AN INTEGRATED DESKTOP WORK TOOL SYSTEM
FOR MANAGING ELECTRONIC AND PAPER MEDIA ON THE DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT
by Chaotao Wu
The objective of this project is to propose a sound solution to the media conflicting problems on the office desktop in order to create a integrated and seamless desktop work tool system for knowledge workers in offices.
The completed system consists of cable managing modules, a large flat touch-sensitive screen, a mobile telephone, a CD reader, a video camera, a stylus, a document processor, and a pair of speakers. A document processor, (at right) which incorporates the functions of copying, faxing, scanning, and printing, is proposed to streamline the task of image processing involving both electronic and paper media. A desktop supporting structure composed by a string of cable managing modules is also proposed to enhance integration of work tools working with various media. The entire system breaks down the barriers between different media on the desktop, making the transitions from paper-intensive to electronic tasks on office desktop seamless and vice versa.
The Paperless Office is one of the most cited trends in predicting the future of the post-industrial office. The concepts of the Paperless Office are addressed in so many futuristic office designs that people think paper will be less used or even disappear from office desktop ultimately. But the truth is that so far paper consumption has never decreased. According to the released data of American Forest and Paper Association in January 1994, paper production appears to have grown steadily from 1989 to 1994 partly because electronic media such as desktop publishing programs generate and reproduce information on paper faster and more efficiently. Electronic media can not completely replace paper media. Instead of letting advanced desktop equipment conflict with paper-related products, the future office desktop should be designed to be a work surface with the more harmonious hybrid of the various media.
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