Information Structure

"A user interface should be so simple that a beginner in an emergency can understand it within ten seconds"


Ted Nelson is an American pioneer of information technology.
He is one of the person who propound "Hypertext".

As everyone know, computer network is not always easy to everyone.
I believe most of people are not familiar with computer network and/or interface.
At the beginning of computer's history, most of computers were used by someone who were familiar with information technology or something like that.
Other people can not use computer because it was too complicated to them.
Nelson's purpose is making easy to use computer for everyone who are not do not have any particular information.

Firstly, Nelson suggest "Project Xanadu".
It was the world's first project of hypertext.
Project of hypertext is exactly what we are using NOW!!
Put simply, there are many websites in Internet. Hypertext links every website.
Imagine "Wikipedia", and there are many "links" which drift other information.

This idea is coming from "Memex" that we just learned these days.


However, this project was failed by "World Wide Web"(W3).
W3 is same idea with Project Xanadu.
Project Xanadu can link both sides, and the links never break.
On the other hand, W3 can make a link only for one way, and the links sometimes break.
Comparing two types of hypertext, Project Xanadu seems like mush more useful.
Unfortunately, Project Xanadu is really difficult to implement, and it needs to do version control.
 for these reasons, project Xanadu was failed.

Now Nelson consults on new type of information structure "ZigZag".

In the near future, our information structure might change......


Also if anyone who can understand my English, or what I am talking about, you can chack this site (Japanese). Oh this is LINK!!!!