CHI 99 Press Releases

Press Releases:

Jakob Nielsen, most websites failing

Cyberspace Civil Wars - censorship and the web

How to Succeed in Business by Really Trying

Digital Library or Digital Store?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Computer Controlled Kids Toys

(PALO ALTO, CA) March 22, 1999 -- In the new economy of online commerce and ubiquitous computing, the fate of many companies will depend on a factor they have little experience with: usability and interaction design.

Many of us have had the frustrating experience of being unable to perform what should be simple tasks with modern equipment. The world is strewn with personal computers that reduce us to tears, mobile phones with dozens of functions we can't remember how to use, and un-programmable video recorders. Most of us who use the Web have experienced sites that frustrate us in getting information or ordering a product.

There have also been notable user interaction successes, such as the Palm Pilot, Web browsers, automatic teller machines, and the Macintosh computer.

Usability and interaction design is now a core competency in the new networked information economy. Ability in this area will determine whether all companies thrive, merely survive, or disappear.

Hear and see the latest from the people in thriving companies and universities that are making technology more accessible and easier to use. Designers of hardware and software products from companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, Xerox PARC, and Yahoo!; and researchers from universities such as Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Princeton University, and Stanford University will meet for the CHI 99 conference on Computer-Human Interaction.

CHI is the premier worldwide forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of how people interact with computers. The annual conference on human factors in computing systems features a full program of presentations, tutorials and vendor exhibits. Researchers, practitioners, educators, and students from around the world join in exploring and pushing the limits of computer-human interaction. Approximately 2500 professionals from over 35 countries will examine the future of human-computer interaction from 15-20 May in Pittsburgh, PA at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center at CHI 99.

CHI conferences are sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM)'s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). The CHI conference is traditionally supported by industry organizations. The CHI 99 champion sponsors include: Microsoft, Motorola, National Science Foundation, Sun Microsystems and Yahoo! Inc.

For more information about CHI 99 or the field of human-computer interaction, please contact Ace Public Relations at: chi99media@PublicizeIt.com