Abstract

Conventional software systems, such as those based on the "desktop metaphor," are ill-equipped to manage the electronic information and events of the typical computer user. We introduce a new metaphor, Lifestreams, for dynamically organizing a user's personal workspace. Lifestreams uses a simple organizational metaphor, a time-ordered stream of documents, as an underlying storage system. Stream filters are used to organize, monitor and summarize information for the user. Combined, they provide a system that subsumes many separate desktop applications. This paper describes the Lifestreams model and our prototype system. I. Introduction I NEXPERIENCED users are right to be confused by today 's operating systems; they aren't well suited to most users needs and they require too many separate applications, too many file and format translations, the invention of too many pointless names and the construction of organizational hierarchies that too quickly become obsolete. They are built on id...

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