Summary INF1520 SUMMARISED NOTES 2022

INF1520 SUMMARISED NOTES 2022 Page 1 of 25 INF1520 UNIT 1 – INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION HCI was adopted in the mid-1980s to denote a new field of study. Today it is a multi-disciplinary subject with computer science. Psychology and cognitive science. A – Historical context 1 – Early 1450 Persian astrologer, Al-Kashi, used a device to calculate the conjunction of the planets. 1600 The German mathematician, Wilhelm Schickard, developed a tool to perform simple addition and subtraction. Blaise Pascal built a simplified replica of the Schickard device. The user population of early PC users consisted mainly of enthusiasts and experts who built their own systems, so there was little incentive to design for the casual end-user or improve HCI. 1700+ Agricultural & industrial revolutions in Europe increased trade, which increased the need to produce accurate maps and navigation charts. 1820 / 1870 Charles Babbage built his Difference Engine to calculate 6th degree polynomials. This machine was never completed. Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine was programmed using punch cards, which can therefore be viewed as the first solution to a user interface problem. 1900+ People from Ireland & Scandinavia fled from famines to the USA. The USA government wanted to monitor the immigrant population. Herman Hollerith developed a computational device, using punched cards, to calculate census statistics 1911 Computer-Tabulating-Recording Company, the first computer company, was founded. 1914 Tomas J Watson joined the Computer-Tabulating-Recording Company and built it up to form the International Business Machine’s Corporation (IBM). The term ‘computer’ was originally used in the early 20th century to describe the people who manually performed calculations. Mid-1900 The Second World War created another set of ‘narrow’ applications for computing devices. 1943 Alan Turing developed the Colossus to try and break German encryption techniques. The Colossus was the first truly interactive computer. The Colossus accep