DAI 227 Week 15

Andrew Redoble

DAI 227 Rethinking Digital Visual Media

Week 15

1)     In the article "Between a Blob + a Hard Place" Steven Skov Holt & Mara Holt Skov argue in the File InCA_Spring05.pdf (on page 20) that the 'blobject' phenomenon really took off in the ID (industrial design) profession in the 1990s. Why?

According to Steven  Skov Holt and Mara Holt Skov, the ‘blobject’ phenomenon took off in the ID profession in the 1990s because of the increasing power of CAD, modeling techniques, new materials, and production methods and rapid prototyping. It was possible to apply these to push the expressive possibilities of plastic. The year 1998 included the release of many famous blobjects such as the new VW Beetle and the Apple iMacs.

2)     Which year in the 1990s was a watershed?

The year was 1998.

3)     What three other products were introduced this year that were good examples of blobjects?

Three products that were introduced in the year 1998 were the new VW Beetle, the “five flavor” Apple iMacs, and the Triax watch from Nike.

4)     On page 29 of "Shaping Things" Bruce Sterling describes when a 'gizmo' becomes a 'spime'. Copy the sentence here.

“Suppose, however, that you become genuinely interested in gadgets – not as symbols of wonder to be deployed as sci-fi stage props, but as actual, corporeal physical presences. It may dawn on you that you are surrounded by a manufactured environment. You may further come to understand that you are not living in a centrally planned society, where class distinctions and rationing declare who has access to the hardware. Instead, you are living in a gaudy, market-driven society whose material culture is highly unstable and radically contingent.”

5)     On page 45 of "Shaping Things" Bruce Sterling describes a defining characteristic of a Synchronic Society. Quote him here

“A synchronic society generates trillions of catalogable, searchable, trackable trajectories: patterns of design, manufacturing, distribution and recycling that are maintained in fine-grained detail.”

DAI 227 Week 13

1.       Squash and Stretch- As the ball is stepped on by Luxor Junior, it squashes and stretches according to the amount of force applied to it by him.

2.       Timing and Motion- As the ball rolls towards the lamp it bumps off and rolls away a small distance. This action shows that the ball is lighter than the lamp, and is too light to push it and instead bounces off.

3.       Anticipation- This principle can be seen when Luxor Junior wiggles his behind and prepares to jump on the ball.

4.       Staging- When the ball pops and is flat on the floor it is obvious that Luxor Junior is saddened by this, with the pitiful push,  the lack of music and the shaking of the lamps head.

5.       Follow Through and Overlapping Action- The cord of Luxor Junior responds to the hopping and waves about in relationship to the hops.

6.       Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action-  Luxor Junior is the definition of Straight Ahead Action. The younger lamp bounces around from left to right or right to left, creating wild scrambling actions. When both lamps interact with each other, it is crucial to have excellent timing in order to get the idea across (for example, a sad Luxor Junior who comes to realize the death of the ball after interacting with the older lamp).

7.       Slow In and Out- The varying speed of the ball displays this principle. From the initial hit to the descending speed, this shows the subtlety of timing and movement.

8.       Arcs- Luxor Junior constantly jumps around in an arc. Also, the pivoting of the lamps’ heads is in an arc.

9.       Exaggeration- The wave effect on the cord of Luxor Junior is exaggerated, but to the right amount so that it does not appear unrealistic. It is exaggerated to Luxor Junior’s excited hopping accordingly.

10.   Secondary Action- The cord, which is an example of many principles, is also an example of secondary action. It is a response to the actions of Luxor Junior.

11.   Appeal- The reintroduction of another ball to ensure that it is a happy ending. In addition to the happy ending, it is also an even bigger ball that gives it a more amusing finish.

DAI 227 Week 12

1)      What was the name of the film made by Edwin S Porter that made use of a double-exposure to show a train window view of passing landscape?

The name of the film was The Great Train Robbery.

2)      Who invented the traveling matte shot in 1916?

Frank Williams invented the traveling matte shot in 1916.

3)      How many weeks did it take to animate the main character in 1933’s KING KONG?

It took 55 weeks to animate the 1933 King Kong.

4)       Which film made use of the ‘slit scan’ process in the 1960s?
The film 2001:A Space Odyssey (1968) by Kubrick used the ‘slit scan’ process.

5)       In his essay “Industrial Memory” theorist Mark Dery argues that the silver fluid T1000 cyborg character represents a ‘masculine recoil’ – but from what?

Mark Dery argues that the silver fluid is ‘masculine recoil’ from what Springer calls the “feminization of electronic technology.” The muscular cyborg imagery asserts the dominance of a phallic metaphor for technology i.e. female genitals, which are commonly considered to be concealed, passive, and internal, like the workings of a computer.

6)       Tim Recuber in his essay “Immersion Cinema” describes the key idea – that of immersion cinema itself – what is it? What makes it unique?
Immersion Cinema represents a new set of technological and aesthetic criteria in which sensory experience and the physical immersion of the spectator within the medium is important. It is unique because it creates physical and special experiences for the viewer to make them feel as if they are actually there in the picture they are viewing.

7)       In the special effects history links, in the Time magazine history of special effects, there is a description of ‘motion control’ cameras developed for “Star Wars” in the 1970s. What is motion control?(1 paragraph)
Motion control refers to the Dykstraflex motion-control system (named after special-effects supervisor John Dykstra) that is hooked up to a computer and issues a complicated series of movements to a camera. I allows filmmakers to create new shots that have never been done before.

8)       Out of the 14 minutes of Jurassic Park’s dinosaur footage, how many minutes were computer generated imagery or CGI?

Only four minutes were computer graphics.

9)      In the ‘denofgeek’ website, what is the name of the film that features an army of sword fighting skeletons, made in 1963?

The film that features an army of sword fighting skeletons is Jason and the Argonauts.

10)   In the ‘denofgeek’ site, which 2005 film used a special effects shot to sell the idea of a remake of a famous science fiction story to Steven Spielberg?

The film that used special effects to sell Steven Speilberg’s remake was War of the Worlds.

DAI 227 Week 11

1.) In Margaret Crawford's Essay "The World in a Shopping Mall she outlines that 'the size and scale of a mall reflects "threshould demand" - what is meant by this term?

What Margaret Crawford means by this statement means that the correct size of the mall that will make profit reflects the region surrounding it. Crawford goes on to explain different tiers malls can have such as neighborhood center, community center, or regional mall. Based on the demographics in the area a mall will be designed a certain way to make sure that it makes profit where it is located.

2) In the same article Margaret Crawford describes something called "spontaneous malling" - what does this mean?

“Spontaneous Malling” refers to the occurrence of malls replacing areas such as parking lots or old buildings. No new areas are developed, there is only reconstruction.

3) According to Michael Sorkin in his essay 'See you in Disneyland', how did Disneyland have its origins?

There are several myths about the origins of Disney. One myth is that Disney came up with the idea for the park in 1938 when he was on a trip to the Chicago Railroading Fair. He was invited don engineer’s overalls and climb behind the throttle of a historic locomotive, fulfilling a childhood dream. Another myth describes a visit by the Disney family to a conventional amusement park that disgusted Disney because of its failure of hygiene. Regardless, Disneyland will be based on ideals and dreams.

4) Michael Sorkin writes in his essay that Disney's EPCOT Center was motivated largely by frustrations Disney felt at his Anaheim CA park. What were those frustrations?

The huge success of Disneyland attracted developers who took up miles of the surrounding countryside. Disney lost millions to people housing his visitors and created a land of unregulated hotels and low commerce, a sight he did not want surrounding his park. These problems inspired Disney’s EPCOT Center.

5)In his essay "Travels in Hyperreality" Umberto Eco describes Disneyland as 'a place of total passivity' - what does he mean by this?

Umberto Eco suggests that the visitors act like robots for Disneyland. Each attraction is regulated by a maze of metal railings in which all visitors are made to walk through and guided along the way. In addition, those running the attraction are dressed accordingly and command the visitor what to do as they give them access to the ride. There is no opportunity for individual initiative at Disneyland.

DAI 227 Week 8 Geert Lovink

1) In his introduction, Lovink quotes G.H. Mead who describes "Sociality" as what?

G.H. Mead describes “sociality” as the capacity of being several things at once.

2) Where did Silicon Valley find inspiration in the post 9/11 reconstruction period? (two things)

Silicon Valley found inspiration in two projects which were the vital energy of the search start-up Google and the rapidly emerging blog scene. Blogging enabled companies to perform targeted advertising and although the information was free they found that they could profit from placing ads in the right places.

3) With tools to oversee national IP range, it is possible for countries to do two things with these technologies. What are they?

It is possible for countries to block users outside the country from viewing certain material and also prevent citizens from visiting foreign sites.

4) Lovink argues top-down considerations with Web 2.0 are less interesting than 'bottom-up' ones. What does he mean by this?

Top-down considerations with Web 2.0 refers to the simple use of market information. Bottom-up will be much more interesting because it encompasses the notion of “activists” using their own Web 2.0 tools to create their own. The spontaneity and natural element will make it more interesting since top-down mainly generates information for advertisers and large corporations.

5) What is the function of profiles abstracted from 'user generated content' - how is it then used?

“User generated content” is sold to advertisers as direct marketing data. Lovink mentions social networking sites not originating from a social movement setting. With this in mind the function of profiles is to give out information for marketing purposes.

6) What is 'massification'

Massification is the sheer number of users and the intensity in which people engage the internet.

7) Geert Lovink describes the Internet as an 'indifferent bystander' as a revolutionary tool in the global recession. What does he mean by this?

By describing the Internet as an ‘indifferent bystander’ Lovink means that it does not lend itself easily as a revolutionary tool. It all depends on how it is being used. It allows regimes to control the population through technological means such as blocking content and monitoring the inside population.

8) Lovink says that power these days is not absolute but ________ ?

Lovink says that power these days is no absolute but dynamic.

9) "Managing complexity" is the aim of authoritarian uses of the internet such as the Great Chinese _______________?

Great Chinese Firewall

10) What are "organized networks"?

“Organized networks” are organizations of social change against the administrative approach of governments.

DAI 227 Week 7 Questions

Andrew Redoble

DAI 227

Week 7 Questions

1.     Who invented the first computer game on the PDP1?

 Steve Russell invented the first computer game on the PDP-1

2.     What was the name of the game?

 The name of the game was Spacewar

3.     What was the name of Morton Helig's amusement device that let you smell, hear and see in 3D filmed experiences?

Morton Helig’s amusement device that let you smell, hear and see in 3d was Sensorama

4.     What early 1970s movie does an arcade console machine of Spacewar appear?

The early 1970s movies that Spacewar appeared in was Soylent Green in the year 1973

5.     What was the name of the man who developed the first TV tennis game?

Ralph Baer was the man who developed the first TV tennis game by 1967.

6.     Who was the man whose company Atari commercialized the idea of the arcade computer tennis game?

Nolan Bushnell founded Atari.

7.     What was the name of this version of the game?

Instead of being called tennis, it was called Pong and Atari was immediately sued due to its similarity to Ralph Baer’s home-tennis game

8.     What are vector graphics?

Vector graphics consist of straight lines that are often used to create perspective and geometric shapes.

9.     What types of games do vector graphics lend themselves to?

Vector graphics lend themselves to games with perspective such as Tempest and Battlezone.

10.  When home computers were first made available, how did owners load games into them?

Videogames came on cassettes for the first home computers.

11.  What is the name of the 1985 film in which a young Matthew Broderick starts World War III with his home computer and modem?

The movie that Matthew Broderick starts World War III was Wargames.

12.  From what sources did the designer of the Space Invaders aliens draw inspiration?

Tomohiro Nishikado drew his inspiration from The War of the Worlds. He also had some inspiration from Star Wars, which made him consider the space fad and made the crab-like creatures space invaders.

13.  What is the name given to the contemporary subculture of 8 bit music made with gameboys and other 80s game technology

The name given to the subculture of 8 bit music is Chiptunes.

14.  "Escape from Woomera" was a videogame which was used to draw attention to the plight of inmates at a remote detention center in desert town in what country?

“Escape from Woomera” drew the attention to inmates in Australia.

DAI 227 Week 6 Questions

1.       Steve Mann describes his wearable computer invention as a form of ________ for one person (fill in the blank)
(see youtube link to Mann interview in web resource page)

Building; architecture of one

2.       Steve Mann's concept of opposing camera surveillance with "Sousveillance" is described as a form of “reflectionism”. What is meant by this?
(in ReadingsF)

Sousveillance described as reflectionism refers to the philosophy and procedures of using technology to mirror and confront bureaucratic organizations. Organizations were observing people to an increasing extent and reflectionism especially relates to “detournement,” which is the tactic of appropriating tools of social controllers and resituating these tools in a  disorienting manner to equal the playing field between the surveiller and the person being surveilled.

3.       In the section of "Sousveillance" called "Performance Two" Steve Mann describes how wearing his concealed device becomes more complex when used in what type of spaces?

Spaces such as shopping malls which are semi-public rather than fully public make his concealed device become more complex. Since the potential for confrontation between the wear and security is increased it becomes more interesting, however, if this boundary is crossed too much it becomes less playful.

4.       The final paragraph sums up what Mann considers the benefits of "sousveillance" and "coveillance". What are they?
(ReadingsF)

The benefit of Sousveillance is that it allows those being surveilled to surveil the surveillers. Essentially, it is empowerment for the common people in a situation that used to be one-sided and favored large hierarchical organizations.

5.       In William J Mitchell's 1995 book "City of Bits" in the chapter "Cyborg Citizens", he puts forth the idea that electronic organs as they shrink and become more part of the body will eventually resemble what types of familiar items?
(ReadingsF)

As electronic organs shrink they will become small cameras that can reach small scales that we could not even grasp before. These electromechanical bugs can act as miniature spies, which relates back to the idea of sousveillance.

6.       From the same book/chapter, list two of the things that a vehicle that 'knows where it is' might afford the driver & passengers.
(ReadingsF)

Vehicles that ‘know where it is’ can also look up interesting information that is related to the designated location. With a little more programming it can even learn what the driver cares about and will highlight specific information that pertains to the owner. No matter what the driver is looking for, the vehicle will know the facts. It will even be able to calculate efficient routes, finding the shortest and quickest path.

7.       Mitchell tells the story of Samuel Morse's first Washington-to-Baltimore telegraph message. What was it?
(ReadingsF)

The message was “What hath God wrought”

8.         Donna Harroway in "A Cyborg Manifesto" argues that women should take the "battle to the border". What does she say are the stakes in this border war?
(in ReadingsF)

The stakes in this border war are territories of production, reproduction, and imagination.

9.        Harroway posits the notion that:
"We require regeneration, not rebirth, and the possibilities for our reconstitution include the utopian dream"
What is this dream?
(in ReadingsF)

This dream is a monstrous world without gender.

10.   Many have argued that 'we are already cyborgs' as we use devices such as glasses to improve our vision, bikes to extend the mobility function of our legs/bodies etc, computers and networks to extend the nervous system etc. What do you think? Are we cyborgs?
(one paragraph)

The majority of the human population may not literally be extending their bodies, but the human dependency as well as the infrastructural dependency is definitely significant. In a sense, we are now cyborgs. Not yet literally, but if we lost our computers today society will crumble since many systems are embedded in technology. One example would be this class; we would have to reconstruct the entire structure of this class since homework is done online and the lecture runs on technology.

DAI 227 Week 5 Video Game Assignment

DAI 227

Rethinking Digital Visual Media

Vintage Gameplay Activity

Andrew Redoble

3/3/2011

Game Title: Tempest

Year of Publication: 1980

Game Publisher: Atari

Game Developer: Atari

1 - What is the game genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
This game genre is a fast paced tube shooter; shoot-em-up game where enemies attempt to pass the player in a tube-like environment.

2 -What is the type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Tempest has a 3D environment with a perspective view that has a vanishing point near the center of the screen. It appears as if the player travels further and further into a tube.

3 - What is the perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
I haven’t played games with this type of perspective so I’m not entirely sure how to categorize it. It has a 3D perspective that isn’t necessarily first person since the ship if visible.

 
4 - What is the actual gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The player is in a tube and numerous enemies of varying types try to pass by and/or destroy the player. The difficulty varies since the enemies that show up are different and the layout of the tube changes drastically. The player’s priority is to shoot and destroy all enemies before they reach the end because that is when they are the most dangerous. It’s not game over when enemies get to the end, but then they attack the player from the side. The player is granted only one zapper per level to use in case of emergencies such as too many enemies reaching the player’s position along the tube.

5 - Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
It is very easy to understand after the person adjusts to the different colors that make the game very busy. The game is very quick and after two or three attempts the concept is easy to understand. All the player has to do is shoot enemies and will progress after shooting down all or most of them.

6 - Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
The gameplay pattern is the same, but as mentioned earlier the layout of the tube changes and the enemies have different behaviors. The colors and perspective make the game appear very busy and the player can get lost and accidentally run into an enemy bullet or ship. Overall, the gameplay pattern stays the same but the difficulty doesn’t.

7 - What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
The simple vector color graphics make it evident that this was the best technology available at the time. The 8-bit noises also reveal how far the technology has come at the time. This game is known as the first video game with a selectable level of difficulty, so gameplay was still evolving at this time and didn’t have much variety.
8 - Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
1. ease of play

2. enjoyability

c) level of engagement/immersion

With all the sophisticated games that are out now, Tempest is very primitive and boring compared to other games. However, I still enjoy it because it helped the progress of video games, as it utilizes various levels of difficulty as well as the latest audio and visual technology.

This game was really easy to play and was actually pretty entertaining to watch the transition between levels. It gets boring pretty fast since all that I do is shoot the same enemies over and over and over.

It does require constant attention since it only takes a second or two for an enemy to get close enough to become a major threat.  In juxtaposition to other classic arcade games, Tempest definitely tops them all since it has a perspective view rather than a simple 2D or primitive top down view.

9 - Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?I have never played this game before but I have seen it. I never understood what was going on until I played it myself

10 - what does playing the game remind you of in terms of other games/media?

It reminds me of first person shooter that immerse the player in detailed environments. To me, it relates more to space and alien  themed games like Halo rather than Call of Duty because of the awkwardly shaped enemies.

DAI 227 Week 4 Questions

DAI 227 Week 4 Questions

1. According to the text "Remediation" the author uses the phrase (in relation to Hollywood's use of computer graphics)
"remediation operates in both directions" - what is meant by this?

What the author of “Remediation” means by saying “remediation operates in both directions” is that film and television can seek to appropriate and refashion digital graphics and vice versa. In more detail, films use digital compositing often, especially in action-adventure films. The goal is to make stunts and special effects appear as natural as possible. Also, computer graphics can replace real life for cartoons such as Up or Toy Story. Overall, it is either reality or digital graphics that tries to refashion the other.

2. What does Michael Benedikt, author of "Cyberspace the First Steps" introduction argue had happened to modern city by the late 60s, having become more than 'a collection of buildings and streets'?

In addition to becoming a collection of buildings and streets, the city also became a mess of massive communication, transportation, storage, and education. No matter how neatly structured or green the grass, the complexity of the working system is a huge cluster of busy work. The city by the late 60s was building itself unpredictably and buildings played with all the technological toys and tools that were given to them.

3. In his short story "Skinner's Room" William Gibson describes how Skinner watches a tiny portable 'pop-up' TV set. What can skinner no longer remember? (remediation in relation to television as an idea is neatly summed up in this sentance!)

In the short story, Skinner can no longer remember when he was able to distinguish commercials from programming. He does not turn the sound on because the images displayed are comforting. The television makes it seem like life is there. Digital media, in this case television, is refashioning real life for Skinner.

4. Author of the famous pamphlet "Culture Jamming" Mark Dery paraphrases Umberto Eco and his phrase "semiological guerrilla warfare". What does this mean?

According to Umberto Eco, the people have a residual freedom to read and interpret a message in a different way. By allowing and encouraging the people to control a message and produce multiple interpretations, one medium can be employed to communicate a series of opinions on another medium. The result would be the universe of Technological Communication being patrolled by groups of communications guerrillas “who would restore a critical dimension to passive reception.”

5. From Mark Dery's pamphlet, briefly describe "Subvertizing"

“Subvertising” is the production and dissemination of anti-ads that deflect madison Avenue’s attempts to turn the consumer’s attention in a given direction and is a ubiquitous form of jamming.

Week 4 Google Sketchup Assignment

Front View

Top View

Perspectival View

Closer Perspectival View

Side View

This scene is meant to be for a video game with its random elements scattered about the landscape. The area is designed with both land and water because it will provide maximum potential for exploration in a video game. There is not much detail, but the player is supposed to be able to travel on the water to transfer from island to island as well as go underwater. The planet hovering above is more terrain to explore. The diversity should keep players entertained and give them the freedom to go wherever they want.

                The complex looking hover craft is what enables the player to glide over the water and, with some imagination, transform into a submarine that can explore the depths of the sea. The random houses should provide more interactive elements to the scene and the castle is the same but on a larger scale with more possible activities. The large catapult is what launches the character to the planet above. As ludicrous as it is, I believe it will be rather entertaining. As for the volcano, any danger that can be incorporated will increase the entertainment level. The overall scene may not be much right now but it has been made at an amateur level and it is meant to appeal to a player’s desire to explore wherever they want to.

DAI 227 Week 3

1)     In Paulina Boorsooks Book "Cyberselfish" she contrasts the development of technologies that were group efforts and thus stand in stark contrast to the myth of the lone 'hero' entrepreneur. Name two such more group-based technologies. (Under the heading "Closer to the Machine")

a) The World Wide Web. Thousands of programmers from all over the world contributed in the Open Sourcfe computer movement.

b) The software of computers such as the operating system

2) In the section labelled "Human, Too Human" Boosook describes one type of technolibertarian - the "Extropians". What do extropians want or yearn for?
Extropians yearn for maximizing human potential by becoming transhuman. They believe we should enhance ourselves through as many surgical procedures as possible, through cryonics, through uploading brain-contents in computers, and reaching for the stars.

3) In her film BIT PLANE, Natalie Jeremijenko describes Doug Englebart as being a pioneer - of what? (view film via VIMEO link in separate post)

Natalie Jeremijenko describes Doug Englebart as being a pioneer of personal computing
4) In "Silicon Valley Mystery House" writer Langdon Winner compares the Silicon Valley to the Winchester Mystery House. In what way does he consider them similar?

The Winchester Mystery House and Silicon Valley are similar in the way that they both keep expanding at an astounding rate. The drive for expansion is fear, as both are “scared of death.” Mrs. Winchester kept expanding night and day in order to escape vengeful ghosts, and Silicon Valley keeps expanding to avoid declining profits. Rather than confusing rooms, Silicon Valley builds more offices, production plants, satellite hookups, etc.

5) In Langdon Winner's essay "Silicon Valley Mystery House" he describes East Palo Alto as a very different kind of place from areas such as upscale Stanford and downtown Palo Alto. What type of area is East Palo alto, "just  across highway 101"?

As described in the reading, East Palo Alto is a “forgotten land” that is considered ghetto and seemingly beyond remedy for poverty and unemployment. It is barely acknowledged by its “neighboring community of technical scholars”.

6) In her Processed World article "The Disappeared of Silicon Valley" Paulina Boorsook's "Deep Throat" (inside information source) describes some unpleasant realities of most Silicon Valley startups and how they end up. List two.

Most startups are not high-tech and are not venture-funded. People can lose their savings, salary, and even their sanity as the inside informative puts it. Even the hardworking people can get screwed when the company folds, gets acquired at a discount, or goes public then tanks.

7) What is the Long Now foundation and why was it formed?
The Long Now foundation was formed to develop the Clock and Library projects and counter the “faster/cheaper” thinking today with a “slower/better” mindset.

8) In the documentary DOCUMENTARY - SILICON VALLEY - A HUNDRED YEAR RENAISSANCE (1997) Steve Jobs describes the joy of successfully making "blue boxes" which let he and his friends make free phone calls. What aspect of this experience does he say was so important to the creation of Apple computer?
The experience of making “blue boxes” made Steve Jobs and his friend realize how powerful an idea can be. With the “blue box” they could control billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure with a couple hundred dollars’ worth of tools. It gave them confidence and made them believe that they could influence the world.

9) List three aspects of the work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) - (see the "Our Work" section of their website)

EFF battles for digital freedom in the courts. They cover free speech, innovation, intellectual property, international issues, and privacy. More specifically, the EFF fights for issues such as bloggers’ rights, anonymity, privacy, copyright trolls, file sharing, etc.

10) According to Richard Stallman's website, what is his status in relation to the social media site Facebook?

Richard Stallman is not a fan of Facebook at all. He believes that people should create their own sites rather than relying on a social network. Since most people rely on this site, Facebook has a lot of power. The site stores our data and can take it away from us or use it in a way they shouldn’t. It threatens privacy in many ways, so people should not post their personal information on it at all. In fact, we should not use it period.

DAI 227 Week 2

1)     Why was the period at the turn of the 20th century so important?
 The turn of the 20^th century was important because the conditions and perspective of technology was changing drastically. All sorts of new technology and development opened up the perspective of people and encourages the future to reinvent culture, technology, etc.

2) What aspects of the Dada art movemement are important from the point of view of the rise of the computers and digital visual media? (for example Marcel Duchamp's "readymades"?)
One aspect of the Dada movement is that it introduces new ways of thinking. This is important to the point of view of the rise of computers and digital visual media because instead of a strict and structured thought people will need to think outside the box to progress in technology. The readymades were jabs at several different aspects of culture at the time. In order for digital visual media to be in a rise people will have to abandon or change most of their current culture.

3) Name one aspect that links "The Man with a Movie Camera" with digital media according to Lev Manovich (ReadingsB)
One aspect that about “The Man with a Movie Camera” is the composition of different material from several different documentaries. This links it to digital media because it is the most important example of database imagination in modern media. It was a new type of interface operation.

4) What was 'constructivism'?
Constructivism was a philosophy from Russia in which  you construct a new society.

5) Read pages VI (6) to XXII (22) of "The Language of New Media" in ReadingsB:


What does Lev Manovich suggest are the 'three levels' of "The Man with a Movie Camera"?
One level is the story of a cameraman filming material for the film. The second level is the shots of an audience watching the finished film in a movie theater. The third level is the film “The Man with a Movie Camera” which consists of footage recorded in Moscow, Kiev, and Riga.

6) Who first developed the idea of "Cybernetics"?
Norbert Weiner

7) In "Computer Lib" Ted Nelson describes Hypertext as "Non ___________" writing (fill in the blank)
Non- Sequential writing

8) (Lecture) why were transistors, even though 100 times smaller than vacuum tubes considered impractical for building computers in the 1960s?
Transistors were still impractical because they took a lot of wiring that easily gets tangled by the amazing amount of wiring required. Only so many pieces could be wired together. It became known as the tyranny of numbers.

9) What was the name of the first commercial available computer (kit)?
The name of the first commercial available computer kit was the Altair

10) Write a paragraph:


In your own words: What are things going to look like in 20 years from now in the average living room in terms of digital visual media? What types of digital media will your kids be using around 2030?

My kids will probably be using interfaces that seem to float in mid-air. It is already a concept that is being imagined in science fiction movies, in which the operator is touching images or buttons that hover right in front of their face. This interface is also capable of being dragged around at the user’s convenience. While it may seem ludicrous, it is actually this type of thinking that allowed the progression digital visual media. I believe this is what my kids will be using thirty years from now because the trend seems to be that the lack of something is more interesting. For example, cell phones are now touch screen since buttons are no longer as intriguing. The fact that this imaginary floating interface is being feature in blockbuster movies is also evidence that this is how society wants future technology to be.

DAI 227 Week 1

The Machine That Changed the World

1) How was unique about Charles Babbage Analytical Engine, compared to his original Difference Engine?

     The Analytical Engine was programmable with punch cards, while the Difference Engine was not. This enabled the Analytical Engine to do a limitless number of computations.

2) What role did Ada Lovelace play in the development of the Analytical Engine?

     Ada Lovelace enrolled herself as Babbage's interpreter to the world at large after seeing a test piece of the Analytical Engine. She also gave enthusiastic support to Babbage. She was known as the first computer programmer for her detailed notes on Babbage's engine.

3) How was the ENIAC computer reprogrammed?

     The ENIAC computer was reprogrammed by rewiring the hundreds of different cables since it could not store its program inside.

4) Name an innovation that helped make programming faster post ENIAC (see ep. 2)

     The transistor is the innovation that helped make programming faster. It replaced the vacuum tube since it was smaller, more powerful, and projected much less heat.

5) What is it about binary counting that makes it so well suited to computers?

     It only has two numbers: 0 and 1. These two numbers alone can produce just as many different possibilties as sets of ten and they can be represented very simply by a switch of on and off.

6) In what ways did UNIVAC influence the portrayal of computers in popular culture in the 1950s? Give an example. (see ep. 2)

     At first no one beileved that computers were capable of predicting and calculating. One example is the calculation of Eisenhower winning by a landslide. CBS did not believe it and stated so on public television. However, when the machine successfully calculated the landslide win UNIVAC caught everyone's attention and people started believing in the capability of computers.

7) Codebreaking required the automatic manipulation of symbols to unscramble messages during WWII.

What was the name of the rudimentary computer at Bletchley Park in England that unscrambled Nazi codes.
     The name of the computer was Colossus

8) Alan Turing who understood the implications of such machines later went on to describe them as __________ machines.

     Alan Turing describes them as computing machines


General Questions

9) Describe when you first used computers and what types of tasks you performed on them.

     When I first used computers I played around with simple programs such as the paint and the games that came with most computers. I remember playing solitaire and composing horrid pictures at first but in a couple years I started using it for more specific purposes. My papers in elementary and middle school were typed with Microsoft Word and amateur presentations were made with Powerpoint. Whenever there was a computer game available I would play that on the computer as well.
     Now that I am older I am using the internet to conduct research for massive essays and soon I will be using Adobe Creative Suite 4 to do classwork. In addition to mandatory work I also use the computer for the internet and all its glory. Online social networks and more games can be found online.

10) How restricted do you think computers are in terms of what they can do compared to how they are most often used?

     The computers are not very restricted. Of course, social networking and status updates does not seem very complex but the process behind it must be very intricate. First of all, people must be connected in order to instantly transmit random information. The computer enables people to communicate within seconds and manages to do so on a massive scale. The whole world is very demanding of the computer, and while the majority of the public may not be working on programs for computers they still require the computer to do tasks that seem impossible.