Introducing a New Look
Some readers may have noticed that it's been a month longer than usual
since the last issue of Research magazine. It is not because we're late.
It's because we've moved to a new publication schedule. While still a
quarterly, we will now go to press in January, April, July and October. And
to keep our numbering system consistent, we are making this a combined
issue.
More significant are the design changes throughout, the most far-reaching
since the magazine was revamped nearly three years ago. The table of
contents has been redesigned. The News section has been broken into
separate departments. Solutions has been expanded and will ultimately
include multiple articles. Headlines and other design elements have been
reworked.
The purpose of our new look is not to introduce change for its own sake but
to make the magazine more attractive, as well as easier to navigate and
read. We will continue to fine-tune the design in the coming year, and we
welcome suggestions for making the magazine more readable and more useful.
Research's external Web site (http://www.research.ibm.
com) also underwent a major redesign at the end of last year. In
addition to summaries of work in progress and improved searching
capabilities, the site now hosts the online version of Research magazine,
with the full text of all the 1996 and 1997 issues. A new online form also
simplifies the process for subscribing and requesting back issues.
Simplification happens also to be the theme of the
current issue. The topic is a timely one. Complaints about the complexity
of technology are, of course, not new, but the pace of innovation today has
heightened that concern and raised the question, At what point does the
burden of learning how to use or maintain a system outweigh the value of
added functionality?
Both those issues are dealt with explicitly. Whereas the cover story, on the human-centered interface,
focuses on emerging technology to simplify interactions with computers, "Wired for Life" describes a new model for
handling a key aspect of systems management. Based on a lifetime electronic
connection between a PC and a service center, it would free the user from
ever worrying about updates and fixes. Finally, our Solutions article, "Ending Email Overload",tells how a
machine-learning system developed for a major bank automatically directs
incoming email to the appropriate department based on the contents of the
message.
These are crucial steps in the evolution of computing. Just as a stage was
reached at which computers became essential in designing new ones, so we
can expect to see computers being enlisted to simplify the way we use them
in everyday tasks.
