ruben-schade

It’s so cold in Sydney this morning, I can see my breath. Parked cars have frost on them, and leaves are heavy with dew. I have to walk with my hands in my jacket pockets, because the wind is too cold.

Reading these first few sentences of Ruben's post instantly took me back to waking up to a winter morning as a child. I'm not sure why but it was a time when winter just crept up on me and suddenly one morning it's cold.

In a similar vain to an essay I shared yesterday called The Utopia of the Family Computer, we had furniture that was specifically designed to accomodate this machine and it's peripherals.

It wasn’t an ordinary desk but a fairly specific design: a compartment for the CPU, another for the monitor, a sliding tray for the keyboard, slots for discs, shelves for papers, manuals, and pencils. Everything seemed designed so that each element would find its place and, at the same time, so that the whole would stay contained within a clear structure. That kind of furniture organized more than just objects. It organized a relationship with technology. It suggested that the computer (and with it, the internet) was something used under particular conditions: seated, in that spot, for a certain amount of time. Something that was switched on and off, opened and closed.

I like this, a space designed for a purpose, in todays world this could also help draw a boundary between work and personal time. In an appartement this computer space is usually used during work and personal time, with maybe different configurations or devices to set the boundary, but I digress.

The real reason for me writing this is to share Ruben's post on trying to find and eventually building his own desk! I think it turned out quite well.

Sasara is a personal wiki maintained by Ruben and Clara. My favourite entries are the bookmarks!

The wiki runs on MediaWiki. Ruben has coincidentally, at the time of writing this, shared his preferences of personal/family wiki engines and why running one might be useful.

Ruben Schade comments on how RSS, email and social media have similar user interface and experience elements as mail.

I just think that’s interesting. We have all this technology, and have made all this progress, and so much of the mental model for interaction is still based around sending each other letters.

See also Phantom Obligation.