Varieties of Cyberspace: Problems in Definition and Delimitation

Professor Strate's article "Varieties in Cyberspace" describes what he calls the three levels of cyberspace and their subdivisions. The first level is called zero-order cyberspace. The first of its categories is called paraspace, or nonspace. Paraspace deals with the paradoxical aspects of cyberspace: it exists, but at the same time it is unreal. The other category of zero-order cyberspace is cyberspacetime, which has to do with our perceptions of space and time. The second level is called first order cyberspace. Its three categories are physical cyberspace, conceptual cyberspace, and perceptual cyberspace. Physical cyberspace consists of the electricity, wires, modem, and anything else relevant in the physical world. Conceptual cyberspace deals with the "cognition" and logical qualities of cyberspace. Perceptual cyberspace deals with how we use our senses to obtain information about cyberspace. The last order is called second order cyberspace. This contains cybermedia space, which contains its own subcategories of aesthetic space, information or dataspace, and interactive or relational space.

Cut, Copy, and Paste

Professor Strate's article "Cut, Copy, and Paste" compares the three basic word processor editing functions to historical tools. "Cut," he writes, comes from the stone knife that our prehistoric ancestors would have used as a cutting tool. Since this is the oldest of the tools, "...it is fitting that cut appears first in the edit menu of current operating systems." "Copy" would seem to be a modern function, since we associate the word "copy" with exact replicas. However, scribes copied manuscripts all the time. Even though they weren't identical copies, they were in fact replicas of the original works. "Paste" has been around for the shortest amount of time. Although there is no known record of prehistoric people using adhesives, it is safe to say that they would have discovered such properties in their plant surroundings.

Communication and Cyberspace Chapter 22

Chapter 22, Professor Strate's chapter, is titled "Cybertime." He states that the invention of the computer can be traced back to the invention of the clock; it was one of the first automated machines, and it produced information. He writes that, "Cybertime is absolute time, digital time, and it is quicktime." Today, people mark time down to the second, and even the nanosecond, changing the way people relate to time. Not only do computers display time, they also "communicate a sense of time that is not necessarily the time." He refers to this sense of time as "virtual time." As he said in class, no other medium allows users to lose track of real time so easily.

Chapter 22 the final blog

There have been many inventions that have lead up to what we now call the internet. of course the invention that makes viewing the internet possible is the computer. The computer has many inventions that have have come before it and lead up to its creation. These inventions consist of the abacus, steam engine, the loom, and many more. All of the inventions play a huge role in creating the computer, a functional interface and the internet. Another invention that does not create material objects, but information is the clock. As stated in our classroom lectures "Clocks are the ancestors of the computer"(Strate). Clocks have been existence to perform many functions and one of those main functions is a form of control to synchronize every individuals actions through out the world. Even though we are in different time zones we are all based on a system that allows everyone to operate and function together. Many of the financial markets in Asia and other countries open and close at different times than that of the United States. In order to keep track and be punctual in these markets we figure out the time difference and relate it to our own time. This is a universal sense of synchronization and has enabled our society's to live and work in conjunction with each other. To prevent crashes in one lane rail road tracks railroad companies configured different time zones within the United States to aid those traveling from places like Philadelphia, which there time is five minutes later than our time. This also created the ability for interstate transportation and travel. As time goes on Professor Strate believes that time will become more and more universal through out the world. Even though this transition will take time and be difficult it is a very large step into synchronizing individual society's into one and making trade, transport and many other things much more simple and logical. This class has been very influential in the teachings and history of New Media. The lectures and constant blogging have proved to be essential in mastering the beginnings of New Media. Thank you for the opportunity to par take in a class like this and I hope everyone has a great summer.

6/25 Electric Writing and Hypertext

 Hypertext has been the focus of discussions for many years. Even though interest in hypertext has died individuals try to pin point exactly what it is. Many say that definitions up until now have been very ambiguous. Many feel that it is time to stop living in the past and create the future with the use of cyberspace and hypertext. individuals have been going to colleges to examine students and their reliance on print ads versus the internet. Print ads have become less and less as the years have gone by and students are spending up to five hours on the internet each night. Hypertext can never exist in printed documents the only space that is capable of holding it is cyberspace. Many parents and other individuals who relate to education are very skeptical of how hypertext will be used in the classroom and what effect it will have on students. Many feel that the sources that are required with the display of hypertext lead students to be able to discover and vast variety of information from the sources that are cited. Others feel that there must be some structural evidence to why we have used a textbook for so long and what impact switching over will have on students. Of course there is no conclusive evidence of where our society will go, but with the trends that are being set now hypertext and other devices will replace what we know now as the printed textbook. Smart tags release radio frequencies that allow information related to the barcode to be found and directed to a database. In order for this information to be sorted and arranged an enabler needs to be put in place so that when the barcode is scanned the information can go directly where it is suppose to go. Smart boxes are used to receive information that may be highly confidential. The military uses drones to scout out their enemy and than this information is relayed to a smart box, which is than examined by the military. obviously this information isn't available to just everyone, but smart boxes can be programmed to work in either a private or public setting. As shown by Professor Strate in class Wikis can be created very easily and can be used in many functions. I was amazed to know that wikipedia was one of thousands of wikis that are being created everday. This enables individuals to create their own future and design exactly how they can go about completing their goals.

Digital Versus Analogical

During Wednesdays lecture Professor Strate discussed the important differences of digital and analogical in reference to new media. A digital system is comprised of discrete units, which bare no resemblance to what they represent. They have a few unique features which consist of being more compact, takes up significantly less storage space, frees up bandwidth, can be easily copied and shared so no data is degenerated, and it is very easy to edit. Everyday examples of digital systems are fingers, numbers, an alphabet composed of letters, words, and language. As you can see digital systems have been a concrete foundation in our society for many decades. Analogical, which is the opposite of digital, means a system that is not logical. Analogical systems consist of continuous units, which have some similarity to what they are representing. An example of an analogical system is a picture. The measurement of an analogical system is always an approximation. Throughout recent decades we have seen many forms of progression. With progression has brought the age of digital systems and its impact on analogical systems. Digital has been and will eventually drive out analogical systems. It was very interesting to watch and understand the videos that were played of and about Marshal McLuahns' life. These videos gave insight on what his views really were and what kind of impact he had and still has on society. I look forward to learning more about him through out this course.

The Chaotic Whole

Knowledge has taken upon several interpretations. In the 1960's Peter Drucker discussed how knowledge can be described as a commodity. Later on there were many discussions on systems and how they operate. Individuals came up with several related definitions such as closed systems, open systems, and the system theory. The system theory explains that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is because of several extra factors that aren't incorporated in the parts such as structure, interaction, and relationship. These outside factors from the parts make the whole that much more important and of greater importance. Many theories exclaim how order is the only way to obtain information, but with out a dab of chaos in any situation there would be no information available. Many views of this error lead to the enforcement of modern day atheism and the enlightenment of how christian faith may be faulted. Some intellectuals believe they have proved that life couldn't have been created without life itself, which is referred to as autopoiesis. As we progress through the course we have also come to the realization that many views conflict and with these views our evaluation of new media changes as well. Professor Strate has so far been able to direct us in the path of what is the best outlook on New Media with the information we have learned thus far, but we still have so much more to learn.

From Telegraphs to Cybernetics

Throughout Professor Strate' lectures he has illustrated the timeline of events that have strengthened and advanced our ways of communication. A simple machine as the telegraph eventually became the foundation of networking for an array of types of communication. A critical idea that was shared in this class was that of electromagnetism. This is the idea of a field of all types of radiation emitting in all directions to make such things as cellular devices and radio possible. The advancement of such methods as using teletype and the facsimile have become outdated and ancient relative to cybernetics and the modern day computer. Cybernetics was brought about by Norbert Wiener. Cybernetics is the science of control and Mr. Wiener believed that information was essential to control. Claude Shannon developed the information theory. This theory leads us to believe that the fundamental make up of the universe is energy. He also stated that everything has a tendency to lead to chaos whether it was entropic to begin with or not.  Wiener also expressed that every signal that is sent out is degraded in some sense and that to stop degrading we must use amplification and redundancy. Many of these theories are used in everyday life such as in the comparison of network television shows to television commercials. The idea of positional notation has rooted back from cultures and their monetary systems and is now used in many different ways. With time comes discovery and advancement and Professor Strate is diligently leading us through the history of how we have come to communicate in present day.