Friedsy

Author's "literary machine" incorporated essays written from a specific perspective of "if I were using these terms, this is what I would mean"
Rhizomatic writing- often used to describe hypertext
Authors' work challenges readers to "reconsider dualisms"

(I had a lot of difficulty getting through/understanding this article)

Authors predicted the power of the personal computing notebook -- what it would do for the world and its users
Ideas for the computer notebook were developed at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) which was led by Kay
The original concept was that the personal computer notebook would be a "general purpose device, with educators and business people and poets all using the same type of Dynabook" - a multi-disciplinary system
The authors believed that computers could be (and should be) used by all different groups of people (even children) regardless of one's interests or computer skill level

Considered "the father of virtual reality"
1976- created a new computer interface: a glove that monitored hand movements (created at the Electronic Visualization Lab @ the University of Illinois
He had both aesthetic and technical concerns throughout his career
Thought about art and computer science in similar disciplines
Steered away from traditional ideas of "content"
Critical technical practices - a practice that makes technological artifact with arts and culture in mind

Author programmed Eliza, the first and most famous chatterbot
Eliza brought into question a lot of issues of ethics regarding technology and the possible dangers of what he himself had created
Author was a huge proponent of inventors/technology experts taking on responsibilities for the potential dangers their creations may have on the larger world
Eliza (1964-1966) ran a series of scripts which impersonated a psychologist

Developed new ideas for the digital world where the user was thought of as being "empowered," not hindered by technology
1985- opened the MIT Media Lab (looks at future media/computer applications that aim at many fields of study
1967- author founded the Architecture Machine Group @ MIT
The group aimed to create new ways of managing data and large amounts of information spatially instead of numerically or alphabetically (in a list-form)
Intentionalities - author puts forth 3 levels of consciousness that a computer system should try to have
He did not believe in the classic idea that many hold regarding computers; that they are "experts" with "spacial knowledge"

Author was jailed for his beliefs/work he put forward
Boal's goal: to create situations which would involve interaction around every day people's every day problems
He focused on many oppressed people in South America (Brazil, at first)
Fled to Argentina and later was forced into exile in Europe where he began to think of his new ideas/concepts as "taking on not only the 'cop on the street,' but also the 'cop in the head'"
His techniques had obvious therapeutic goals (The Rainbow Desire)
1992- Boal ran for office in Brazil and won
Boal took his theatre troop with him and began to create political action/new proposals using his own performance techniques aimed at helping the normally ignored
Reminiscent of "Happenings"

Article is considered "the most important book in the history of new media"
often referred to as the "first personal computer book"
Book is a combo of two separate books bound in the middle - there was the "computer lib" side and the "dream machine" side
"Computer Lib" questioned/"challenged" what computers were being used for/what they could be used for
"dream Machines" focused on "media and design" (the author believed this section to be more significant than the "computer lib" section
Nelson believed that "computer experiences were media to be designed" and should be thought of as actively engaged in thinking about the user - the "human-computer interaction"
Nelson believed that all types of new media "experiences" should be placed in a "radical, open publishing network" (precursor the world wide web)

Saturday, December 13, 2008