Understanding New Media: Chapters 34-43

     At this point, we are at Part III of the book which concerns the analysis of New Media not dealt with in UM. This section of reading involves mostly digital technology that we more commonly associate with New Media today. Three major technologies discussed are the cell phone, the personal computer, and the Internet. The purpose and capabilities of the cell phone have grown exponentially since its birth. What was once a device used primarily for oral communication void of distal constraints is now a portable computer, mp3, TV, camera, and hand held game device. With technology such as the iPhone, people are more connected and available than ever. Smart phone users have access to the Internet pretty much whenever and wherever. "Basically, the cell phone will eventually morph into an all purpose mobile hand-held terminal for the production, transmission, and reception of all forms of digital information" (219). The book makes it evident through engineers at Ford that cell phone users can "roam through physical space gathering knowledge while at the same time being in touch with all their sources of knowledge and information ranging from voice to text messaging to the World Wide Web" (220). This is a powerful notion. Now humans have unprecedented access to information while also being able to stay super connected with friends, family, and associates. There are also detrimental effects associated with cell phone use. When we use our cell phones, we sacrifice a certain level of our privacy since we are always so accessible and because cell phones could be tracked down. Cell phone conversations could even be recorded without one being aware. An interesting concept brought up in this chapter is that we have become "natural born cyborgs wearing part of their brain outside their skulls and at a price that almost anyone can afford" (221).  McLuhan described electric technology as "total and inclusive," meaning we must expose our minds in order to fully and properly engage ourselves in this technology. Modern technology adapts to the desires of our mind therefore our brain becomes more  metaphorically external.
     The personal computer is another modern device that has greatly advanced since its beginnings. The first computer was initially created to perform complex calculations and manipulations of data. The catalyzed speed of which the Internet is able to solve calculations allowed researchers to study nonlinear equations that led to the discovery of fractals and chaos theory. Through these discoveries, we can conclude that the computer is a powerful source of new insights. On the Internet, information flow is totally decentralized. The information available has little boundaries and is seldom censored. However, the computer often serves a distraction from classes and can sometimes deteriorate the the development of social skills.
    The Internet is definitely a huge milestone for the human race. It is a information processor that serves as the medium for a multitude of communication channels. "The Net and the Web obliterate most monopolies of knowledge" (236). The internet is an open channel of information- one can both publish and have access to information. Once one has access to the Internet, there are little restrictions on attainting information, "there is no hierarchy; each participant has an equal voice and is heard" (241). The internet is also a very powerful marketing tool. It is more economic and easier to create ads. Also, the ad is more likely to be put into circulation because of the accessibility of the Internet and through review websites and blogs. Marketing on the Internet also allows for better feedback so one can evaluate the effectiveness of one's ad. The Internet also serves as a gateway for artistic expression.

Questions of Control

As any new invention the Internet has had many advances through out its’ lifetime. In the beginning the Net was extremely slow and it was very hard to get and maintain a connection, but there have been three new ideas or developments that have changed this. First, Graphic User Interfaces (GUI’s), which were created by Xerox Parc and are now entwined into almost every Personal Computer. Also the advancements of micro chips and there speed has aided the innovation of Graphic User Interfaces. Lastly, the creation and improvement of the Information Superhighway has increased the sufficiency of the bandwidth and has helped with heavy signal loads. Cyberspace has been continually evolving and with that the history of cyberspace is easily forgotten. Those who are working in the Cyber field today is fresh faces and have not experienced past problems that have come about. This may be a problem in the future because of their inability to cope with problems they have never experienced. A huge overbearing concern of many is privacy and how it will be maintained because of the lack of control that is currently on cyberspace. An interesting thought from the reading was that through the Internet advertising companies have switched the way they advertise. It used to be about solving problems or filling the needs of people, but now they have found ways to create needs for products that were never needed before like the iPod. Even though space on the Web seems unlimited many have worries on what that space will be used for and what happens when and if it runs out.

The Internet, Web, and Social media

Through out the beginning of the personal computer or the PC the leader of the industry was IBM. IBM is a company that is very regimented. They had all employees dress in Navy Blue pinstripe suits and encouraged their employees to communicate with each other as much as possible. This company decided to stay away from the software and manufacturing of PC's and decided to focus on teh hardware as they had always done. Apple, a competitor of IBM, had created a new image with the help of Steve Jobs. They created an image that was new and hip and attracted a very artistic and creative crowd. Apple had gone down hill when Jobs left the company, but when he came back with the invention of the iPod Apple once again flourished. In chapters 8 and 9 of "Communication and Cyberspace" individuals go on to describe the internet, which they call an information superhighway. William Gibson went on to coin the term cyberspace, which he describes as a consensual hallucination. His vision of the internet and cyberspace was that it is a transnational capitalism run amok. An obstacle in this era was Interface Message Processors or IMP's. IMP gives computers the ability to talk to each other if they were produced by the same manufacturer. The internet or computer network has been created from the beginning by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as a part of their defense strategy. Their thought was to create a decentralized network so that if one part of the network was attacked or went down the other parts would fill in and there would be no loss of connection. These networks consist of many components such as terminals and nodes. Terminals are not endpoints which are not connected to each other, but to a main frame. Nodes are interconnected within the network. In 1969 ARPAnet was commissioned by the department of defense and the key to this system was packet switching. Packet switching is where several packets are sent to one destination, the nodes reroute in accordance with how easy it is to reach its end point, and they come back together at their destination. Mosco has many views about the electronic age, but one that stood out to me was that in an electric age information has been increasingly modified. Another idea that intrigued me was the thought that cyberspace has no limits and or no barriers and will expand as information increases. With discoveries like prodigy, America online and the WEB our society has become greatly entwined in the internet and all that it has to offer. Within the text we have been reading they speak of a "digital divide, which is the gap between those who have access to and use the internet and those who do not(166)". This idea enlightens you on how the world has increasingly progressed through the years. Thoughts from the text and thoughts of my own hope that this gap is lessened each and every passing day