Associating information with places using bits has certain advantages over using atoms.
Sometimes the atoms may be expensive, but the bits can be cheap. Bits are easy
to replicate and easy to put in multiple places. Bits can be easier to change than
atoms. It is certainly not the case that "if people wanted information in places they
would have already done so with atoms." Atoms clutter up places Bits do not. So
for instance, natural trails would not look as if they were cluttered with signs,
WorldBoard offers us a way to have our cake and eat it too (if we choose to). Furthermore,
sometimes atoms are in a place but can't be seen when we would like to see them,
such as wires or pipes in walls. Placing the information in those places with bits
can provide new ways to view and interact with hidden atoms.
Furthermore, associating information with places has certain advantages over simply
putting the bits in a standard computer file system indexed by name, hierarchy, or
content. Location and position (location plus shape and orientation) are important
indices for a lot of different types of information ranging from GIS (Geographic Information
Systems) data to maps to architectural information. Real space can be a powerful
mnemonic device for remembering where things are. Placing information in real space
can make interacting with certain information more natural than on a 2.5D desktop metaphor.