Abstract :
IN TODAY´S world of integrated design it´s hard to imagine what went before the simplicity of the touchscreen tablet, the smartphone or the MP3 player. But it was only a few years ago that the LED clocks on our VCRs blinked at us with rows of zeros because we hadn´t worked out how to set the time. In those days people used their mobile phones to place telephone calls and very little else. The idea that handheld consumer electronic devices would one day control our lives was little more than a dream.