In our workplace people frequently leave their desks and spend a significant amount of time away from their desktop computers. During these times, tasks arise that are best supported by a computing system. The user interface for Palplates is keyed to its location, showing the most likely tasks and providing the most specific information for that place. Although Palplates are not mobile computers, they do aid mobile users. Reservation agent allows scheduling the use of meeting and conference rooms.
Local news allows personal communication and announcements keyed to location.
We found that even though Paper Plates were missing important interactive aspects, people used them. As we expected, the Paper Plates in different locations were used for different tasks. For example, the kitchen Plate was used mostly for discussion and ordering kitchen supplies. For example, reserving the meeting room did not always occur in the meeting room, but from a Plate in the hallway. In addition, people were interested in using the Plates to access their own private information, such as Web documents and calendars.