Ambient Findability: Lost and Found

Overview

The author is sitting on a beach in Newport, Rhode Island. Seagulls and sandpipers hunt near the water's edge. The Atlantic ocean sparkles in the early morning sun. To his right, the Cliff Walk winds its way between the rugged New England shoreline and the manicured gardens of the Newport mansions, opulent "Summer cottages" built with industrial age fortunes made in steamships, railroads, and foreign trade. The author sitting on a beach in Newport, but is not entirely there. The authors attention is focused on a device that rests in the palm of his hand. It's a Treo 600 smartphone. The author is using it to write this sentence, right here, right now.