@YakustaLeader4
This weeks readings, the image and clip from the Matrix confused me. I did not really understand what Vannevar Bush was explaining between how we have a connection to computers and information. Also, the “raining code” from the Matrix did not make sense to me either. Could someone please explain it more to me. I know this is a very short post but I just did not understand it.
#DTCV, #MatrixConfused
I am sure everyone has seen The Matrix and understands that the falling code IS the digital world that was created by the computers for humans to live in. The changing symbols, letters and numbers represent the constant change in the Matrix. I was not sure how I could make this connection with Vannevar Bush’s “As We May Think” until I watched the video showing his Memex. In section 7 he states:
Moreover, when numerous items have been thus joined together to form a trail, they can be reviewed in turn, rapidly or slowly…
If you think about it, this can be an early rendition of the raining code, as each ‘drop’ creates its own trail. His Memex also creates a unique code of letters and numbers to identify each trail, like in the raining code. The only thing missing is the non-alphanumeric symbols, though one cannot help but think if the Memex was able to be used on a large scale that symbols would be introduced. He goes on in the same paragraph and says:
It is exactly as though the physical items had been gathered together from widely separated sources and bound together to form a new book. It is more than this, for any item can be joined in to numerous trails.
When you look at the still photo of the three people immersed in the Matrix you can see that their ‘trails’ have been joined creating a new ‘book’ or reality. As well with the Memex, once Neo our protagonist, masters the Matrix he is able to call up and change anything he wishes, so does one with the Memex. The user can call up information, add to it, change it, share it and then save it or destroy it.
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Posted in Student Blogs
Tagged #computers, connection, dtcv, Humans, Memex, The Matrix, Vannevar
@CailinJohnson
Humans have become extremely connected with their technology. The matrix image of the “raining code” shows the relationship of humans and computers. Both Ted Nelson and Vannevar Bush’s articles discuss how technology will come into play in our everyday lives. Ted Nelson discusses how people will be able to access different forms of information and expression through different mediums (Literary Machines). These mediums include books, web, videos, and digital photos just to name a few. Information has become extremely accessible to everyone that owns technology. When you turn your TV you receive information, and when you turn your computer on you can search the web for information you are seeking. Vannevar Bush actually describes a machine that is similar to the modern day computers and tablets. “A “memex” is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility.” (As We May Think). We use computers today for all of these things. We use them to read, to record data or write papers, we use them as a means to communicate with the rest of the world through blogs or Facebook and our computers do all of these things with amazing speed. Our modern technology has also become very interactive. With ipads and other various tablets we touch the screen to type, to play a game or to draw an image. The memex was in a way interactive as well. “There is a keyboard and sets of buttons and levers.” (As We May Think). To operate the memex you would have to type in codes and pull levers in today’s tablets you just have to push buttons or speak into the machine to search for what you need but it is none the less interactive.
@PerrinKyla
The raining code from the Matrix photograph and video is one that may be very
confusing for people. If a person has never learned about the code or ever
learned about where it came from they would be very confused. In the photograph of the Matrix there is an image made from the raining code. The raining code looks like it would be just like the binary code which is made up of all ones and zeros. However when looking at the video of the raining code it seems that the code is not made up of numbers but of symbols, possibly of Chinese symbols. In Vannevar Bush’s “As We May Think” he is discussing the
relationship humans have with computers and information. He says that there are machines for solving difficult equations, and functional and integral equations (Bush 50). This can suggest that humans use computers to solve the problems that they need solved when it comes to work in marketing or science. In fact, science is a large part of the relationship that humans have with computers and information. In majority of sciences humans use computers in order to get information for the equations that the computers can solve. Information can be found on the internet which is mainly accessible through the computer. In the time of when the Memex was being thought about there was no way to find anything that you wanted to know about through something like Google. There was not even the thought of there being an Ipad or smart phones. Theodor Nelson wanted to advance technology and ideas. It is clear that the relationship humans have with computers and information can be directly related to science. “Science may implement the ways in which man produces, stores, and consults the record of the race” (Bush 54).
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Posted in Student Blogs
Tagged #computers, #ideas, dtcv, Matrix
@CailinJohnson
The kindle by amazon is a fairly new media object. This is an object that allows us to receive books, videos, applications and much more wirelessly and on a small tablet. The kindle is basically a pad that can do all of the things your laptop can do but on a seven inch much more portable laptop. This is a new media object because it requires the help of computers, websites and applications making it digital. The kindle has a touch pad screen that allows you to type just like you were typing on your own computer at home. At the top of the screen there are options that say shop, games, apps, books, music, videos, newsstand, audiobooks, web, photos, docs, and offers. When you select one of these it will take you to a new screen that allows you to purchase an item from the categories listed above. Also with this device you can load your documents and take pictures. Amazon by kindle has made a device that is normally only seven inches long do all of the functions that your 15 inch laptop can do. One characteristic of new media that fits the kindle is variability: you can set up your kindle any way you want it to be and you can also put things on your kindle that you want to be there. If you want to buy a book you can purchase it then it will instantly be placed on your kindle. If you want a movie again it will instantly be placed there. All of this is an example of how this new media object uses variability, whatever is placed on the kindle is different for every kindle user.
@Charity_Robison
Hello, my name is Charity and I am a post-bach student in the DTC program. I come from a fine arts background so my challenge is to transfer what I can of my studio skills and knowledge into a digital format that I can use to further my language of expression.
Math offends me and the digital realm is challenging with its limited tactile process and lack of physical or organic matter to touch, feel, and manipulate with my hands. It also looks a lot like math..
There are a great many new media objects to chose from so I decided to simply look over the slides and see what came to mind. This random exploration worked out well and resulted in some unexpected recollections. When I looked over interactive installations, I was immediately taken to an experience I had at Burning Man in 2009 with an installation titled Steve the Robot H.E.Ai.D.
It is described as “a Human Energized Artificial Intelligence Device that encouraged collaborative sound and music making inside a giant 35 foot structure made to resemble a giant robot head. Motion is detected using a camera mounted at the peak of the structure, which is then used to generate sound and project the laser image.”
I had come to it out on the playa late one night and found myself completely fascinated by the physical and visible connection I had with the piece. I danced with someone and watched it trace my every move along with theirs via laser lights onto the playa dust beneath me. I was actually watching the electricity and energy between myself and another.
In relation to the characteristics of new media by Lev Manovich, I believe this met all five. By creating an interactive connection between a computer and the human body, numerical representation (p.27) was made via intelligence that communicated between various systems to create the whole. There is an algorithm recording and transcribing human movement into a digital format.
The numeral representation here incorporated modularity (p.30) by combining several methods of data gathering to create the cohesive result of man and machine. This is also, in part, an automative (p.32) process. Computers have been explicitly designed and programed to record the human or analog movement and transcribe them into a digital format that can then be further translated into a visual shape and form. Variability (p.36) is then nearly infinite as it is defined by each individual that interacts with it, recording not only their physical stature and form, but also their movement. Transcoding (p.45) follows with the materialization of this digital interpretation of an analog subject. The human body and its movements are displayed in a digital format via laser lights.
Here is a short video clip of the installation:
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Posted in Student Blogs
Tagged Digital Object, dtcv, Lev Manovich, New Digital Media
Internet/websites
#dtcv
@samai14
My name is Samai Mendoza I am a freshmen at WSUV. I’m undecided on my major but I’m thinking to major on public affairs. I’m taking this class to satisfy my ucore and it looks fun.
Internet/websites it’s a new media. There are a lot of things we can find on the internet today from games to social networks to all kinds of information. We can play online games like angry birds and Pac man. We can also find social networks like Facebook and twitter. Internet is a digital media object because according to the lecture slides the definition of digital is “objects produced with the help of computers” and internet and everything that it holds is obviously produced with the help of computers. Facebook and twitter are “media [that] becomes programmable” (p.27) as Manovich states as a typical new media. Pictures and videos can be shared in Facebook and basically controlled by the person who adds them as the in the numerical representation characteristic explains. You even have to crop the picture when you want to make it your profile picture on Facebook. Facebook is also a new media object according to Manovich in the Variability characteristics because most of the time Facebook upgrades and automatically updates. According to Manovich a new media “web sites are also periodically updated either manually or automatically.” (p.38). Facebook is also an example of modularity because of the use of text characters. Manovich says that new media “consists” of text characters. (p.31) in conclusion” new media is created on computers” (p.46) which is transcoding and Facebook is an example of it. As years go by there would be new media and there will be new expectations to be considered new media and the new media that is today will be old media in a few years.
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Posted in Student Blogs
Tagged DTC 101, dtcv, Facebook, New Digital Media, twitter
@ohheyitshonor
Skype is a popular application which allows uses to connect with others over video chat through video streaming and voice calls. As of last year, there were 31 Million users on Skype spending an average of over 100 minutes a month using the application’s services (statisticsbrain.com). This program is the epitome of what author Lev Manovich believes a new media object is. Though this object came after his book ” The Language of New Media” it fits the 10 points which he suggests are involved in defining these new digital medias. For example, the author argues that new media must have numerical representations, as Skype does because the application runs off of the computer’s connection to the internet. He also states that in order to be digital, a media such as Skype must satisfy modularity, which he defines ad the “fractal structure of media” (page 51.) Skype does this through it’s video streaming and use of pixels simultaneously with sound to create a larger image and projection. It also follows Manovich’s third digital media requirement: automation. At it’s core, Skype’s messaging services through all mediums is automated and powered by the computer generation the modularity also depends on. Variability is another digitally driven aspect of this media, especially because Skype has had 6 different versions of the application release, and has expanded their messaging system into multiple mediums, as stated before. the mediums include instant messaging, voice messaging, and video messaging all encompassed within this media, giving people ample ways to communicate messages using this media form. Finally, Manovich talks about transcoding and how technologies become infused into our culture and into what’s happening, as seen through Skype’s expansion. Skype, and instant chatting services have all become a main part of culture, and the main channel in which communication happens. If there’s world news to be heard, people will know about it sooner than ever thanks to Skype as the ever present, instant connection with others worlds away. In this way, Skype as a digital media has changed our culture and society in its purpose as a communication device. Overall, Skype has proven itself to be a prominent digital media player in today’s world.
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Posted in Student Blogs
Tagged dtcv, Instant Messaging, Video Chat, Voice Chat
@v_kono
Hi, my name is Vitaliy. I graduated from Clark College with an Associate in Arts Degree. This is my first semester as a freshman at WSU Vancouver. The plan is to major in Computer Science.
iBooks Author is an application created by Apple to create gorgeous, multi-touch textbooks for the iPad. According to Manovich, there are five characteristics that identify a new media object. The characteristic of numerical representation applies to iBooks Author because it is an application that stores information electronically using a binary code (Manovich 25). The characteristic of modularity is also satisfied by iBooks Author. Manovich states that elements are combined together, yet still continue to remain separate (Manovich 30). In iBooks Author, the author has the option to make his/her textbook interactive by adding widgets such as galleries, videos, diagrams, 3D objects, and much more various items. These elements are all combined in a digital textbook, yet still remain separate from one another. Automation is the third characteristic that defines a new media object. Automation assists the individual through “agents” such as templates so that “human intentionality can be removed from the creative process” (Manovich 32). iBooks Author has many templates designed by Apple to assist the individual and make the textbook look stunning instantly. The fourth characteristic of variability is also achieved by iBooks Author. A new media object must be able to arise in many different versions in order to have variability (Manovich 36). With iBooks Author, the individual can create textbooks for a variety of subjects, as well as create more volumes for the same subject. The fifth and final characteristic, transcoding, has not been left out by iBooks Author. The media that is generated must be readable by the human, as well as the computer (Manovich 45). There is no doubt that that the textbooks can be read by applications such as iBooks or iTunes U, and these applications can decide if the textbook is the correct file format, file type, or size. iBooks author is a powerful, yet amazing tool for creating digitally-interactive textbooks, and fulfills the characteristics of a new media object.
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Posted in Student Blogs
Tagged Blog Post 1, DTC, dtcv, iBooks Author, Lev, Lev Manovich, New Digital Media, New Media, New Media Object
@cougar_sean
Hulu is an online website that allows anyone and everyone to access the latest in television entertainment. There are highlights of weekly episodes, lists of popular shows and even clips of various programs under the “best of” category. Hulu is a new media object as defined by Manovich as it fits all five characteristics he explains in his book, “The Language of New Media”. The first descriptor he uses is the visual aspect of such an object–numerical representation. This is a website; it is digital and plays digital videos. Secondly, there must be modularity; links to other websites that draw from the host site. Hulu has ads and even commercials interspersed within the programs it shows. Although many find this to be obnoxious, the ads serve their purpose. Automation or the process of working without any human interaction is easily identified with weekly updates and the upload of episodes at a specified time each day. Humans need not worry about pressing the “upload” button at just the right time in each timezone if we can simply program a computer to do it for us. Variability is another part of Manovich’s definition of a new media object. Hulu displays, based on shows viewed previously by the user, shows and clips that are related to the intended audience. For instance, if someone were to watch an episode of the Colbert Report, Hulu will suggest other episodes and perhaps even shows that are often coupled with Colbert like the Daily Show. Lastly, there must be technological influence in the form of transcoding. Transcoding is all about the way in which new media is associated with certain stereotypes in culture. Hulu for instance brings in audience members from all facets of life: people living without television who depend on online streaming, people with busy lives who miss certain shows and wish to view it online rather than waiting for it to rerun, et cetera. Hulu encapsulates the five core concepts of a new media object and will continue to set the trend for the digital age as more and more people choose to eliminate their cable or satellite contracts and switch to online streaming.