User interfaces for network services: what, from where, and how

Abstract

An important problem in the context of network services in ubiquitous computing is the support of ad-hoc interaction. Ad-hoc interaction allows a user entering an environment to discover, request, and interact with user interfaces for the locally available network services, even if she has done minimal or no installation in advance. We observe that most recently-proposed ad-hoc interaction frameworks lack two important mechanisms: distribution and personalization. A distribution mechanism would make it easy to add third-party UIs and to centrally administer UIs across multiple independent workspaces forming an administrative or logical unit, such as all workspaces on a campus. A personalization mechanism would enable a user to see familiar UIs as she roams to different workspaces. We propose extensions to an existing ad-hoc interaction system, ICrafter, that enable these two independent behaviors. The mechanisms raise important policy questions; although we have not studied optimal policies, we outline the policy space and the policies we have adopted.