"Ubiquitous computing"

Boing Boing: "Yesterday I caught a presentation by Adam Greenfield about the ethics of "ubiquitous computing" (the idea that the devices around us will know where they are, what they are, and who you are)."

I skimmed the actual article, and without going into what the article is truly about (it's pretty philosophical), the Boing Boing guy has apparently failed to look 'ubiquitous' up in the dictionary. "Ubiquitous computing" is the idea that technology/computing becomes so widespread that it permeates pretty much every facet of our life, without us giving it a second thought. This is the definition the original article link is trying to use, but the Boing Boing poster has apparently misinterpreted the use of the word "ubiquitous". And since I'm baffled by their comment system, I'm posting my comment here.

Ubiquitous: (adj) Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time; omnipresent: “plodded through the shadows fruitlessly like an ubiquitous spook” (Joseph Heller).

Not to be confused with sentient coffee makers. :)


The original article's definition