The Metaphor is Changing

With the release of the iPad this past week, Apple is changing the computer metaphor we have known for decades.

The model for interaction that many people take for granted is based on the office. There’s a desk on top of which you keep those things you need most frequently or currently, otherwise known as a “desktop.” There’s a filing system where you organize all your documents in folders within folders. There’s even a trash can within reach where you can toss the things you don’t need anymore.

The “windowed” UI experience is not found on the iPad. Instead, we have a “home button” that takes us to our “home screen”. And on that level of interaction is everything we need. If I want to access the word processing document I’ve been working on, I open the application I created it in, and the document is stored within. Focus shifts from managing files and clutter to enjoying music and photos and video. And all of this can be “locked up” when we need to leave.

The computer metaphor is changing. It used to mirror our office. Now it mirrors our home.