not all that's Web is RESTful, Voice *is different* from HTML

After the formal part of the plenary day was done, I overheard Tim Berners-Lee
say to Roger Cutler something on the order of:

"Not everything on the Web is RESTful, nor will it ever be.  Voice Browsing
is not RESTful, it is pure dialog."

Herein lies the answer to Steven's question "Shouldn't the onus be on Voice
to fit into what is already there?"  The answer is no.

The onus is on the MMI group to craft a fusion, a scheme for interaction
management which is able to span what we have historically had in HTML with
what we have in Voice.  This is different, because what we have in Voice is
new, is fundamentally different, and fortunately so.  Some of what is
different is both fundamental and an advantage; we can't lose that.

Yes, Voice is working with might and main to deconstruct their application
into a framework of separately re-usable modules.  But what they have to fit
into is the MMI synthesis, not the HTML legacy.  And what that synthesis
has to deal with is finding a common ground for history and the intrinsic,
unavoidable innovations that Voice brings.

Al

Received on Wednesday, 12 March 2003 10:08:44 UTC