Minitrack Introduction

Some of the most dramatic recent developments in computing have been the explosive growth in interactive digital entertainment (IDE), and social and lifestyle computing--or the non-business use of computing for purposes of entertainment, socialization, and lifestyle augmentation. For example, the market for gaming alone is currently about $7.3 billion dollars, with $936 million in online gaming. Meanwhile, the market for digital entertainment in homes and home automation has reached an all-time high in 2005 with no end in sight. These non-business uses of computing represent large and legitimate markets with social implications that are so profound and global in impact that effected societies will never be the same.