Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) integrates computation into the environment, rather than having computers which are distinct objects. Other terms for ubiquitous computing include pervasive computing, calm technology, things that think, everyware, and more recently, pervasive Internet. Promoters of this idea hope that embedding computation into the environment and everyday objects would enable people to interact with information-processing devices more naturally and casually than they currently do, and in ways that suit whatever location or context they find themselves in.
Ubicomp's central aim has been invisibility, meaning that one does not need to continually rationalize one's use of a ubicomp system. Having learnt about its use sufficiently well, one ceases to be aware of it. It is "literally visible, effectively invisible" in the same way that a skilled carpenter engaged in his work might use a hammer without consciously planning each swing. Similarly, when you look at a street sign, you absorb its information without consciously performing the act of reading.