COM257: Media History and Theory

A mobile telephone is a wireless device which connects to the public switched telephone network and is offered to the general public by a common carrier or public utility (Farley, 2005). This definition sets the tone for this weeks focus of the history of mobile technologies, specifically cell phones. During the time of World War II, there was a need for greater communication amongst civilians and America began to speculate a wireless connection through phone for the public. In 1946, the first mobile radio-telephone service began courtesy of AT&T and Southwestern Bell, simply called Mobile Telephone Service (MTS). MTS used a central antenna to transmit signals to different mobiles across a wide area, which were all car based radio-telephones. Initially MTS used six channels but unexpected interference between the channels eventually cut it down to three channels. The MTS gained popularity and began to request more frequencies, and though they were awarded the additional frequencies, the FCC also granted frequencies to other companies, creating competition among sprouting mobile companies.

Outside of the US, develpoments came at a little slower of a pace because at the time most countries did not allow tghe public radiotelephones. The few exceptions were the Dutch (who created the first public radiotelephonbe network) and Sweden (who designed an automaticmobile telephone system known as the MTA). Japan also emerged as a powerhouse because they emphasized quality in their creations. Back in the US, in 1964, to relpace the now aging, MTS, the Bell System introduced the Imporved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS). This new system introduced direct dialing to America and also influenced other countries to axe their previous systems for much needed improvements (during which we see the rise of Nokia). It was not until 1969, that the first all transitor mobile phones were introduced from a large manufactuer (Motorola). Farley briefly takes the focus off of mobile phones to note that in 1971, the first commercial microprocessor was introduced. This was a basically a small computer on a silicon chip that began slowly being implemented into phones and are what we currently see today in phones. A rivalry sparked between Motorola and AT&T, subsequently leading to Motorola develpoing the first handheld mobile phone. Additional mobile phone deployment soon began all acroos the world. By 1981, we see the beginning of North American and Nordic telephone networks. In 1983, the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was developed in Chicago. The AMPS was the first commercial cellular service in America and also brought the Motorola Dyna-TAC (one of the earliest handheld phones) to the public. Korea soon entered the market with their creation of the KMT and also proved to be a worthy competitior in the cellular phone market. Farley notes that Europe was responsible for providing the first all digital system, GSM (currently the most popular system with over 1 billion users). America eventually followed the fully digital trend in the 90's with its IS-54. Other important events in the 90's include Nokia introducing, the Communicator ( a phone equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, word processor, and calendar programs), and the commercialization of the Internet (which uses IP packet switching like many cell phones began to do as well). The 2000's brought even more innovations to the mobile phone such as the integration of cameras and various data services like we see in today's Blackberry and other smart phones.

I found this article very informative. I had no idea that the development of the cell phone started so early and took so long to master. I remember seeing older people with the giant cell phones in the 90's that I envied so much, and now merely 10 years later I see the sleek new designs of cell phones everyday and what they could potentially be. I also found it interesting that the development of the cell phone was much like that of the Internet in the way that it took many different systems to finally get one that could work efficiently for everyone. The idea of mobility is also very obvious in this text. Another thing that puts mobile phones in the category of new media is the fact that it is clearly adapted from a form of old media, the stationary home phone. The constant need for humans to be able to interact with others by not having to physically be there, raises questions what is next for cell phones and what possible innovations could still be made to this significant communcation tool.

This weeks article by Jester Juul focuses on video games. The first claim the author makes is the ability of a video game to exist as two things at once: a reality and a fictional world. He uses The Legend of Zelda as an example because the gameplay and the means by which you advance in the game is real as the story it could portray is a fictional account. Juul believes that the relationship between game fiction and game rules is one of the most important features of video games. The article switches focus for a bit to give a look at the history of video games. The first video game, Spacewar!, was created in 1961. Juul notes that this is significant because it has only been a mere 40 years since we saw the first video game, whereas creations such as the printing press and cinema have been around for over 100 years; this classifies video games as a new media technology. Also relating to the idea of new media, is the fact that games from early Egypt have been revamped to a more current form and are still being seen today (i.e. Parcheesi and backgammon). Conitinuing, Juul goes on to talk about how the video game is ultimately viewed as a learning experience in which users must continuously practice in order to improve their skill. There are two basic ways that games are normally structured in order to challenge players, emergence and progression. Emergence refers to a number of simple rules that yield a large variation of options for outcome. Emergence can be seen commonly in sports and various card/board games. The other set-up is progression, which refers a set of predefined actions that must be completed in order to advance. This is seen mainly in adventure games. The author finishes up this part of the text by describing the importance of fiction in games and its variation from game to game.

 Juul attempts to give some similarities in most games with the classic game model. The model has six key characteristics: a rule-based formal system, variable and quantifiable outcomes, different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player becomes emotionally attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable. While most games use this model for games, it has become apparent that games have changed and strayed a little form the model. Contributing to the statement that games have changed, Juul goes into discussion of games being used for purposes outside of pure entertainment. Games assisted Ludwig Wittgenstein in building his philosophy of languange and also aided in the formation of theories linking rules and representation. Games have prompted several studies and arguments of topics spanning from whether to focus more on players or the game itself to what was discussed earlier when discussing rules vs. fiction. The author spends time in the passage discussing what makes games fun as well. This, Juul describes, is because of the rules of a game. Without the rules, many of the actions of a game would seem pointless because the rules add meaning and enable different actions (games such as Chess would be completely pointless). Another aspect that the author contributes to the fun factor of a game is the gameplay itself, referring to the interactivity of a game, allowing the user to get completely immersed in the experience by using their mental capacity.

Reading back on this blog post i realized how much I used the word variation, a term that is closely related to variablity which we have repeatedly discussed in class. Video games perhaps provide one of the best examples of variability because of fact that each attempt at completing a task in a progression style game is essentially different. Though there is a set way of completing an action, the way by which a player does it is different each time. Additionally, the article has definitely made me realize how games can be looked at as a fiction and a reality at the same time, which I found interesting. Also, again we are presented with that recurring theme of new media that we see each week in these posts. Games have been around nearly as long as humans but video games have not been around very long. The fact that old games are able to be transmitted through a monitor turning it into a "video" game has solidified its title as a form of new media.

This week's article attempts to explain and give some sort of clarification to the term Web 2.0. Some people consider the term to just be a "buzzword" with no true meaning. The author gives a definition of the term when he states that, "you can visualize Web 2.0 as a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites that demonstrate some or all of these principles at a varying difference from the core." O'Reilly begins his discussion of the principles of Web 2.0 by explaining the web as a platform for information. He implements examples to support this claim such a Netscape, an early web browser and Google, the widely known web application that continously updates information for its users to access its immense database of information. It serves as a middleman between the user and their online experience. The author supports this statement further by using examples such as BitTorrent and Overture.  Second, O'Reilly comments on the web's ability to harness collective intelligence. This topic is the central principle behind the success of major web giants such as Google, Yahoo!, Amazon and eBay. The idea that user contributions are key to success is relevant in this section. Essentially, as more users respond to the information on a site, the larger it grows. Not only does O'Reilly discuss the actual web sites in this section, he also mentions hyperlinking, the web's infrastructure, and blogging and how they also thrive off of user contribution. Next, O'Reilly claims that data is the next intel inside. In this portion of the text, he raises the question who owns the data and basically discusses the competition aspect of Web 2.0. As we see companies attempt to acheive control over the database, it leads to control over the market and consequently leads to competitive advantage. The author uses the competion of MapQuest, Yahoo! Maps and Google Maps to go into further explanation. The fourth principle discussed is how Web 2.0 has nearly put an end to the software release cycle. In short, this disscusses how the internet is not considered a product but more of service in which information is constantly being updated rather than having specific software update packages which were seen previously. Lightweight programming models is the next principle that O'Reilly explores. This refers to the value of simplicity in Web 2.0. Not only is simplicity valued for the user, but also it makes the application more widely adopted because of the functionability. Information has the ability to be integrated by different service providers now that it is so easily accessed. In the next principle, O'Reilly discusses how users are no longer restricted to using only the PC to access information on the web. New technologies such as cellphones, TVs, and the most prominent example, the Ipod (through its close tie with the Itunes program) allow users to not only use the web efficiently, but also increasing mobility in the process. The final principle of the Web 2.0 discussed in the article is its ability to provide users with a rich experience. this basically refers to user interface innovations implemented by the web. The author explains how Gmail and Firefox were applications that provided audience with extensive feature while also utilizing a fresh look.

I found this article extremely significant when referring to media. The author used numerous examples of topics that we have previously discussed in class such as databases and interfaces, hypertext, and the very idea of new media. Web 2.0 is adapted from what we as users previously referred to as just the Internet. O'Reilly goes into great detail and justifies why and how the Internet has become such an important medium over the years. On a personal level, I found this article applicable to my life as well. When O'Reilly mentioned blogging in the collective intelligence portion, it brought me to this very moment as I write this blog. This is the very concept he is trying to explain which I find ironic. Web 2.0 is a topic that I feel will be continously explored and advanced in the years to come.

Janet Abbate digs into the societal and technological impacts that the Internet brought in this weeks article.The writer's goal in the article is to explain how the Internet has manged to transform itself from merely a research tool to a popular medium used for so much more. The original creation of the Internet is credited to the APRA, but after they relinquished control over the medium, it became uncertain who was responsible for popularizing the medium. Success of the internet is due to its modularity (ability to change a single part rather than the whole), adaptable design, and the committed user community. At the start of the 1980's Internet was under military control which was every experimental. Pretty soon, the medium shifted less from military involvement toward academic research. ARPANET was the first operational network, and predescessor to what we refer to today as the Internet. The Department of Defense issued a split in 1983 between the ARPANET and MILNET (specifically military sites). This split allowed for more civilian access and marked it as a "civilian character". New networks began to spring up due to the computing revolution of the late 70's and 80's. Personal computers aided in the civilian advancement of the Internet. Additionally, the emergence of local area networks allowed internet connection in households and eventually brought connection networks from 15 to over 400 in 4 years. The author explains the dual identity the Internet has, one being the name that refers to the host, the other being the numerical address used by the network address. The National Science Foundation created NSFNET which served as a major component to the "backbone". The backbone were a set of packet switches connected by high-speed  leased lines. The NSFNET led to the deterioration of the ARPANET which at that point began show signs of its age. The issue of privitization came up too. NSF wanted to eliminate government involvement to accomodate commercial users. This would advantage network companies in the way that it allowed for them to compete for customers in the market, rather than NSF contracts.

Abbate changes courses to talk about the World Wide Web. Before its invention, the major work applications used were text-only interface applications such as e-mail and file transfers which hindered wider use. By making a more attractive interface and using a layered structure, Tim Berners-Lee created the Web in 1990. Berners-Lee's goal was to create " a pool of human knowledge", thus making the Internet a more vast medium. World Wide Web began operating within CERN and became an instant hit. Soon other innovations came including Mosaic, the first system to implement color images as part of web pages and also as hyperlinks like texts already were. The Web's many forms of multimedia and novelties that users could identify with, pretty much signified it as the center of public attention. The term Internet had become a household name.

This reading proved to be significant in discussing media. The author comments on modularity which was one of the earlier concepts explored in our readings of Manovich. It also relates to what we discussed last week about hypertext. The World Wide Web is so favorable merely because of its frequent use of hypertext to navigate from web page to web page. I also found this reading very important personally just because it is so easily relatable to my life. I can not go a single day without the Internet serving as nearly a second form of life. This informative and highly interactive advancement has changed lives and is steadily advancing today which raises the question, what's next?'

As we shift into part three of the course, we take a look into Aarseth's article,"Nonlinearity and Literary Theory". The article begins by discussing the term nonlinearity. Aarseth's interpretation of the term is grounded in mathematics rather than science unlike predessesors that opposed this standpoint such as Hayles. The definition that is given of nonlineraity is the "properties of geometric figures that remain unchanged even when under distortion, so long as no surfaces are torn". Aarseth continues to try to explain text in topological terms, defining it as the the study of the ways in which the various sections of a text are connected, disregarding the phisical properties of a channel. Texts are composed of a set of smaller units and the function of each is key in understanding the concept of nonlinearity: graphemes (letters), lexemes (words), and syntagms (phrases and sentences). While these elements coexist within a text, their presense does not necessarily denote nonlinearity, but the position of the letters or sentences are what causes nonlinearity in a text. With that being said, Aarseth presents the word texton as a title to this concept. Another thing that the author describes are six important functions of a text. Theses functions are: Topology (fundamental difference between linear and nonlinear text), Dynamics (abiliity of the scriptons to change), Determinability (stability of the function), Transiency (passing of time causes scriptons to appear), Manueverability (how easily it can be accessed), and User-Functionality (the exploratative function of the text).

As Aarseth progresses through the passage, he gives one of the more prominant examples if nonlinearity in text while discussing the Book of Changes. This book basically led its readers on a journey to get a more personalized answer to a previously asked question, thus rejecting the tradidional reader figure and allowing users to skip around. Similar to this concept, is the idea of hypertext, the direct connection from one point in a text to another. The idea of user control is continously discussed as the Aarseth starts his dicussion of hypertext and common uses for it. Cybertext is also discussed in the reading. Cybertext can be defined as a self-changing text that is controlled by a cybernetic agent. This relates to what Aarseth earlier discussed about the idea of dynamics being crucial to nonlinearity. Cybertext is dynamic in the way that it changes itself. Eliza, Adventure, and other forms of similar artificial intelligence technologies were examples that the author gave to support this idea.

Initially, I found this difficult article overly complicated and irrelavent to any aspect of life. However, as it progressed it made me realize how nonlinearity has affected people everywhere. Very seldom do we read a web page word for word waiting to stumble on the particular information we need. With the scroll option and even the hypertexting that most sites have now, it makes it much easier for the user to manuever the page to find specifics quicker and more efficiently. Also it relates to a couple of topics we have mentioned in class. When we discussed the printing press, we talked about how the changing of books from scrolls to its current format allowed us to skip to specific information more quickly much like the concept of nonlinearity. Also when we discussed the game Myst, we saw how the user did not follow a specific storyline, but instead made it up as they went, another aspect of nonlinearity. This concept has been present in much of the new media we have discussed in the course thus far.

In part two of this weeks reading, Briggs and Burke target the television. Like most forms of "new" media, people thought that maybe this new technology would be more for the higher class. This proved to be a giant misconception and subsequently nearly one-third of all households had a television in a fairly short amount of time. Not only did the television affect individuals it had a impact on society as well. Though people referred to the era of the television as also " The Age of Cinema" ticket sales were down nearly fifty percent, because Americans now had the luxury of watching a wide array of programs in their own home. Early radio broadcasters such as CBS and NBC also began having regularly scheduled television programs. The new form of "cultural theatre" eventually gained more traffic channels than the radio and certain programs became very popular. Dramas and soap operas were popular initially along with game shows such as Beat the Clock and variety shows like the Ed Sullivan Show. Television moved very rapidly with a much more entertainment-oriented initiative rather than the approach that the radio took with its war programming. In Britain television had a similar impact on audiences. Eventually, the monopoly that BBC had created had been broken. The new broken monopoly allowed competition amongst broadcasters, thus granting Britain more money to producers, performers and various outside organizations. BBC even went a step further than American programming by introducing the world to satirical shows which started to worry organizations due to the fact that they felt as if the television was starting to lower its standards to make a profit and get ratings (which is still currently a growing trend). Another standout difference between American and British television vame when reviewing the number of television sets. While Europe as a whole came in with 4.8 million sets, America showed 36 million sets (in the year 1955). Eventually, televisions role as a primarily entertainment medium began to be expanded with the development of childrens and other educational programming in attempts by the FCC to help weed out what they deemed to be indecency.The article proceeds to talk even more cultural impacts of the TV such as the broadcasting of Armstrong landing on the moon in 1969 and how the Vietnam brought the first actual war footage in the homes of Americans. The article emphasizes that though the televison surpassed the radio at a rapid pace, they still managed to coexist and actually complement each other rather than hinder.

I found it interesting how the television easily tapped into peoples minds. In class we discussed how the radio requires minimal literacy which supported how widely adapted it was. Much like that, the televison requires minimal literacy and takes it a step further by adding a visual aspect making even easier for people to identify with things without necessarily having to understand the images. The fact that it added visuals also links back once again to the idea of new media. It was able to adapt from a form of old media making it new. Additionally, I find it interesting that the television has been able to still be one of our major means of information in the world's steadily increasing technological space.

In part 1 of this article by Briggs and Burke it begins by discussing a brief history of broadcasting. Briggs and Burke talk about the importance and the effect that radio broadcasts had on society. Specifically in times that the country was going through turmoil such as a war the radio broadcasting programs were there serving as a morale booster for those who were in doubt because of its ability to reach massive amounts of people. With stations such as NBC, CBS, and BBC these broadcasting mediums also set the tone for a later invention, the television. Broadcasting became universal and adopted by important political leaders including Adolf Hitler (who used the radio microphone as a megaphone for his large audiences) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (used radio for his famous "fireside chats". The authors spend time contrasting the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) with American stations. The BBC was different in a way that it initially had government control over its broadcasts which forbade the station to report any of the controversial aspects of the wars however, the BBC had a far wider range of broadcasts than any American station which gave it an advantage before, during and after the war. The authors highlight the way that the BBC did not want to use its broadcasting materials for strictly entertainment, relaying information was just as (if not more) important; subsequently, Reith, BBC's general manager, eventually turned the station into a 'brute' monopoly.

Another key point in the passage includes The Federal Radio Commission being set up around 1927 by the United States as an initially temporary fix to some of the broadcasting problems. Briggs and Burke mention the importance of advertising too. While Britain used license fees to fund their stations America was one of the early nations to use advertising to fund its stations. The article presses on talking about additional societal impacts of the radio as it eventually comes to a close. The final key point that the authors discuss is what they refer to as trinity of information, education, and entertainment while giving examples of what the innovation of sound broadcasting has brought to each field.

It is refreshing to finally see some of the course material of COM 257 to finally link together a little more simply. This article immediatly made me refer back to last weeks reading about the telegraph and how information was able to be transmitted in an even quicker way without having to physically be with whom you are communicating with. I also found it important that of all the forms of new media we have discussed so far, this one seems to be the most commercialized up to this point from what we have discussed. The article actually discusses how the radio was adopted in households instead of telling the audience what it did for the government and those of higher ranks. The discussion of the radio/sound broadcasting is a key discussion point when relating to the field mass media, a imensely important field for a media major.

This article by Carey begins by discussing the the telegraph as a form of communication technology and how it has sort of flown under the radar when discussing technology. The seemingly displeased, Carey continues throughout the beginning giving the audience a look at the impact that the telegraph actually made. First, it impacted business due to the fact that it provided the setting in which modern techniques for the management of enterprises were first worked out. Secondly, the telegraph served as a foundation of the electrical goods industry by being the first of its kind that merged science and electrical engineering to create signals. Third, it brought changes the way humans looked at language, knowledge and impacted their level of awareness as well. Carey mentions that the most important and obvious impact that the telegraph is the fact that it finally caused a split between communication and transportation. People could now communicate through signals rather than having to physically go to the place that the person they want to communicate with is located. The claims that Carey makes classify the telegraph as new media.Carey progresses through the passage by mentioning the relationship between the telegraph and ideology. He breaks it into three seperate relationships: the telegraph and monopoly capitalism ( refers to the economic theory, political arrangements, structures, techniques, etc that the telegraph demanded), the telegraph and ideology through popular imagery ( refers to the spread of religion), and the telegraph and electricity ( refered to how the two inventions correlated and complemented each other by using invisible energy).

Carey spends the majority of the remainder of the article talking about even more innovations that the telegraph made possible. One is the affect it had on journalism. The wire services of the telegraph helped snap the report from a more partisan view to a more objective view allowing more papers to use the same information. Additionally, the telegraph was starting to be adopted as a control mechanism for railroads. This helped in the way that information was able to travel faster if there was a potential crash or other dangers that the train could encounter instead of having someone on horseback attempting to notify the conductor themselves.

All in all i found it quite interesting that so many articles can actually relate to what we refer to as new media. The telegraph was considered new and it actually contains some of the key characteristics which is easily missed when considering how long ago it was when it was invented. I also think it is kind of odd that the telegraph has gone under the radar. From what I read it was a major gateway to our everday technologies including cell phones and computers. The whole passage really opened my eyes to how important a single invention can have on our society.

                This week’s
reading, Printing and the Rupture of Classification, takes a break from talking
about technological forms of media into a much older form, printing. The impact
that printing had on the revolution of world as we know it today is immense. It
secured some of the classical and most important texts from European history.
Additionally, print brought forth the idea of access for individuals. The
amount of new information that people were now able to get through the novelty
of printing was amazing.

                While
the article goes into great detail about the innovations that printing brought,
it spends a lot of time covering the evolution of it. Hobart and Schiffman
explain the “codex”. They define this as the book format that replaced the previous,
more difficult, papyrus rolls. Something as simple as flipping a page rather
than unrolling a script, greatly benefited individuals in the way that they no
longer had to backtrack what could have been a 30 foot roll of parchment just
to refer back to something that they had previously read. Books were now
readily accessible and they could be done so with ease. The authors comment on
how the use of print led people to stray away from the bulky volumes of the previous
text and leaned toward the space-saving form that the printing offered.  “Glosses” were also used as distinguishers
between commentary and text around this time. This was an important means of
organizing the information at the time. Similar to glosses the summa (summary) was created as a way to
cut down the amount of information given.

                Hobert
and Schiffman present a whole array of social implications in their section
entitled, Rhetoric and the Rise of the Commonplace Thought. The authors use Aristole’s
argument between the concepts of rhetoric and philosophy, stating that
philosophy deals with matters of the truth while rhetoric focuses on
probability. In addition, the two expand their ideas by mentioning commonplace.
This idea refers to the fact that humans extract a great deal of their
interpretations of human behavior and experiences from their readings, yet
another thing that printing has allowed individuals to do.

                In
short I found this article an interesting change in what we would see when referring
to new media. While at first, one may look at media as solely technology-based,
through this article it becomes apparent that new media has always existed. The
fact that humans previously used written scrolls that were very limited as
their primary means of script proves the idea that has been recurring
throughout these posts, which is the fact that there is always a modernization
to be made in this world. However, I do find it exciting that now as times
continue to change, pretty soon the idea of printing will be similar to that of
the papyrus scroll, completely obsolete.

In the article, The Condition of Virtuality by Katherine Hayles she explores an idea dubbed as virtuality. Hayle defines this term as the cultural perception that material objects are interpenetrated by information patterns.  Hayles gives a secondary definition when she states that virtuality is also a mind-set that finds instantiation in an array of powerful technologies. In hopes to differntiate materiality and information (the two categories of virtuality) she applies virtuality to the field of molecular biology and the human body. The body and its genes correlate however the body does not have the ability to re-shape the gene similar to the way material does not change the information it presents (the information could exist in different forms, not tied to the material). The relationship is clearly interdependent upon each other. Another point that Hayles makes is the fact that information is used as a signal, she explains this through the information theory. Hayles believes that information has the desire to be accessable. Only when it is provided in a tangible form is it no longer able to freely roam through virtual space.

 The idea of virtuality is definetly applicable to everyday life in the sense that our bodies can be used to describe this concept. I believe by understanding the way our genes keep our body running, not our body keeping our genes running is the best way to relate the ideas of information and materiality. The article highlights the importance of information in ways that may not be immediately noticeable.

Taking a break from Manovich, we find ourselves reading a passage from Kellerman this week. In his article, "Technologies" his primary focus throughout is the use of personal mobility technologies and its evolution over the years. Kellerman talks about how the physical mobility of people has been expanded throughout the 20th century mainly due to the never-ending innovation of technology. Technology has allowed us to disregard location as a obstacle in communicating with others. Whether it is through mobile phone or computer, the modifications of technology has allowed us to transmit data of all types electronically in a easy and speedy manner. Through wireless transmission of the data that we decide to send, it has allowed researchers in the field to find an intersection between physical mobility and virtual mobility.

Kellerman continues throughout the chapter trying to comparatively assess the development, structure and operations of automobiles and technology. He breaks his first (and most important) sub-section, development, into two parts : standardization and adoption. standardization has permitted flexibility for users, allowing efficient and quick movements of information. This had a big role in shaping the structure of the mobility systems and is the basis behind the mass adoption (commercialization) that of the technology by consumers. Kellerman uses the automobile as a similarity to the technology. The automobile was created to allow efficient transportation and because of its convienence, it became commercially acceptable and shortly after its creation nearly every household had one much like mobility technology. As he closes this portion of the text he goes in depth on the structure and operation of technology and the automobile. The next part of Kellerman's text eases away from the comparison between transportation and telecommunication and sets a new objective, the socio-spatial characters of technology. In this part, he mentions walking and cycling, and also the concepts of automobility, telephony, internetness, and wirelessness and how they relate to the subject of mobility. The four concepts represent the three spheres of individual, society and space.

This article is important because it first introduces it audience to the idea of space and place which is very essential to the field of media. It tells us of the the power technology has in interaction amongst groups of people, which is the basis of communication itself. It is also relevant to each of us personally as well. As a college student, family and friends are not always readily available to talk if we are having trouble with an issue. With the innovations in mobility such as the mobile phone and webcams, it allows us to be able to keep in touch with anyone that we please. I also see the recurring theme that has been in all of our readings
thus far; the idea that technology and media has the unprecedented
power to expand itself and stretch beyond what we think is capable of
it.

In this third reading by Manovich, his primary focus is forms of computer media. Manovich begins the excerpt by describing a visit that he took through the offices of Razorfish Studios, one of the world's top 10 interactive agencies. Through this tour he notes simple office items such as the desk, the file cabinents. These things are the conventional means of organizing data and it links to Manovich's first form of computer media. The first form that he discusses is the database. This refers to the computer's abilities to store information spanning from video clips to regular documents with not only ease, but speed and structure. The second form is a virtual interactive 3D space, the same of which appear in computer animation and human-computer interfaces. These two forms are known as cultural forms, or general ways by culture to represent the human experience, the world, and human existence.

While Manovich mentions two forms of computer media, he targets The Database as his main focus. He disassembles database into six parts: The Database Logic, Data and Algorithm, Database and Narrative, Paradigm and Syntagm, a Database Complex, and Database Cinema: Greenaway and Vertov. As he explains these six parts, he frequently refers to different forms of databases, most notably CD-ROMs and the internet. The CD-ROM allows the user to actually collect and save their own personal data. The internet is special in that it organizes and even seperates things on the web pages such as text, images and video; not only that, but it even contains databases such as search engines.

 Manovich uses this article to open up his audiences eyes about the use of media. We may not notice it, but databases are more prominent to our society than we may think. I can not tell you how many times a day I just decide to search the internet's immense database just to find out information. Not only the internet, but my personal laptop is another commonly used database. It allows me to access so many of my own pictures and documents with such ease, which is a major perk of having databases. It is vital as a human to know all the joys that technology has to offer us.

The the excerpt from "The Language of New Media" by Lev Manovich, entitled The Interface was the focus of this weeks reading. The article begins by discussing the importance that the 1982 film Blade Runner had on the creation of a more modernistic view of technology. Manovich compares this to Apple Computer's Macintosh which gained popularity around the time as well. The computer introduced the Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the world. GUI has the power to provide consumers with clarity and functionality by using straight lines and small rectangles on a grid to display an image. Not only that, but it allowed further customization to its audience and a more direct interaction with the system.Continuing through the text, Manovich describes the processes of input and output through what is called human-computer interface (HCI). The monitor, the keyboard and the mouse are all HCI devices. With this kind of interface, the computer's role began to make a shift from a primarily work related device to a more widespread cultural one, allowing leisure use for the system. He says with the use of HCI, "we are no longer interfacing to a computer but to culture in a digital form." That was his reasoning for coining the term cultural interfaces which he uses through the text to refer to HCI.

Manovich raises the question, "Why do the cultural interfaces look the way they do"? His best attempt at answering his question comes when he explains three forms that he believes influenced the look, the printed word, cinema and HCI. Print because it the primary language of all computer media, Cinema because of the idea that people favor a more animated view over the language of print and HCI for its ability to allow humans to manipulate it allowing complete control.

The Interface prvides the reader with an in depth view of evolution that does not normally cross the mind. The way something as simple as a screen can be manipulated in so many different ways and constantly revoltuionized stuck out to me. To me it proves that no matter how much time passes, there will always be an innovation. As discussed in the last reading, the creation of new media is never-ending. Manovich really digs deeper in this piece to further explain why he initially made that claim. 

In the article, "What is New Media" by Manovich, it reflects the concerns with the widely used term "new media". The term is limited because many fail to realize how broad "new media" really is. Not only are the obvious things considered media, but there is so much more out there, that does not always get recognition. As Manovich progresses, he takes his audience back in time to explore early inventions that were considered "new media" at different points in time, with inventions spanning from daguerreotypes (early photographs) to computers. Continuing through the passage, Manovich also explains some of the vital attributes of new media. The first is the numerical representation. This refers to the digital code that media is composed of. The second is modularity, or the small individual components put together to make up something much larger (pixels, characters, scripts, etc.). Next, is Automation which refers to the power that the human is given to modify the media by using the first two principles and also through the use of templates. Variability refers to the fact that media is ever-changing and there is always going to be that need for its continual expansion. The final attribute is transcoding which is the machine's way of explaining things that both it and the human audience can understand simultaneously. New media is a constant thing that will keep growing as long as there are people around to expand it.

While complex, the article provokes thought to not only me as a communication major, but certainly other people in the social science field. It is important to know the roots of a topic especially one that affects everyone. This article makes it clear that media is unescapable. The article also makes me more eager to learn about differnt kinds of media, not just computers to see if maybe Manovich's attributes can be modified to fit all kinds of media. I found this to be helpful to understanding not onle the the history of "new media", but the meaning of it as well.