Abstract
The verbal interfaces of current databases are not well suited for searches based on taste, intuition, or complexity (such as selecting a wine, a colour, or a product with many attributes). MDS-Interactive is a visual interaction method, based on multidimensional scaling (MDS), where people manipulate a set of sample objects to navigate through a large collection. In the development of MDS-Interactive, attention was given to the balance of constraint and freedom, of inspiration and information, of verbal and visual interaction styles. We discuss the basic ideas of our technique, its relation to ecological display theory, and experiences with a prototype interface for a consumer recommendation service.
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