Brendan Dawes
The Aesthetics of Form and Code

The Invisible Computer

I've always hated computers. Well more specifically I hate what the word computer conjures up for many people; a clever, scary machine that manages to make people look stupid. I think it's mad that all these years later after the invention of the baby (in Manchester btw) we're still using this term. When was the last time you truly did some "computing"?

I think this was why I fell in love with the Mac OS when my dad first brought home his 180c PowerBook. Whilst the hardware did indeed reveal that it was a computer, to me the software was trying its hardest to disguise this fact.

Finally things are changing. I really believe the iPad is a fundamental shift in how we interact with digital stuff. The computer has been completely removed from our living spaces. This is a device for casual use, ambient and transient. This could at long last herald the death of the computer for everyday use. A magical box waiting for us to twist into new forms. I can't wait.