Writes Jakob Nielsen in an article entitled “In the Future, We’ll All Be Harry Potter”, stating:
The world of magic is a world where inanimate objects come alive; it’s as if they had computational power, sensors, awareness, and connectivity.
By saying that we’ll one day be like Harry Potter, I don’t mean that we’ll fly around on broomsticks or play three-dimensional ballgames (though virtual reality will let enthusiasts play Quidditch matches). What I do mean is that we’re about to experience a world where spirit inhabits formerly inanimate objects.
Much of the Harry Potter books’ charm comes from the quirky magic objects that surround Harry and his friends. Rather than being solid and static, these objects embody initiative and activity. This is precisely the shift we’ll experience as computational power moves beyond the desktop into everyday objects.
