992) of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) were caught up in outdated visions. Olson was quoted as saying “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home,” and “The personal computer will fall flat on its face in business.” The depth of this misperception is illustrated by the fact that worldwide revenues for the PC industry exceeded $200 billion in 2005.

Another reason that early predictions were misplaced is that few understood how computers might be used in the home (or for that matter the workplace), or how they might affect home life. CRITO Faculty Associates have been exploring the use and impact of computers in the home for some time and we report on some of it in this issue. We are also pleased to point readers to the recent special issue of the academic journal, The Information Society (September-October 2006), where Alladi Venkatesh was the guest editor of “ICT in Everyday Life: Home and Personal Environments.”

The first article in the CRITO Review features Alladi Venkatesh’s “Home as the Next Technological Frontier.” He has done pioneering work on computers in the home, going as far back as the mid-1980’s when he and Nicholas Vitalari began research on Project Noah (National Outlook for Automation in the Home)—the first such national study. Venkatesh provides a sweeping historical perspective on the use of computers in the home, of the important role of the Internet, and explores a few specific aspects of computer use in the home.

Another article features Venkatesh’s research and work on the “Family Portal”—a technology that enables families to share information (schedules, household chores, messages) with one another, both locally and remotely for those at school, college, or work. His futuristic concepts, developed with Research Associates Victor M. Gonzalez and Steven Chen, show how much computer use has moved away from the computer per se, and onto the Internet. In designing the Family Portal, the research team is taking into consideration space and aesthetic issues, in addition to developing new functions that truly serve the needs of the family.

Mary Gilly, Mary Wolfinbarger, and Hope Schau investigate how the increased use of technology impacts peoples’ lives when the spouse must be away from home for long periods of time. Their study, “Household Decision Making at a Distance” focuses on the Navy and shows how military personnel can keep in touch with their family more intensely and frequently using email over the Internet, thereby participating more fully with their spouses in household decisions and giving them more connection and normalcy.

Our last report is a research update from the pilot project by Victor M. Gonzalez on the use of computers in lower income households in Tecámac, near Mexico City. While almost 70% of families in the U.S. have computers in their homes, this is not the case in less developed countries. In Tecámac, a housing development is being built which provides a computer and internet access as part of the housing package; it is aimed at bridging the digital divide by equipping lower income households with technology and access to education and other services that might enable them to advance economically. The update shows some of the issues being encountered by the developer and families alike. The researchers seek to understand the role of technology as a factor associated with the purchase of housing, the creation of self-contained communities, and the integration of technological services in the daily practices of lower income families.

As these summaries indicate, CRITO researchers strive to develop a deep understanding of information technology and its impact in the home, at work, in business, and more broadly within societies around the world. I hope you enjoy this issue, and find something useful to your own work.

Sincerely,