“Coined by the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center’s (PARC) Computer Science Laboratory (CSL), [Ubiquitous Computing] describes a vision of the future. Just as electric motors have disappeared into the background of everyday life, PARC scientists envision a future where mobile computational devices will be similarly transparent. Potentially numbering the 100s per person these devices are nothing like those you use today. They are mobile. They know their location, and they communicate with their environment.”
I have no idea if I’m allowed to put this up but it seems a desperate shame that this video isn’t held in one complete file, easily accessible to the public and to researchers, given the historical significance of the work conducted on ubicomp at PARC by Mark Weiser et al. during hte late 80s early 90s. Please see the original files here: http://www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/UbiMovies.html and read more about Mark Weiser by sticking his name in Google.
Please note that I had to edit out 2 minutes of the more technical stuff to get the video down to under 10mins.
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[...] Sam Kinsey put up a video on YouTube on ubiquitous computing circa 1991 that explores the work done by the Xerox PARC Computer Science Labotratory (the video is put together from these clips). The quality of the video is pretty bad, but it features wonderful acting and soothing background music in addition to a historical time capsule. Old research papers rarely convay the excitement felt at the time. This one is restrained, but touching. A mood piece to accompany old papers. [...]