Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Pervasive and ubiquitous computing (27 Feb 2006) But what do the terms pervasive and ubiquitous actually mean? Despite being used interchangeably, they do refer to different forms of computing. One very simple way of discussing the difference is by looking at their dictionary definitions. Ubiquitous means "the state of being everywhere", while pervasive means to "pass through, to be diffused throughout" (these definitions are taken from the Concise English Dictionary, 1984). Relating these definitions to 'real-world' computing applications, ubiquitous computing is best considered as the underlying framework, the embedded systems, networks and displays which are invisible and everywhere, allowing us to 'plug-and-play' devices and tools. Such systems are so embedded and natural that we use them without thinking - except of course when they break down! Add this article to Del.icio.us Article URL: http://www.nestafuturelab.org/viewpoint/art71.htm Read 150 more articles from NESTA Futurelab sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Survival tips          Books about Usability | Information Architecture | Information Visualisation | Technology History This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy

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