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A collection of papers has been gathered in order to explore the pervasive computing trend with a humanistic approach. Is it possible for us to understand what the technological world will be like in the next millennium? These papers will help technologists to share in the successes of others in this field and also to understand problems researchers are having in creating ubiquitous computing environments. Our experiences are conveyed to motivate future work in the area and to help all of us envision and create the future. Because pervasive computing affects many people in any number of disciplines, we took a broad approach when picking topics for this issue. Education, communication, and social implications are among the topics discussed here. Although the means used by the authors to reach for their goals may be different, there are many similarities in their visions of the future.