Sony and IDEO Leaders Examine Future User Interface Connections at
CHI2004, 24-29 April, Vienna

New York, NY/Vienna, Austria (1 March 2004) -- "As the wave of ubiquitous computing is rapidly penetrating our everyday lives, the focus of human computer interactions is also shifting from simply improving individual "boxes" to enhancing more connected activities and communications" says Jun Rekimoto, Director of the Interaction Laboratory at Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. Rekimoto will discuss how such pervasive connectivity will change our physical space as the opening speaker for CHI2004 in Vienna. He will also examine some of the user interface challenges of the future.

Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO, the world's leading design consultancy specializing in turnkey product development and innovation strategy will close the conference. "Designing a product is not the same as designing an experience. Technology as often as not frustrates rather than enhances a great experience." says Brown. "In my presentation, I'll be discussing some of the learning IDEO has gained from working on projects as diverse as the future of the patient experience in healthcare to advanced retail prototypes for Prada."

"We are extremely happy that Rekimoto and Brown agreed to be our Keynote Speakers and address our community. Both are leaders in research and design. We can connect with them directly as their impact can be seen, felt, and heard in products all around us" say Elizabeth Dykstra-Erickson (Kinoma, Inc.) and Manfred Tscheligi (CURE-AT), CHI2004 Co-Chairs.

The annual CHI Conference is the premier worldwide forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of how people interact with computers. The conference features a six-day program full of presentations, tutorials, vendor exhibits and networking opportunities. This year's technical program focuses on Ambient Intelligence, Games, Mobile Communications, Robotics & Transport and European HCI Research. Researchers, practitioners, educators, and students from around the world join in exploring and creating the future of human-computer interaction. Approximately 2000 professionals from over 35 countries will connect and examine the future of human-computer interaction from 24-29 April at the Austria Center Vienna.

CHI conferences are sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). In addition to ACM, various organizations in the technology industry support the CHI conference. The CHI2004 Champion sponsors include: Google, Microsoft, OSDN Slashdot, SAP, Unisys, and Yahoo! Inc.

For more information, contact the CHI2004 Conference Office: +1 312 321-4096, send e-mail to CHI2004-office@acm.org or visit http://www.chi2004.org
Editors contact: C.L.Klyver at chi2004-press@acm.org