Customer comments on this selection.
 Nothing new
The book's central thesis seems to be that something called "new computing" is eclipsing "old computing" ("new computing" is typified by the world of user-driven applications that are also rather nebulously referred to as Web 2.0, 3.0, etc.), and that new computing, being closer to the user, requires a more user-centric design methodology (such as Leonardo would employ).
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br /There has definitely been growth in user-centric computing and a corresponding growth in interest in user-centric design in computing (which I agree is a good thing), but the trend started in the 80's with introduction of the PC and accelerated with the introduction of the Web in the 90's, so it's not really all that "new". And the "old computing", i.e., the more technical world of hardware-oriented system infrastructure development isn't going away just because user-driven computing is growing in popularity. Quite the contrary. Old computing provides a necessary platform for new computing and the latter makes the former even more important. It takes a lot of software and network engineering to make the "new computing" experience possible.
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br /The author also jumps on the bandwagon of AI-bashing, claiming that the quest for machine intelligence is dead and is being replaced by human intelligence extension. The Turing Test notwithstanding, extending human capability has been the quest of most of AI research all along, and it's been quite successful (neural nets, fuzzy logic, expert systems, natural language understanding, computer games, search techniques, robotics, etc.). A few AI researchers are trying unsuccessfully to create HAL (and learning from the experience), but most are trying to create useful tools to empower humans and they're generally succeeding.
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br /The book contains some interesting reflections on changes taking place in computing, but doesn't provide anything substantially new in terms of perspective.
 Bleh
Leonardo's Laptop Response:
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br /I really dislike this book. At first, I was looking forward to reading it. I am very interested in technology's future, human computer interface design, and enabling better software through simplicity. The combination of technology and artistry suggested by the title led me to believe that it would be an insightful volume pointing the way to a better computing. Instead, this diatribe leads me only left with a feeling that the author is so full of himself as to be blind to the world around him.
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br /This book does address real issues. As computing moves from the back server closet into the home, real changes have to be made. Software today is complicated, and is frequently frustrating to use and learn.
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br /However, this author acts as if the computing world is ignorant of the cost of complexity. His book falls short of actual ways to achieve these goals, has no recognition of the technological, economical, or social challenges involved, and totally fails to recognize the work of the past pioneers in achieving these goals. He views computing solely from a consumer point of view, ignoring the vast gains in efficiency and choice made possible through the vast computing infrastructure supporting modern day life.
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br /As Schneiderman puts it, "old" computing is concerned with technology. These researchers and practitioners are concerned with increasing speed, decreasing cost, and improving reliability. In contrast, he views "new" computing as a focus on improving people's experience with technology.
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br /This is a perfect example of the author's lack of technical competence. The only way that reliability is increased, user interfaces improved, and the experience of using a computer made more artistic and enjoyable is through improved computer speed and reliability. As an example, the aesthetically pleasing effect (in the new iTunes version) of flipping through album covers relies upon powerful computing technology. Schneiderman's dichotomy between "old" and "new," and downright distain for people interested in the former, is counter-productive. In every field, there are different groups working on different problems. While it is reasonable to argue for one's particular area of interest, it is incredibly narrow-minded to argue that it is the only field of interest.
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br /Lastly, I found the author's presentation of historical Leonardo anecdotes incidental to his arguments. Rather than being the basis for the book, Schneiderman descends into the meaninglessness of arguing that Leonardo would "put man at the center" of the design process, or would like portable devices of different size screens.
Decent class of cover....that's it
Approximately 250 pages of hybridised vacuity build from snippets of information coralled together. I can best describe this work as almost entirely cliche ridden. It is further evidence that human computer interaction studies are largely 'solutions' in search of problems. The chapter on 'mega-creativity' is replete with casual opinion and banal anecdotes. Likewise chapters on the 'new education' and 'new medicine' are pitched several degrees below what the average Time or News Week reader would expect in content. Overall this is a poor piece of work in terms of content and I regret having wasted money on it. At some point in time, I hope that a Shokal equivalent emerges to debunk the self-aggrandising twaddle that typifies most HCI work.
repetitive, but somehow doesn't say anything
Schneiderman's "Leonardo's Laptop" is singularly disappointing. Promising to raise our expectation of what we should get from technology, he instead uses a forced extended metaphor in the form of Leonardo da Vinci. What would Leonardo do?, we are repeatedly asked. Schneiderman attempts to answer the question. Sadly, his answers are neither new nor groundbreaking. I cannot believe that Leonardo would simply recount solutions that are already available and attempt to make such solutions sound visionary and forward-thinking.
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br /The chapters in the book discuss the issues with usability today, activites and relationships, and attempt to discuss future directions in several fields: government, healthcare, business, and education. In these chapters, Schneiderman uses feel-good buzzwords like 'empowering' and 'enabling', but never moves beyond the feel-good buzzwords to suggest real solutions. In most cases, he suggests solutions that are already implemented; in others, he simply waves his hands at the problem and says that there has to be a solution.
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br /Each chapter concludes with a skeptic's corner. This section could easily be re-labelled the strawman's corner. In that section, he constructs arguments that skeptics might use, but he must assume that skeptics are uniformly moronic. The so-called skeptical arguments are drawn with exceptionally rough strokes, which he dispenses of with little regard to very real concerns that can and should be discussed.
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br /I had high hopes for this book. I wanted something that pushed the boundaries. I wanted something visionary. Instead, I got a repetitive book that somehow didn't say anything. I can only hope that future works give us something better than this.
 The Virtual Renaissance Man
This book is an excellent resource for practitioners to remind of what is important in today's product computer world - customer satisfaction. The book reminds us through the use of Leonardo DaVinci's laptop applications that we need to ensure mankind is the master of computer systems and computers serve our customer needs for new applications and do not become an end in themselves. He is not convinced machine will think for themselves or have personalities as hollywood has suggested in several movies. He shows a healthy skepticism about where we are headed and defines some of the existing top notch research projects. His position at University of Maryland Human Computer Interaction lab gives him a unique look into government use of computing which he discusses in the book. A most useful book to career government computer people.
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