ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to computer-assisted, human interactions with the surrounding world that are based on ubiquitous surface encoding of physical entities and backgrounds. It introduces the concept of newsputers as digitally enhanced printouts, allowing direct, real-time access to computerbased multimedia information through printed interfaces. Newsputers are applicable to conventional printed materials such as newspapers, books, and magazines as well as to surfaces of various objects and environment components enhancing their functionalities and allowing transparent access to complementary information and services. The newsputer concept is extended to active knowledge semantic surfaces for ubiquitous direct interaction environments with self-explanatory components and potential selfawareness functionality.
