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Chronology:
- 1982: Bill Viola publishes "Will There Be Condominiums in Data Space?"
- 1983: Ben Bagdikian publishes "The Endless Chain" and Ben Shneiderman publishes "Direct Manipulation: A Step Beyond Programming Languages"
- 1984: Sherry Turkle publishes "Video Games and Computer Holding Power"
- 1985: Donna Haraway publishes "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century"
Summary:
- Media artists rely upon the accessibility of the mediums around them. When film was cheap and more freely available in the 1960s, that became the new medium and once new add-ons to the film were used (projectors, editing systems etc.) these artists would incorporate them into their work. Bill Viola was an example of this process.
- The lines between old media and new media are blurring. Since the old media titans are realizing the importance and prevalence of new media, they are beginning to integrate into the new media sphere. The most recent example is Comcast (a gigantic ISP) acquiring NBC (a media empire). Here is the NYTimes articles. Is it dangerous to have the people providing access to the internet also providing the content?
- As with the previous ideas within the technological realm, the idea of making the computing processes more udnerstandable and relatable is continued by Shneiderman and the idea of direct manipulation. Instead of relying on programming languges to instruct the computer, the idea of direct manipulation is to have a graphical input for each step of the process instead of coded computer language.
- Using psychological analysis, Turkle explored the popularity of video games through the question "why do people enjoy them?" She figured that people enjoy utilizing video games because the interface is catered to their usage which allows the layman to enjoy computing. In addition, players are able to act out personas that they usually don't utilize in their daily lives.
- Haraway's essay revolves around the idea of seeing what we have now, and how we can progress from here. Instead of dwelling on the past, and any romaticised ideas of purity the past should contain, Haraway focuses upon how we can constantly manipulate the present to make a brighter future.
