The passage that I chose was from Adriana de Souza e Silva's article, "From Cyber to Hybrid." It is the second complete paragraph on page 758. This passage, as well as the article, are talking about how mobile devices which have internet access are creating mobile spaces out of the areas we live in. This passage more specifically mentions how hybrid spaces are different than mixed reality, virtual reality, etc.
I couldn't help but think of many different examples when I read this paragraph, and how many different things mobile phones can do now. One of the first that popped in my head is how iPhones can use their GPS to "geo-tag" a photograph when one is taken. Essentially what this means is that the photograph carries with it the exact location the picture was taken from and even the direction the camera was pointing. There are other applications that take use of this, allowing people to take pictures and upload them, where there friends can see them and even see where the person is that took the photo.
This type of seemless integration of the digital medium of the internet into our physical lives is leading to many more possibilities both good and bad. While being able to look at an application on your phone and see in real time where all your friends are via their GPS locations it enhances the knowledge we have of our surroundings. We are connected at all times, can get any information we want at the touch of a button. At the same time we are losing a sense of privacy because while we can bring information in, information can also be sent out.
Unlike many of the other forms of reality that Silva talked about in her article, there is no way to turn off hybrid spaces, they are made up by all of the different people around us and their mobile devices. No longer do we feel chained to our computers to get information. Our computers are now with us at all times. As the technology evolves, the line that divides the physical world and the digital world will continue to blur.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Online Communities
One online community that I am a part of is accessed through a computer program called STEAM. It's an online gaming community that allows you to keep track of friends and join games with them.
Within this community there are hundreds of thousands of players across hundreds of games. For me though, I tend to play with friends that I know in person outside of the STEAM community. When I log onto it I will see if any of my friends are in a game (as of now we usually play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) and if they are I can send them an instant message and let them know I'm on and invite them to join a game together.
Outside of this community I still talk to my friends normally, and just because I'm part of this online gaming community it doesn't mean that I only meet with other community members in the games, I use the community as just another way to meet with friends I know in person.
With regards to the barriers that exist to join the community, users must have a computer and must download the STEAM program. They then must create an account, then purchase and download a game to play. They can still contact other members without having a game to play, but only once you have a game can you join that and play with others. Without a game it's nothing more than an instant messanger system with a digital game store attached to it. Even if someone has a game they can play, they must still know how to play it, and many games now require very quick reactions and memorization of keys on the keyboard as well as excellent eye-hand coordination to play, and it would be very frustrating to play against other people if you were new to computers.
Within this community there are hundreds of thousands of players across hundreds of games. For me though, I tend to play with friends that I know in person outside of the STEAM community. When I log onto it I will see if any of my friends are in a game (as of now we usually play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) and if they are I can send them an instant message and let them know I'm on and invite them to join a game together.
Outside of this community I still talk to my friends normally, and just because I'm part of this online gaming community it doesn't mean that I only meet with other community members in the games, I use the community as just another way to meet with friends I know in person.
With regards to the barriers that exist to join the community, users must have a computer and must download the STEAM program. They then must create an account, then purchase and download a game to play. They can still contact other members without having a game to play, but only once you have a game can you join that and play with others. Without a game it's nothing more than an instant messanger system with a digital game store attached to it. Even if someone has a game they can play, they must still know how to play it, and many games now require very quick reactions and memorization of keys on the keyboard as well as excellent eye-hand coordination to play, and it would be very frustrating to play against other people if you were new to computers.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Definition of Cyperspace
In Benedikt's article, out of all ten of the definitions he gave, It was the first one that I connected with the most. It seemed like the definitions started with the more literal definitions and then moved towards more and more abstract ones, so while I could see some truth in the later ones, I still connected with the first one the most.
This definition states that Cyberspace is: "A new universe, a parallel universe created and sustained by the world's computers and communication lines. A world in which the global traffic of knowledge, secrets, measurements, indicators, entertainments, and alter-human agency takes on form: sights, sounds, presences never seen on the surface of the earth blossoming in a vast electronic night" (Benedikt 19).
I have always thought of Cyberspace in the more literal sense that it is simply information stored on computers and accessed by other computers via information lines. To consider it a form of electronic space is an attempt to visualize something that consists of 1's and 0's. It is not a limitless expanse like the second definition of Benedikt's says, because it is always limited by the number of computers connected to each other, even though the number is extremely large.
In this virtual space, as the definition above says, information from all around the world travels, and can reach places thousands of miles away in seconds, which tends to make our planet seem much smaller than we used to think of it. In cyberspace we are able to transmit this information and alter it, adding sounds and video together, and turn very basic numerical data into something we can see and hear. As the number of computers connected to the internet increases, so does the size of cyberspace, making it seem like an almost infinite amount of information is available to anyone.
This definition states that Cyberspace is: "A new universe, a parallel universe created and sustained by the world's computers and communication lines. A world in which the global traffic of knowledge, secrets, measurements, indicators, entertainments, and alter-human agency takes on form: sights, sounds, presences never seen on the surface of the earth blossoming in a vast electronic night" (Benedikt 19).
I have always thought of Cyberspace in the more literal sense that it is simply information stored on computers and accessed by other computers via information lines. To consider it a form of electronic space is an attempt to visualize something that consists of 1's and 0's. It is not a limitless expanse like the second definition of Benedikt's says, because it is always limited by the number of computers connected to each other, even though the number is extremely large.
In this virtual space, as the definition above says, information from all around the world travels, and can reach places thousands of miles away in seconds, which tends to make our planet seem much smaller than we used to think of it. In cyberspace we are able to transmit this information and alter it, adding sounds and video together, and turn very basic numerical data into something we can see and hear. As the number of computers connected to the internet increases, so does the size of cyberspace, making it seem like an almost infinite amount of information is available to anyone.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Hello DTC 475
Hello everyone, this is a continuation of my blog from last semester's class so I'll have some old blog posts on here from that. My name is Neil Fastabend and I'm in my last 2 semesters at WSU and hope to be graduating at the end of summer. I am a DTC major as I'm sure a lot of others in the class are, so I might have been in previous classes with many of you. Hope everyone has a good semester!
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