Lifestreams

We contend that managing one's own electronic world can be a frustrating task for most computer users, re- quiring too many separate applications, too many file transfers and format translations, the invention of too many pointless names and the construction of organi- zational hierarchies that too quickly become obsolete. What is needed is a metaphor and system for organiz- ing the electronic bits of paper we all so easily collect, whether we create them ourselves or they come to us in the form of email, downloaded images, web pages, or scheduling reminders. Lifestreams is such a system.