Toward the domestication of microelectronics

Reviewer: Dineh Moghdam Davis

In this futuristic paper about the potential uses of computers, the author points to an inevitable shift from our preoccupation with price and performance to concerns about usability and usefulness of the technology. As with other pervasive technologies, computers are seen as following four evolutionary stages, from laboratory experiment to daily necessity. On topics ranging from today's “rude” software to next century's user participation in inventions, Birnbaum's presentation style is clean, understandable, and entertaining. However, his speculations about future uses of computers are similar to what others have offered for many years. The paper, which is based on Birnbaum's 1983 convocation speech at Columbia University, accomplishes its task of creating some positive excitement about future computing capabilities. There is an obviously patched-in side excursion into the world of electronic instrumentation at HP laboratories. This lends the paper a “scientific” tone presumably required of all Communications papers. However, I find it a sad commentary on the state of our industry if a well-respected scientist with decades of computer experience and knowledge cannot find a forum for his unadulterated thoughts on the future of his field. No references are provided.