1. Challenges in Using Lifetime Personal Information Stores based on MyLifeBits Gordon Bell, Jim Gemmell, Roger Lueder SIGIR University of Sheffield, July 26, 2004

2. I have watched as hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested to re-invent the wheel - often badly. -Marcia Bates

3. The 1 TB Life 1TB gives you 65+ years of: 1TB gives you 65+ years of: 100 email messages a day (5KB each) 100 email messages a day (5KB each) 100 web pages day (50KB each) 100 web pages day (50KB each) 5 scanned pages a day (100KB each) 5 scanned pages a day (100KB each) 1 book every 10 days (1 MB each) 1 book every 10 days (1 MB each) 10 photos per day (400 KB JPEG each) 10 photos per day (400 KB JPEG each) 8 hours per day of sound - e.g. telephone, voice annotations, and meeting recordings (8 Kb/s) 8 hours per day of sound - e.g. telephone, voice annotations, and meeting recordings (8 Kb/s) 1 new music CD every 10 days (45 min each at 128 Kb/s) 1 new music CD every 10 days (45 min each at 128 Kb/s) It will take you 5 years to fill up your 80 GB drive It will take you 5 years to fill up your 80 GB drive Want video? Buy more cheap drives (1 TB/year lets you record 4 hours/day of 1.5 Mb/s video) Want video? Buy more cheap drives (1 TB/year lets you record 4 hours/day of 1.5 Mb/s video)

4. Everything goes in a database You need all the features of a database (Consistency, Indexing, Pivoting, Queries, Speed/scalability, Backup, replication) You need all the features of a database (Consistency, Indexing, Pivoting, Queries, Speed/scalability, Backup, replication) If you dont use one, you will find yourself creating one! If you dont use one, you will find yourself creating one! Files as blobs, also sync with file system for legacy apps Files as blobs, also sync with file system for legacy apps SQL

5. MyLifeBits Software MyLifeBits store database Voice annotation tool Text annotation tool Telephone capture tool TV capture tool TV EPG download tool Radio capture & EPG PocketPC transfer tool PocketRadio player Import files MyLifeBits Shell files Legacy applications Browser tool Internet IM capture MAPI interface Legacy email client GPS import & Map display SenseCam Screen saver

6. Memex As We May Think, Vannevar Bush, 1945 A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility Full-text search, text & audio annotations, and hyperlinks Full-text search, text & audio annotations, and hyperlinks

7. I am data

8. The guinea pig Gordon Bell is digitizing his life Gordon Bell is digitizing his life Has now scanned virtually all: Has now scanned virtually all: Books written (and read when possible) Books written (and read when possible) Personal documents (correspondence including memos and email, bills, legal documents, papers written, …) Personal documents (correspondence including memos and email, bills, legal documents, papers written, …) Photos Photos Posters, paintings, photo of things (artifacts, …medals, plaques) Posters, paintings, photo of things (artifacts, …medals, plaques) Home movies and videos Home movies and videos CD collection CD collection And, of course, all PC files And, of course, all PC files Now recording: phone, radio, TV (movies), web pages… conversations and meetings to come Now recording: phone, radio, TV (movies), web pages… conversations and meetings to come Paperless throughout 2002. 12 scanned, 12 discarded. Paperless throughout 2002. 12 scanned, 12 discarded. Only 30 GB!!! Only 30 GB!!!

9. Capture and encoding

10. I mean everything

11. 50+ year old newspaper clippings

12. 400 year old books

13. O(100s) tapes from videotape black hole

14. Personal LifeLog Applications Conservator Baby Book Companion Caretaker Babysitter Advisor Mentor Tutor Autobiography Photo Album Personal Assistant Diary/Journal Biography Medical Manager Executor Obituary OthersSelf Assistant for Elderly Application controlled by: Others Self Application used by: Personal Proxy Parole Officer Pers Flight Recorder Meeting Prep Captains Log Trustee Financial Manager

15. Why bother?..some reasons Technology creates an opportunity e.g. 1 TB disks Technology creates an opportunity e.g. 1 TB disks Technology creates a need e.g. jpg Technology creates a need e.g. jpg It will decay or disappear if you dont save it It will decay or disappear if you dont save it To eliminate physical storage (paper, CDs…) To eliminate physical storage (paper, CDs…) It costs more (in time) to delete than it costs to store It costs more (in time) to delete than it costs to store The mantra of the squirrel: I may need it some day. The mantra of the squirrel: I may need it some day. For posterity and nostalgia: Maybe others will want it. For posterity and nostalgia: Maybe others will want it. For memory enhancement & faster search (search your LifeBits rather than the web or your colleagues … a single source to look for stuff Ive seen) For memory enhancement & faster search (search your LifeBits rather than the web or your colleagues … a single source to look for stuff Ive seen) Let content analysis and data mining discover trends and correlations in our lives…that even we dont know. Let content analysis and data mining discover trends and correlations in our lives…that even we dont know. Aid to aging or failed memories Aid to aging or failed memories

16. So youve got it – now what do you do with it? A record if it is to be useful … must be continuously extended, it must be stored, and above all it must be consulted The difficulty seems to be, not so much that we publish unduly … but rather that publication has been extended far beyond our present ability to make real use of the record - Vannevar Bush

17. Trying to use my life bits #1: Folders One item. One place. It worked for 1000s of years.

18. My docs and archive S SelfSelf E E X- Employer Employer X-Employer Project Employer Library/file cab Active Employer Library/file cab <1995 Library/file cab Library/file cab Project Business Invests, family $s, & Legal Personal, including Medical Library/file cab

19. Freedom from hierarchy c:\my documents\talks\MyLifeBits.ppt ID=location=organization=display string c:\my documents\talks\MyLifeBits.ppt ID=location=organization=display string Dont make me invent unique names Dont make me invent unique names Dont make me file everything Dont make me file everything Or let me pick multiple folders Or let me pick multiple folders

20. multiple categorization not only improves organization and retrieval times but also matches more closely with the way users naturally think about organizing their information – Quan et al (MITs Haystack) multiple categorization not only improves organization and retrieval times but also matches more closely with the way users naturally think about organizing their information – Quan et al (MITs Haystack) MyLifeBits collection dialog Of course Aliases and Shortcuts can be used albeit painfully to file by time and/or event, subject, location, type.

21. Trying to use my life bits #2: Text annotations Making bits more valuable and retrievable.

22. Its just bits until it is annotated

23. Getting the user to tell a story is the ultimate in media value A story is a layout in time and space A story is a layout in time and space Most valuable content (by selection, and by being well annotated) Most valuable content (by selection, and by being well annotated) Stories must include links to any media they use (for future navigation/search – transclusion). Stories must include links to any media they use (for future navigation/search – transclusion). Cf: MovieMaker; Creative Memories PhotoAlbums Cf: MovieMaker; Creative Memories PhotoAlbums Dapeng was an intern at BARC for the summer of 2000 We took him to lunch at our favorite Dim Sum place to say farewell At table L-R: Dapeng, Gordon, Tom, Jim, Don, Vicky, Patrick, Jim

24. Annotation like this… Voice Annotation

25. Annotation when you feel like it, how you feel like it Screensaver is the killer app! Screensaver is the killer app!

26. Trying to use my life bits #3: I remember when… The 1 st or 2 nd most important retrieval handle.

27. MyLifeBits time overlap

28. MyLifeBits on-the-fly time clustering

31. MSR Next Media Team

32. M Stewart Lifeline v2 Mark Stewarts Lifeline Copyright Mark Stewart, 2004

34. Trying to use my life bits #4: Relationships (links) Using something near it, to find it.

35. Mark Stewarts first page Copyright Mark Stewart, 2004

36. The Stew family tree Copyright Mark Stewart, 2004

37. PhotoFinder - Schneiderman and Kang

38. MyLifeBits Entities & Links Annotates Caller in Phone Call Photo of Event Transcludes

40. Trying to use my life bits #5: I remember where Just essential.

42. Trying to use my life bits #6: more meta-data (properties) I remember something about the content (understanding a persons work)

44. Lederberg Finder page

45. Dublin core of a given item

46. Trying to use my life bits #7: classification Moving oward the ultimate time sink.

47. Is traditional classification required? … at OCLC there was unanimous agreement among faculty and participants that access to electronic resources requires controlled vocabulary and classification OCLC Institute, Knowledge Access Management: Tools and Concepts for Next Generation Catalogers, 17-19 November 1997, Dublin, Ohio.

48. www.alberteinstein.info

49. Professional Life: Organizations Administrivia Projects Library

50. Lederberg papers official reports Number of document segments

51. Lederberg Artifact types Abstracts Agendas not Agendas Announcements m; Announcements Application forms Articles m Articles Autobiographies m Autobiographies Bibliographies m Bibliographies Biographies m Biographies Brochures m Brochures Certificates m Certificates Correspondence m Correspondence Diaries m Diaries Drafts (documents) Drawings m Drawings Electronic images m Electronic images Essays m Essays Eulogies Excerpts Grant proposals Interviews m Interviews Invitations Laboratory notebooks m Laboratory notebooks Laboratory notes Lecture notes Lectures m Lectures Legal documents m Legal documents Legislative records Lists Manifestoes Memoirs m Memoirs Minutes Monographs m Monographs Narratives Newsletters Newspaper columns m Newspaper columns Notebooks m Notebooks Notes Obituaries Official reports Oral histories m Oral histories Petitions Photographic prints m Photographic prints Press releasesPress releases m Procedures ProceedingsProceedings m ProgramsPrograms m ProposalsProposals m Questionnaires Reminiscences ReportsReports m Resolutions Resumes ReviewsReviews m School records SpeechesSpeeches m Summaries Tables (documents) Technical reportsTechnical reports m TranscriptsTranscripts m Typescripts Video recordingsVideo recordings m

52. Species: Animals: Chordata: Vertebrata: bony fish

53. Computer structures: digital computer: minicomputer

54. Computer structures: digital computer: minicomputer (refined: Digital Equipment Corp.)

55. Computer structures taxonomy: computers

56. Trying to use my life bits #8: ontology??? Succumbing to the ontology fallacy -Bates

57. Company 1 1.Generic organization: Correspondence, financial, manuals, notebooks, org chart, plans, products, stocks, etc.. Facets: doc type, dissemination, institution type 2.Generic org. plus projects x roles; facets: financial; legal 3.Generic organization for club, foundation, museum, professional org, religious, sport, etc. 4.Books, CDs, papers, videos Facets: media type, Employer 2 Non-profit 3 Library 4 HealthLegal Organizations Academic Inst. 2 Financial Assets Family & related social Ancestors, Parents, Siblings Media ArtifactsComm. Library & archives: info & records. Personal archives (Ambiance…) Children Spouse/ Significant Other Friends Articles, bio, books, interviews, talks, …web pages Auto, home& other things Property Diaries Family Business 2 Self Family ($,property, legal, health) potentially private … Institution type: academic,… companies, family, other Orgs…self

58. MyLifeBits: Some Lives(t) Personal Personal Parents, children, grandkids Parents, children, grandkids CGB himself CGB himself GKB GKB SSF SSF Close friends Close friends GB $s; Legal entities GB $s; Legal entities Personal incl. several legal structures Personal incl. several legal structures Properties: autos, real estate, Properties: autos, real estate, Investments & contracts Investments & contracts Past prof. companies/organizns Past prof. companies/organizns DEC DEC Carnegie-Mellon U. Carnegie-Mellon U. DEC, NSF, Encore, Ardent, Me Inc., Bell-Mason DEC, NSF, Encore, Ardent, Me Inc., Bell-Mason Bell-Mason Director Bell-Mason Director Diamond & Vanguard Brds. Diamond & Vanguard Brds. Startups & boards Startups & boards CGB@ Microsoft CGB@ Microsoft MLB MLB Clusters Clusters Telepresence Telepresence WWW presence WWW presence Computer History Museum Computer History Museum BOD member BOD member Fund-raising Fund-raising CyberMuseum CyberMuseum

59. GB Timeline F F F F E E F E W F F E W W W W W W O F O F F F F

60. Roles & Institutions I …. I Brigham, Laura I Brigham, Laura I MIT I MIT I DEC I DEC I ACM … NAE I Computer Museum…

61. Things Can everything be part of the model? Can everything be part of the model? Pets Pets Houses Houses Cars Cars Assets Assets

62. Trying to use my life bits #9: logging & reports

63. Interface to xls

64. TV Usage

65. MyLifeBits Log of a video file

66. Open Problems

67. The dear appy problem Dear Appy, How committed are you? Please come back to me. Forever yours truly, Lost and forgotten data Whos responsible? Whos responsible? Media or 8 track cassette, 8 floppy Media or 8 track cassette, 8 floppy Evolving platform, file, and database Evolving platform, file, and database Evolving, incompatible standards & formats for legacy data that disregard ancestors Evolving, incompatible standards & formats for legacy data that disregard ancestors Evolving and/or disappearing apps Evolving and/or disappearing apps

68. A Storocratic Oath 1. Do no harm to dates (File creation, Photo taken) 2. Do no harm to device created & other meta-data. Camera data & location data are sacred. Camera data & location data are sacred. 3. Support & aid the creation of critical meta- data. When/how the user feels like it When/how the user feels like it Auto-magically! Auto-magically! 4. Maintain user confidentiality

69. Classification wish list Download classifications rather than build them Download classifications rather than build them Definitions & synonyms should help find what I want Definitions & synonyms should help find what I want Today it is too expensive to manually classify my scanned paper. E.g. right time meta-data is critical! Today it is too expensive to manually classify my scanned paper. E.g. right time meta-data is critical! Next year I hope the system can classify my papers Next year I hope the system can classify my papers In 10 years I expect all documents to appear electronically & classified with a little help from me In 10 years I expect all documents to appear electronically & classified with a little help from me

70. Personal Search is not Professional or Web search System sees every entry & access System sees every entry & access Everything, not just a professional life Everything, not just a professional life Limited to SIS, not an infinite amount, covers a profession & personal life Limited to SIS, not an infinite amount, covers a profession & personal life Web as seen by search engines MyLifeBits Knowledge breadth e.g. Dewey classification Depth e.g. information item types & coverage Professional user

71. The killer app?? Input, File, Classify, and Find… Input, File, Classify, and Find… Observe every action… Observe every action… Operational Operational SIS (e.g. msg, name, paper, fact, birthday, phone call, SIS (e.g. msg, name, paper, fact, birthday, phone call, Time & motion (routing, communicating, scheduling … thinking) Time & motion (routing, communicating, scheduling … thinking) Archival ones self Archival ones self Finder aka Table of Contents aka Site Map Finder aka Table of Contents aka Site Map Story telling. Story telling. Screen saver & personal ambience Screen saver & personal ambience

72. The A/V/real time data Future: new capture modes/devices SenseCam Deja View Body Media Quindi

73. Sensecam & Interactive jewellery

74. www.MyLifeBits.com