Situation-dependent browser to explore the information space

Abstract

The conventional desktop metaphor is ill equipped to assist modern users who are already flooded with information. Meanwhile mobile computing is becoming a common activity of many modern users who are engaged in time critical tasks. We propose a new framework called Situated Information Filing and Filtering (SIFF) for information management based on a user's situation which consists of sensitive surroundings such as the location and time and the user activities for modeling the user's personal information space. In SIFF, the user is not requested to keep in mind explicit information like a file name and its position in the directory structure. The system itself gathers the data about situations and uses them when filing and filtering the information. Situation dependent Browser, presented in the paper, is an intelligent application that has been developed within SIFF to explore the user's information space. It provides the user with the effective visual interaction on the basis of the past situations that he/she is interested in.