Summaries

Summary: Benjamin Woolley's "Cyberspace"

In reading Benjamin Woolley’s article “Cyberspace”, he attempts to define the term cyberspace without actually giving it a clear definition. He gives details on how it became important in the 1980’s in data exchange worldwide. He also describes the development of the internet and how it originated from something called ARPAnet.There is also a comparison of the human nervous system to technology. He compares the phenotype of a human to a “phenotype” of a website, being the outward appearance and the genotype being the genetic code (DNA) of a human or codes (HTML) of a website. He also makes comparisons of a computer virus and a biological virus, pointing out that in both instances the strand of code replicates itself in the host, infecting it. Just as a biological virus affects a person's health, a computer virus could ultimately affect what happens in the global community in cyberspace. The outcome of the virus then causes changes in the real world. He concludes the article by stating that becoming a member of cyberspace is unavoidable and poses the question of whether cyberspace is the new reality.


Summary: Michael Heim "VR 101"

The idea of cyberspace being the new reality brings up another point:virtual reality. The internet has become so real that it can change physical things in life. In Michael Heim's article, "VR 101", he describes virtual reality by using three I's: immersion, interaction, and information intensity. Immersion meaning being actually there and being able to use your senses and feel that you're actually there. Interaction being networking and rapid exchange of data. Information intensity being the varied connections between our perceptions and the real world (creating telepresence). He lists different types of virtual reality:

telepresence- ranging from low telepresence (a telephone call,limited only to voice) to virtual environment research (simulated environments, where all senses are immersed in the experience).

helmets (HMD)-a headmounted device that tracks the wearer's position, connecting to the computer so that it can generate the appropriate responses.

The Cave- similar to the helmet, but tracks head and hand movements. However it is surround screen, surround sound, and projection-based using 3-d computer graphics that completely surrounds the user.

In describing the forms of virtual reality, it is clear that the goal is to form immediacy. This means giving the user the maximum experience by incorporating the three I's, and stimulating all the senses and giving that desired effect of "really being there".


Summary: Bolter & Grusin "Remediation"

In "Remediation", a form of virtual reality is described by describing an event in a movie. "The wire" from the movie "Strange Days" is similar to virtual reality in the sense that it gives you immediacy or the feeling of really being there.Bolter & Grusin make point out that older electronic media and print media are trying to compete with digital media. However, they go on to explain that both are dependent on each other. For example a novel(print media) being remediated would be turned into a movie (electronic media).They explain that remediation did not come about with the development of digital media, but can be found centuries ago. Using a painting from the seventeenth century to illustrate the point that the goal of technology is immediacy, stating that even in the painting the goal is to put the viewer in the same space as the objects viewed, denying the medium; much like the goal of virtual reality. They then give a more current example by indicating how much money and time moviemakers spend to give u the maximum viewing experience.