Following is a brief summary of Weinberger’s 4 New Strategic Principles for organizing knowledge:

1. Filter on the way out, not on the way in
“…where there’s an abundance of access to an abundance of resources, filtering on the way in decreases the value of that abundance by ruling items that might be of great values to a few people. Filtering on the way out…increases the value of that abundance by locating what’s of value to a particular person at a particular moment (p. 103).”

2. Put each leaf on as many branches as possible
Delicious is a good example of this. Instead of categorizing items onto one specific branch, they are given as many labels as possible, allowing them to have better usability. This is especially important because the order of one may not be the order of another, but the many different orders of many people will be useful to at least a few.

3. Everything is Metadata and everything can be a label.
“Now that everything in the connected world can serve as metadata, knowledge is empowered beyond fathoming. We can not only find what we need based on whatever slight traces we have in our hand, we can see connections that would have escaped our notice (p. 105).”

4. Give up control.
Categorizing reveals missed information.

Thesis 2: The many forms of ubiquitous computing are indistinguishable from the user’s perspective and will appear to a user as aspects of a single paradigm: Everywhere.

There are so many different pieces of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) that it is difficult to imagine that they are all one whole. The experience of ubicomp involves “…a diverse ecology of devices and platforms, most of which have nothing to do with ‘computers’ as we’ve understood them (p. 16).” “…When we consider the difference between our experience of PCs and the thing that is coming, it is clear that … (p. 16),” there is a new age dawning, something that is too difficult, scattered and large for us to understand.

Thesis 7: Everyware isn’t so much a particular kind of hardware or software as it is a situation.

There are so many objects embedded with technology right now that it is difficult to comprehend the world in terms of hardware. Instead, “…everyware isn’t so much a particular kind of hardware, philosophy of software design, or a set of interface conventions as it is a situation—a set of circumstances (p. 31).” It is in this theory that Greenfield best describes the intangible qualities of everyware. “…there is in fact a coherent ‘it’ to be considered, something that appears whenever there are multiple computing devices devoted to each human user; when this processing power is deployed throughout local physical reality instead of being locked up in a single general purpose box…(p. 31).” This “it” is something no one can ignore, and it is creeping into our lives at all angles whether we like it (or even notice it), or not.

Thesis 8: The project of everyware is nothing less than the colonization of everyday life by information technology.

A scary theory indeed, yet the introduction of technology to the monotony of everyday life is meant as a convenience. No longer would you have to ask yourself where you hid the remote control, or why there was nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon. Greenfield argues that this does have the potential to be scary, though, as we must all wake up and take control of the direction everyware will take our lives.

Thesis 9: Everyware has profoundly different implications for the user experience than previous paradigms.

Typically, a user sits down to a computer, types in commands and gets what he or she wants. With everyware, your wants are inferred by embedded software. You no longer give commands, objects just act around you and for you.

Thesis 16: Everyware can be engaged inadvertently, unknowingly, or even unwillingly.

Put very simplistically, engaging inadvertently can be described as, “I didn’t mean to hit that button, I wanted to hit a different one;” unknowingly can be described as, “I didn’t know that hitting that button would have such an effect,” and unwillingly can be described as, “What just happened? I didn’t push any buttons!” People will interact with technology they don’t know exists. Or they may interact with it knowingly, but comply anyway for convenience.

Thesis 19: Everyware is always situated in a particular context.

In the PC world, interaction and immersion are easy to do, we can take our laptops anywhere, and be connected to the Internet at all times. Everyware is different, though, everyware takes immersion to an all-new level. “By instrumenting the actual world, though, as opposed to immersing a user in an information-space that never was, everyware is something akin to virtual reality turned inside out (p. 73).” Everyware will change the user experience by taking them off of a computer screen and into the real world.

Thesis 31: Everyware is a strategy for the reduction of cognitive overload.
With the excesses of information streaming at the users at all times, there is a fear within ubiquitous computing that more computers will directly cause more stress. In other words, “If computers are everywhere, they better stay out of the way (p. 111).” With ubiquitous computing, however, computers can be everywhere without being in the way, “…the total cognitive burden imposed by a poorly designed ubicomp on the average, civilian user would be intolerable (p.111).” Computers can be put in the periphery and only used when needed, they will not necessarily need to be called upon, and they will just do what they do without human input.

This book was quite interesting. I find it hard to enjoy disjointed narratives like this one, because it usually means I have to pay closer attention than normal. 200 pages in one day is always an interesting read as well. I liked "the rat as currency" dialogue between Eric and Micheal Chin a lot. I also liked how Eric seemed disinterested and unattached to everything, a result of his life in a limosine filled with computer screens and of his career. Everything to him is outdated, including airports, stethascopes, and skyscrapers. Also, everything reminds him of his manhood, inlcuding skyscrapers and his limosine. He is so detached from the world he lives in that throwing away his money and his wife's (who he barely knows) is nothing to him. In fact, its amusing. Even being in the middle of a violent protest and the murders of his contemporaries is amusing.