Home networking and HCI: what hath god wrought?
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The work to make a home network work
ECSCW'05 Proceedings of the ninth conference on European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work
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As computer networking has moved out of managed environments and into the home, householders - whether they want to or not -- have had to tackle problems of home network maintenance. Unlike in enterprise environments, however, householders often do not plan or manage for network growth. As a result, devices are often added in a haphazard, piecemeal manner [1]. The open-ended nature of home networking protocols has also led to highly dynamic and heterogeneous home networks. The range of possible devices--and possible ways to configure and connect those devices--means that every network likely looks different; one study suggests that highly customized, end-user configured home networks are the norm in many households today [2] . Given the complexity of digital devices, the presence of highly-customized networks, and the technical inexperience of many people, how well do householders understand the structure and function of their home networks? How well can they cope with networking problems when they arise?