The End of Books - Response

The article “The End of Books” (1992) by Robert Coover explored what hypertext and hyperfiction provided that regular print text didn’t: establishing new narratives with branches and multiple paths between sets of text. Structure and improvisation become important as “the creative imagination often becomes more occupied with linkage, routing and mapping than with statement or style” (707). It is this hypertext markup that made up how most of the Web content was first introduced to the mainstream, meaning that you can move from one link to the next at any given time, and there is an organizational pattern there that cannot be found in traditional print. In this view, it can certainly be seen that the end of books is near, but I think it’s still too soon to make that conclusion.

While the advocates of online mediums would say that this organizational power is the only valid method in which information should be communicated, I would still not want to see regular hard-copy books and texts go away so easily. As convenient, organized and never-ending as the Internet is for virtually anything imaginable, the solidity of books, newspapers and magazines is still something I trust and find value in. Most mediums are starting to move that way; in addition to books and music, magazines, movies and games are also moving away from physical media. However, for me, I consider that the traditional narrative flow and lack of text fragments (as the article likes to coin these characteristics) is still worthy as printed text on paper. Physically holding a story or report in your hand carries centuries-worth of significance to the medium, and reading things on a tablet or mobile device is still in its early stages today. The trend started with hypertext when this article was written, but until the technology barrier is further broken down for more demographics and with better accessibility and costs, physical printing of texts will still be around and still be worthy of reading.

Google Offers Expands (New Media Websites) - Video Response

Locke, Laura. "Google Offers expands: New cities, deal partners" CNET News (2011): 28 Oct 2011. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20126179-93/google-offers-expands-new-cities-deal-partners/>.

Navigating Technomedia - Response

The article “Navigating Technomedia” (2007) by Sam Han described the onset of technomedia (media technologies) as three-fold: mechanical, electric, and broadcast. The mechanical aspect involved the print, photography, and film advancements that Marshall McLuhan named “typographic man” and positioned each of those mediums as the “storage of human experiences” (8), while the electric aspect described the telegraph, cinema and human-computer interactions up to the latter half of the 1900s. The broadcast era consisted of radio and television, and the evolving of technomedia meant understanding what its implications were.

I find that media technologies do provide an implied wealth of information and communication resources, and the article’s conclusion had me also understanding that technomedia enables people to generate and act upon ideas. What makes older generations tell the currently younger generations that it’s a “lucky time to be living in” is the encapsulation of all of the new ways of message exchange—mostly powered by the Internet—that has given users of technology more power and self-sufficiency than ever before. The other article of this week, “Personal Dynamic Media,” showcased the Dynabook personal interactive device, and I think this technomedia article brings the essence of that idea full-circle. Technomedia “challenges thought” (18), and I could not easily think of another way of describing it. I sometimes find myself taking all of the gadgets and gizmos in our lives for granted, and all this interconnectivity and networking for seamless, virtually never-ending experiences of entertainment, productivity, organization, what have you, always has me wanting to see what comes next.

Personal Dynamic Media - Response

The article “Personal Dynamic Media” (1977) by Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg explored the use of the Dynabook notebook device and its role in human’s interaction with media. The notion was presented that “every message is, in one sense or another, a simulation of some idea” (393), and that the computer could convey active communication of an idea if done properly. I was amused by this quote: “If the ‘medium is the message,’ then the message of low-bandwidth timesharing is ‘blah’” (394). Certainly, the medium needed evolving, and the different iterations and uses of Dynabook that the article went over was great to see in the educational space during those years. Different actions built upon the Smalltalk programming language like painting, musical creation, animation and SHAZAM simulation all showcased how media interaction worked to bring ideas to fruition.

This was an insightful reading for me because of my engineering academic background, and the descriptions of these different applications is like reading a precursor to what would become the modern personal computer of today as talked about in the introduction. Even then, we in these current times are moving to a post-PC lifestyle, as much of these creation activities are moving onto a smartphone or tablet that is always portable and has a much wider feature set than the interim Dynabook. As devices continue to evolve into the ideal end-all “Dynabook”-like solution, we are sure to see unheard-of levels of creativity that the medium allows for.

Chime.in: Do we need another social network (Media Websites) - Response

I read through the article “Chime.in: Do we need another social network?” from CNET News (cited below), which described a new social networking site called Chime.in that focuses on subjects rather than people for what gets shared around. Interesting topics of discussion are populated with “Chimes,” or extended messages, posted about these subjects that then turn into communities connected around the content. With the social networking arena as filled as it is with the mammoth Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn for employment networking and the relatively new Google+ service, Chime.in wants to separate itself by being a destination for talking with people about the same common interests as you, with the content itself being the center of attention.

Frankly, as promising and interesting as Chime.in looks (you can visit it at http://chime.in/ yourself to see), I can agree with the article author that people’s free time is valuable and only so much of it can be spent on social media. Google+ has had its troubles gaining ground and page views, while Facebook and Twitter continue their dominance in connecting people together and delivering updates. Avid users of the Internet have their sources for news and subjects, whether it’d be to “just Google it” or to visit specific message boards or forums to engage in discussion over specific topics like sports, music, cars, travel, technology, games, or whatever the case may be. Chime.in is a nice deviation from what’s out there, but whether it remains a niche site or gains traction against other social media remains to be seen.

McCracken, Harry. "Chime.in: Do we need another social network?" CNET News (2011): 18 Oct 2011. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-33200_3-20121754-290/chime.in-do-we-need-another-social-network/>.

From Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation - Response

The article “From Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation” (1976) by Joseph Weizenbaum discussed the events surrounding the author’s computer program named Eliza that analyzed language and carried tailored conversation with its user. He used the example of Eliza playing the role of a doctor to show how widespread and well-known his program had become, and subsequently, how blown out of proportion his creation became. He cited three events (370): that psychiatrists believing that his doctor-program would work as an automatic form of psychotherapy despite a computer not having real-life experiences to connect with the patient, that conversations with the computer would be taken as privately as with humans, and that the Eliza program served as a key solution to human language understanding by a computer.

Weizenbaum saw the importance of context in understanding human language, but he was shocked by the reaction that the Eliza program garnered, and it showed him new perspectives on his technology that gave him reason to compare computers and society to dilemmas in life. He believed that computers should have limits to what they are capable of, while others share the notion that computers should be able to do everything a human does, including process human-like thoughts. I can see artificial intelligence advancing enough with accessibility products and recent introductions like Siri on Apple’s iPhone 4S that computers, no matter in what form, will eventually be capable of matching a human’s level of thought for everything from productivity to emotional connections. I find the technology field to be a really fast-changing and innovative industry, and engineering holds the kind of finds like Weizenbaum’s program—where small, seemingly minor applications or services become morphed into a large-scale, potentially groundbreaking endeavor (or precursor to discussions and future technology advancements) that moves the link between computer and man forward.

Second Life - Response

The article “Knee-High Boots and Six-Pack Abs: Autoethnographic Reflections on Gender and Technology in Second Life” (2009) by Delia Dumitrica and Georgia Gaden spoke about the role gender plays in the alternative environment presented by the online game Second Life. The game is centered around your virtual presence and the unlimited creative ideas available to you in the online world of the game, “implying a universe of possibilities in terms of identity constructions and social interactions” (6). The question arose of whether or not an avatar can be a strong “presentation of gender” (7) and the idea of autoethnography was presented, which hadn’t been touched on in the previous Second Life article on avatars from a few weeks ago in this class.

Autoethnography, though cited as controversial in the article for meaningful research, sounds like a strong way of investigating something for me because of how you combine individual interpretations of experiences with (in this case) Second Life together with the shared interpretations of others in the same virtual space, and the unknown setting of such a vast online world meant that the female writers of the article “always be[came] targets of harassment in places that lack formal and protected gender equality policies” (10).

Looks are a big deal in Second Life, and the experimentation and fantasy element of the online world meant that the level of sexual objectification and enhanced physical norms of avatars prevalent in the game is commonplace. Avatar creation includes gender standardization, and the game even lets you shop for new body parts or perform odd or explicit “pose-balls” (15) which animate your avatar. The visual interface fuels the economy of Second Life (18) and it is controlled by technical prowess and ability to manipulate the constructs presented by the game to your liking, meaning that you put as much time as you desire into it and make it as visually exaggerated as you wish, for better or worse compared to real life.

Amazon unveils Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire tablet (Media Websites) - Response

I read through the article “Amazon unveils Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire tablet” from CNET News (cited below), which gave the overview of Amazon’s press conference from September 28, 2011. The online retailer announce several e-book readers in its popular Kindle line-up, including the Kindle Fire tablet, which many have compared to Apple’s iPad. The price of the Fire—$199—is what really got people’s motors running, and I thought the same thing when I heard the price point. Amazon’s strength is in its ability to provide compelling content, and the staggering amount of media that it offers through its online marketplace, video-on-demand, MP3 music download service and Kindle e-bookstore (just to name a few) can really come to par with Apple’s offerings. In this age of instant gratification and high standards for media consumption, the Kindle Fire is Amazon’s gateway into the mainstream tablet business, and I’m eager to see how it will compete with the iPad and Apple sans Steve Jobs.

Reardon, Marguerite. "Amazon unveils Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire tablet." CNET News (2011): 28 Sep 2011. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20112800-266/amazon-unveils-kindle-touch-and-kindle-fire-tablet/>.