Multi Media Ex.-->Reading Response 1- The Language of New Media p 63-78

When the Macintosh was released in 1984, the vision of the GUI was a clear definition between the human and the technological creations. It stayed true to its principles of clarity and functionality. In this case when the user creates a file it never disappears unless it is deleted by the user. The passage states that all culture, both past and present, came to be filtered though the computer and the human-computer interface. Translation: the computer interface acts as a code that carries cultural messages in a variety of media. The thing about this is that movie and tv screen did not disappear from these applications, they were integrated into them.

The interface of the computer determines how the user is going to react to the computer itself. The interface also comes into play in society with work and leisure activities which are increasingly involving the computer in many different aspects and utilizing the same interfaces.

Human-computer interface (HCI) describes the way in which the user interacts with the computer. It also includes the metaphors used to conceptualize the organization of computer data. Originally HCI was invented when the computer was primarily used for work. During the mid-1990s the computer was largely thought of as a tool used to archive cultural content, but by the end of the decade the computer was becoming more than just a toolbox, turning into a "universal media machine." HCI has evolved into a set of controls used to operate a machine and the combination of the printed word and cinema become distinct ways of recording human memory and experience.


What Are Two Aesthetics defined by Blade Runner and the Macintosh?

First was a "futuristic dystopia" that combined futurism and decay, computer technology and fetishism, retro-styling and urbanism, L.A. and Tokyo. The Macintosh popularized the Graphic User Interface (GUI) which remained true to the modernist values of clarity and functionality.

How did the role of the personal computer shift in the 1990s?

At the beginning of the decade, the personal computer was still thought of as a sort of typewriter. It was used to produce cultural content that was stored and distributed in the appropriate media. By the end of the decade, Internet use became commonplace, and the computer's public image was no longer just control, but a "universal media machine" that could be used to author, store, distribute, and access all media.

How are the work and leisure spaces differently perceived in industrial and information societies?

Work application are considered to be the word processors, spreadsheet programs and database programs while leisure applications are computer games, and informational DVDs, etc. The reading states that these two sets are converging in our modern technological age. The information society is engaged in many activities that span across both of these areas: imputting and analyzing data, running simulations, searching the internet, playing games, watching video, listening to music, etc.

What does Human-Computer-Interface mean and entail?

The Human Computer Interface (HCI) describes the ways in which the user interacts with the computer. It includes physical imput and output devices like the monitor, keyboard and mouse. It utilizes metaphors to conceptualize and organize computer data such as files and folders on the desktop. The HCI also includes ways of manipulating data such as copying, renaming, and deleting. It can list the contents of a directory, start and stop a program, and set te computer's date and time. The term HCI was coined when the computer was primarily used for work.