Robertson, Margaret. “The Creation Simulation.” Seed Magazine. Seed Media Group,
Sept. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2010.
Read this article
In her piece, The Creation Simulation, Margaret Robertson takes an inside look at the development of the highly anticipated game Spore. Early in the article Robertson introduces Will Wright, the creative force behind the then unreleased, Spore, as well as the commercially and critically popular The Sims. Robertson explains that Spore could very well be the culmination of Wright’s games saying, “…it’s no great risk to say Spore is his magnum opus. It’s moved on from its original title of “SimEverything,” but that remains the snappiest way to describe it.” Robertson also emphasizes the scope of Spore in writing, “[Spore is]…a laboratory in which a player could experiment with the parameters that determine the emergence of intelligent life.”The aim of Spore is to give the player the ability to create and then guide their creature from a single celled organism in a primordial ocean all the way to an interstellar traveler looking for resources, and all of the evolutionary stages in between. In the piece Roberson writes on Wright’s desire to create a game that was, at least initially, evolutionarily sound. To achieve this foundation Wright began by gathering a group of like minded game designers and studying the works of evolutionary scientists. It was this approach to the game’s design that would result it its first major hurdle, as Robertson wrote, “Could the game be both scientifically accurate and fun?” Within the development team behind Spore, two factions arose to the surface, the original team who had wanted to deliver a more scientific experience and the designers who joined later and wanted to make the game more approachable. The designers choice to follow the more approachable route is summarized by one of the designers Quigley Ocean, saying “it (attempting to convey billions of years of evolution) is so absurdly vast, so radically outside of any scale that people can really empathize with, we knew we had to turn it into a toy.” Though the designers made concessions to make the game more user friendly, Robertson relates how the game retains hard science behind the scenes, specifically the organic spread of user created content.
The article, The Creation Simulation, not only brings to light the typically unseen side of videogame design but it also gives an insight into the depth that videogames can achieve. While no one on the design team on Spore would maintain that the game is a realistic depiction of evolution, it does display at the least a passing interest (on the part of designers and gamers) in big picture issues such as the nature of life and how it began. Robertson’s article shows the struggles that Wright and his associates went through, so as not to do a complete disservice to their belief in the theory of evolution. Robertson helped her readers to see a side of game design that is not concerned with saving the princess or getting a high score, but (while on a superficial level) where life began and the possibilities of life in the hands of an intelligent designer. In the end Spore is still just a game, but it does deal with the very human issue of considering the origin of life and ultimately where all living things have the potential to go. An altogether different and important aspect to Robertson’s article is what it reveals about the growing impact that gamers can have on other gamers by the means of user created content. One of the biggest examples of how user created content is becoming a central part of gaming is found in the article where Robinson explains, “each Spore galaxy is populated not by creatures designed by the game’s creative team, but by animals, plants, buildings, and vehicles made by players within the game’s extraordinarily flexible editing tools.” By the designers of Spore giving gamers the ability to actively take part in shaping the world where the gamer plays, a long standing barrier has been further eroded. The aforementioned barrier was the design philosophy that gamers wanted to be given an experience and to give them editing tools would either overwhelm them or they would contribute very little meaningful content. Spore is part of the next evolutionary stage of games where user created content tools are not only allowed or available, but absolutely necessary for the game to exist in a meaningful way.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Had Uncle Screwtape been a programmer instead…
Read this article
In his work, In the Beginning was the Command Line, Neil Stephenson sought to critique the world of operating systems in the world around him. With the seemingly exponential speed with which the operating systems had evolved after the article’s publication in 1999, another writer and programmer, Garrett Birkel, produced an annotated version in 2004. Birkel left the main text unchanged but produced notes to give updated information. For his contribution Birkel sought to clarify or built upon a number of the metaphors that Stephenson had utilized. Birkel also uses the opportunity to disagree with Stephenson and takes Stephenson to task for assumptions that smell of bias. One major theme of Stephenson’s article is concerned with giving a brief personal history of operating systems. He relates his high school experiences working on a teletype, a device that connected to a computer via a phone line. From there the computer technology evolved to incorporate monitors that support Graphical User Interfaces (or GUIs.) He relates the importance of this change by emphasizing the shift from command driven navigation to users relying on seemingly inane computer icons to navigate programs. Stephenson goes on shares his positive and negative personal experiences with a variety of computers and operating systems. It is in this context that he devotes special attention to the issues surrounding the various operating systems that computer users have to choose from. He paints Microsoft as being on the beginning of a death march, due to its “bug” filled software releases and its business model centering on selling intangible products (Microsoft’s operating systems) that are comparable to those that are offered online for free. Stephenson uses his critique of Microsoft to espouse the benefits of the Free Software operating system Linux. Stephenson considers Linux superior in terms of its power, malleability to knowledgeable users, and the community of Linux users working openly for a common good. As Stephenson continues he writes broadly about the nature of operating systems and the pro and cons they hold over their users.
The importance of Stephenson’s essay lies in his use of a variety of metaphors to make complex ideas accessible. Though according to Birkel the metaphors can be ill fitting, Stephenson is able to examine the issues surrounding operating systems, particularly how consumers view operating systems in the “Car Lots” metaphor. The importance of Stephenson’s article is also shown by his ability to ask the right questions. For example he examines why the general population tends to pay for Microsoft’s while there are free alternatives that are widely available. He does not simply accept Microsoft’s position in the P.C. market as something to be passively accepted by P.C. users, but encourages his readers to explore a variety of operating systems to find what will be beneficial to them. He utilizes his knowledge and experience gained from years of working on and around computers to cause his readers to ask meaningful questions about how they relate to their operating systems. It is these questions that may lead users to take a more active role in how they approach their computers and perhaps choose an operating system that leads them down a more difficult path that ultimately yields greater freedoms. In addition Birkel’s contributions in the form of his annotated version cannot be over looked. By updating the piece Birkel didn’t simply maintain its accuracy but demonstrated a sometimes insightful differing opinion, continuing Stephenson’s example of thinking critically about the pros and cons of the various operating systems. In the end it is Birkel who emphasizes most clearly the importance of valuing a computer and the time spent working on it through the filter of, “Its (the operating systems) ability to help me get my work done.” The article also serves as an important role in its function as a brief history of computer interfaces and how they are in a continual state of change. This history also allows for those that have little familiarity with the various operating systems to have a better understanding of computer subcultures they may have never learned about otherwise.
In his work, In the Beginning was the Command Line, Neil Stephenson sought to critique the world of operating systems in the world around him. With the seemingly exponential speed with which the operating systems had evolved after the article’s publication in 1999, another writer and programmer, Garrett Birkel, produced an annotated version in 2004. Birkel left the main text unchanged but produced notes to give updated information. For his contribution Birkel sought to clarify or built upon a number of the metaphors that Stephenson had utilized. Birkel also uses the opportunity to disagree with Stephenson and takes Stephenson to task for assumptions that smell of bias. One major theme of Stephenson’s article is concerned with giving a brief personal history of operating systems. He relates his high school experiences working on a teletype, a device that connected to a computer via a phone line. From there the computer technology evolved to incorporate monitors that support Graphical User Interfaces (or GUIs.) He relates the importance of this change by emphasizing the shift from command driven navigation to users relying on seemingly inane computer icons to navigate programs. Stephenson goes on shares his positive and negative personal experiences with a variety of computers and operating systems. It is in this context that he devotes special attention to the issues surrounding the various operating systems that computer users have to choose from. He paints Microsoft as being on the beginning of a death march, due to its “bug” filled software releases and its business model centering on selling intangible products (Microsoft’s operating systems) that are comparable to those that are offered online for free. Stephenson uses his critique of Microsoft to espouse the benefits of the Free Software operating system Linux. Stephenson considers Linux superior in terms of its power, malleability to knowledgeable users, and the community of Linux users working openly for a common good. As Stephenson continues he writes broadly about the nature of operating systems and the pro and cons they hold over their users.
The importance of Stephenson’s essay lies in his use of a variety of metaphors to make complex ideas accessible. Though according to Birkel the metaphors can be ill fitting, Stephenson is able to examine the issues surrounding operating systems, particularly how consumers view operating systems in the “Car Lots” metaphor. The importance of Stephenson’s article is also shown by his ability to ask the right questions. For example he examines why the general population tends to pay for Microsoft’s while there are free alternatives that are widely available. He does not simply accept Microsoft’s position in the P.C. market as something to be passively accepted by P.C. users, but encourages his readers to explore a variety of operating systems to find what will be beneficial to them. He utilizes his knowledge and experience gained from years of working on and around computers to cause his readers to ask meaningful questions about how they relate to their operating systems. It is these questions that may lead users to take a more active role in how they approach their computers and perhaps choose an operating system that leads them down a more difficult path that ultimately yields greater freedoms. In addition Birkel’s contributions in the form of his annotated version cannot be over looked. By updating the piece Birkel didn’t simply maintain its accuracy but demonstrated a sometimes insightful differing opinion, continuing Stephenson’s example of thinking critically about the pros and cons of the various operating systems. In the end it is Birkel who emphasizes most clearly the importance of valuing a computer and the time spent working on it through the filter of, “Its (the operating systems) ability to help me get my work done.” The article also serves as an important role in its function as a brief history of computer interfaces and how they are in a continual state of change. This history also allows for those that have little familiarity with the various operating systems to have a better understanding of computer subcultures they may have never learned about otherwise.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Pay No Attention to the Gamer Behind the Curtain
Bissell, Tom. “The Grammar of Fun.” The New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital,
Nov 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.
Read this article
In Tom Bissell’s The Grammar of Fun, the reader is given an inside look at the inner workings of a videogame company as well as a profile of one of the most recognizable figures in modern gaming. In November 2008 Bissell was given the opportunity to spend time in the office of Epic Games prior to the release of their highly anticipated sequel to Gears of War. The original game had been both a critical and commercial success for the team at Epic, selling over five million copies. Bissell captures the commercial success in the beginning of the article. On standing in Epic’s parking lot, he writes, “Ten feet away was a red Hummer H3. Nearby was a Lotus Elise, and next to it a pumpkin-orange Porsche.” The atmosphere at Epic is unlike what one would expect from a multi-million dollar company, what Bissell calls, “…a kind of low-key egalitarianism.” None of the corporate staples such as assigned parking spaces or fancy corner offices are present. Near the center of this unorthodox business is the main creative director for Epic games, Cliff Bleszinski, or CliffyB, as he is affectionately known in the realms of gamers and videogame journalists. Bleszinski is one of the few recognizable figures in the world of game design and Bissell takes his readers back to Bleszinski’s early life to reveal how he became a game designer. Bleszinski was what his mother called a “unique child…the most difficult, but he was difficult because he was the most inquisitive.” Had it not been for the death of his father at age 15, Bleszinski may have taken another path in life. Bleszinski says, “If he (his father) hadn’t passed, he probably would have made me go to Northeastern and become an engineer.” In the following years Bleszinski developed the skills to make rudimentary video games and submitted them to videogame companies. As a teen Bleszinski’s talent was recognized by Tim Sweeney, Epic’s C.E.O. Sweeney hired Bleszinski to review games and suggest improvements. It was this early job experience that gave Bleszinski the creative know-how to push the design of Gears of War and its successor to have an almost universal appeal among gamers.
Tom Bissell goes where few writers have gone. While movies and other entertainment media have their pop-culture figures, those that create videogames are to a large degree behind the scenes. Bissell addresses this point, writing, “Despite the rapid growth of the video-game industry—last year, sales were higher than either box-office receipts or DVD sales—designers are largely invisible within the wider culture.” As videogames are gaining a larger presence in American culture, it would only make sense that a game designer, such as Cliff Bleszinski, would eventually become a public figure. Also by focusing on Bleszinski, one of gaming’s most visible and talented designers, Bissell helps even non-gamers appreciate the level of care that good game design requires. An example of this care is found in Bleszinski’s concern that the story he was telling in Gears of War may have been overshadowed by the action-filled gameplay. Bleszinski says, “There’s a sublevel to Gears that so many people missed out on because it’s such a big testosterone-filled chainsaw-fest. Marcus Fenix goes back to his childhood home in the game.” Bissell also displays the shift of how videogames had been designed in the past and how game design is approached today, by contrasting 1983’s Super Mario Bros. with 2006’s Gears of War. In Super Mario Bros. gamers were presented with a surreal world and had to rely on nonsensical gameplay mechanics (such using mushrooms to get larger, breaking bricks with the character’s head) to progress. By contrast Gears of War presented gamers with a narrative told through a fully realized world and engaging gameplay. In The Grammar of Fun, Bissell gives readers the opportunity to become familiar with the environments and people behind videogames. By giving his readers a better understanding of a form of technology that is slowly becoming more engrained in America’s culture, Bissell removed some of the mystic that surrounds videogame development. In writing seriously about game development Bissell has documented the evolution of (to use a highly subjective term) fun.
Nov 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.
Read this article
In Tom Bissell’s The Grammar of Fun, the reader is given an inside look at the inner workings of a videogame company as well as a profile of one of the most recognizable figures in modern gaming. In November 2008 Bissell was given the opportunity to spend time in the office of Epic Games prior to the release of their highly anticipated sequel to Gears of War. The original game had been both a critical and commercial success for the team at Epic, selling over five million copies. Bissell captures the commercial success in the beginning of the article. On standing in Epic’s parking lot, he writes, “Ten feet away was a red Hummer H3. Nearby was a Lotus Elise, and next to it a pumpkin-orange Porsche.” The atmosphere at Epic is unlike what one would expect from a multi-million dollar company, what Bissell calls, “…a kind of low-key egalitarianism.” None of the corporate staples such as assigned parking spaces or fancy corner offices are present. Near the center of this unorthodox business is the main creative director for Epic games, Cliff Bleszinski, or CliffyB, as he is affectionately known in the realms of gamers and videogame journalists. Bleszinski is one of the few recognizable figures in the world of game design and Bissell takes his readers back to Bleszinski’s early life to reveal how he became a game designer. Bleszinski was what his mother called a “unique child…the most difficult, but he was difficult because he was the most inquisitive.” Had it not been for the death of his father at age 15, Bleszinski may have taken another path in life. Bleszinski says, “If he (his father) hadn’t passed, he probably would have made me go to Northeastern and become an engineer.” In the following years Bleszinski developed the skills to make rudimentary video games and submitted them to videogame companies. As a teen Bleszinski’s talent was recognized by Tim Sweeney, Epic’s C.E.O. Sweeney hired Bleszinski to review games and suggest improvements. It was this early job experience that gave Bleszinski the creative know-how to push the design of Gears of War and its successor to have an almost universal appeal among gamers.
Tom Bissell goes where few writers have gone. While movies and other entertainment media have their pop-culture figures, those that create videogames are to a large degree behind the scenes. Bissell addresses this point, writing, “Despite the rapid growth of the video-game industry—last year, sales were higher than either box-office receipts or DVD sales—designers are largely invisible within the wider culture.” As videogames are gaining a larger presence in American culture, it would only make sense that a game designer, such as Cliff Bleszinski, would eventually become a public figure. Also by focusing on Bleszinski, one of gaming’s most visible and talented designers, Bissell helps even non-gamers appreciate the level of care that good game design requires. An example of this care is found in Bleszinski’s concern that the story he was telling in Gears of War may have been overshadowed by the action-filled gameplay. Bleszinski says, “There’s a sublevel to Gears that so many people missed out on because it’s such a big testosterone-filled chainsaw-fest. Marcus Fenix goes back to his childhood home in the game.” Bissell also displays the shift of how videogames had been designed in the past and how game design is approached today, by contrasting 1983’s Super Mario Bros. with 2006’s Gears of War. In Super Mario Bros. gamers were presented with a surreal world and had to rely on nonsensical gameplay mechanics (such using mushrooms to get larger, breaking bricks with the character’s head) to progress. By contrast Gears of War presented gamers with a narrative told through a fully realized world and engaging gameplay. In The Grammar of Fun, Bissell gives readers the opportunity to become familiar with the environments and people behind videogames. By giving his readers a better understanding of a form of technology that is slowly becoming more engrained in America’s culture, Bissell removed some of the mystic that surrounds videogame development. In writing seriously about game development Bissell has documented the evolution of (to use a highly subjective term) fun.
Friday, February 5, 2010
To Heal Press Start
Halpern, Sue. "Virtual Iraq." The New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital,
May 2008. Web. 2 Feb. 2010.
Read this article
In the article Virtual Iraq Sue Halpern has taken a look inside an emerging type of immersion therapy. Halpern begins by telling the story of a solder she calls Travis. As a solder Travis had faced numerous traumas such as moving dead bodies to find a place to sleep, experiencing the constant threat of improvised explosive devices, and witnessing the death of a close comrade. After finishing two tours in Iraq, Travis returns home and begins to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Halpern relates how Travis was plagued by unnatural fears, “I’d have my wife drive me if I had to go off the base. A few times, I thought I saw a mortar in the road and reached for the steering wheel. I was always on alert, ready for anything to happen at any time.” As a result of his P.T.S.D. Travis was referred to the Virtual Iraq program. Virtual Iraq is a program that emulates the sites, sounds, and smells, of Iraq. By utilizing a combination of video goggles and a head set a patient can be put onto a street corner. A therapist can also introduce various civilians and events (i.e. car bombs exploding, helicopters flying over, and insurgents) thereby adding to the authenticity of the street corner. Virtual Iraq allows the patient to able to confront his fears in a safe environment. Halpern takes the time to show that while this present technology may be impressive, it has been around albeit in a more rudimentary form since the late nineties. What had began as a generic simulation of riding in a helicopter for Vietnam Veterans now has the potential to recreate scenarios that can be tailored to the real life experiences of modern solders. Halpern also takes a peek behind the curtain to reveal Albert Rizzo, the man who invented Virtual Iraq. Rizzo, a clinical psychologist, has created a variety of simulations for various mental conditions. Rizzo goes as far as to claim, “The last one hundred years, we’ve studied psychology in the real world. In the next hundred, we’re going to study it in the virtual world.” Though the claim may sound lofty, it has worked for Travis. By the end of the article Travis is mostly free of his P.T.S.D. Travis remarks, “You never really get rid of P.T.S.D., but you learn to live with it."
Sue Halpern has drawn attention to an important intersection of culture and technology. Halpern has demonstrated in her piece that by utilizing both technology and psychoanalysis many solders are able to receive help they would not have received otherwise. Halpert included the real life example of Travis and how he was crippled by P.T.S.D. Travis was given the option of meeting with a military psychologist or enrolling in a clinical trial that utilizes Virtual Iraq. Halpern clearly conveys one of the main factors in the decision: while there would be no penalty for seeing the psychologist, it would go on Travis’ military record. By emphasizing the fact that the record would follow him, Halpern not only conveys Travis’s hesitancy to see psychologist, but also the potential that many others in the military may not seek help. To some solders the allure of a “playing a videogame” may be stronger than the fear associated with sitting down and being open with a psychologist. Halpern says of Travis choosing Virtual Iraq, “Telling his buddies that he was going off to do V.R. was a lot easier than telling them he was seeing a shrink.” By being given the choice to use Virtual Iraq, Travis is able to fully embrace a form of therapy that has little if any social stigma associated with it, while still receiving the benefits of facing P.T.S.D. head on. Beyond the choice that Travis is faced with Halpern also deliberately shows the various stages of Travis’ progression, this conveys the effectiveness of the Virtual Iraq program in a way that statistics alone could not. The article and Halpern embrace the positive nature of the Virtual Iraq program as a means to reach out to solders. In fact one of the only negative elements in the article is the example of why Virtual Iraq is necessary, Americas past failure to aid veterans of Viet Nam. By utilizing the Virtual Iraq the solders that suffer from P.T.S.D. will be given the tools to disassociate their trauma from everyday life, something Viet Nam vets didn’t have available. With America fighting wars on multiple fronts it is important that today’s veterans are given every opportunity to regain a sense of normal.
May 2008. Web. 2 Feb. 2010.
Read this article
In the article Virtual Iraq Sue Halpern has taken a look inside an emerging type of immersion therapy. Halpern begins by telling the story of a solder she calls Travis. As a solder Travis had faced numerous traumas such as moving dead bodies to find a place to sleep, experiencing the constant threat of improvised explosive devices, and witnessing the death of a close comrade. After finishing two tours in Iraq, Travis returns home and begins to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Halpern relates how Travis was plagued by unnatural fears, “I’d have my wife drive me if I had to go off the base. A few times, I thought I saw a mortar in the road and reached for the steering wheel. I was always on alert, ready for anything to happen at any time.” As a result of his P.T.S.D. Travis was referred to the Virtual Iraq program. Virtual Iraq is a program that emulates the sites, sounds, and smells, of Iraq. By utilizing a combination of video goggles and a head set a patient can be put onto a street corner. A therapist can also introduce various civilians and events (i.e. car bombs exploding, helicopters flying over, and insurgents) thereby adding to the authenticity of the street corner. Virtual Iraq allows the patient to able to confront his fears in a safe environment. Halpern takes the time to show that while this present technology may be impressive, it has been around albeit in a more rudimentary form since the late nineties. What had began as a generic simulation of riding in a helicopter for Vietnam Veterans now has the potential to recreate scenarios that can be tailored to the real life experiences of modern solders. Halpern also takes a peek behind the curtain to reveal Albert Rizzo, the man who invented Virtual Iraq. Rizzo, a clinical psychologist, has created a variety of simulations for various mental conditions. Rizzo goes as far as to claim, “The last one hundred years, we’ve studied psychology in the real world. In the next hundred, we’re going to study it in the virtual world.” Though the claim may sound lofty, it has worked for Travis. By the end of the article Travis is mostly free of his P.T.S.D. Travis remarks, “You never really get rid of P.T.S.D., but you learn to live with it."
Sue Halpern has drawn attention to an important intersection of culture and technology. Halpern has demonstrated in her piece that by utilizing both technology and psychoanalysis many solders are able to receive help they would not have received otherwise. Halpert included the real life example of Travis and how he was crippled by P.T.S.D. Travis was given the option of meeting with a military psychologist or enrolling in a clinical trial that utilizes Virtual Iraq. Halpern clearly conveys one of the main factors in the decision: while there would be no penalty for seeing the psychologist, it would go on Travis’ military record. By emphasizing the fact that the record would follow him, Halpern not only conveys Travis’s hesitancy to see psychologist, but also the potential that many others in the military may not seek help. To some solders the allure of a “playing a videogame” may be stronger than the fear associated with sitting down and being open with a psychologist. Halpern says of Travis choosing Virtual Iraq, “Telling his buddies that he was going off to do V.R. was a lot easier than telling them he was seeing a shrink.” By being given the choice to use Virtual Iraq, Travis is able to fully embrace a form of therapy that has little if any social stigma associated with it, while still receiving the benefits of facing P.T.S.D. head on. Beyond the choice that Travis is faced with Halpern also deliberately shows the various stages of Travis’ progression, this conveys the effectiveness of the Virtual Iraq program in a way that statistics alone could not. The article and Halpern embrace the positive nature of the Virtual Iraq program as a means to reach out to solders. In fact one of the only negative elements in the article is the example of why Virtual Iraq is necessary, Americas past failure to aid veterans of Viet Nam. By utilizing the Virtual Iraq the solders that suffer from P.T.S.D. will be given the tools to disassociate their trauma from everyday life, something Viet Nam vets didn’t have available. With America fighting wars on multiple fronts it is important that today’s veterans are given every opportunity to regain a sense of normal.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Kindling an Interest in Apple
Baker, Nicolson. “A New Page” The New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital
August 2009. Web. 28 Jan. 2009.
Read this article
In his article A New Page, Nicholson Baker examines the emerging market of the digital distribution of books, with special attention on Amazon’s Kindle line of e-readers. In his piece Baker questions the basic necessity and quality of the various editions of the Kindle. Baker shares his own personal experience in purchasing a Kindle and is somewhat disappointed with the device. After unwrapping the Kindle from its elaborate packaging Baker finds that the screen is not at all what he had expected. Baker writes, “The problem was not that the screen was in black-and-white; if it had really been black-and-white, that would have been fine. The problem was that the screen was gray. And it wasn’t just gray; it was a greenish, sickly gray. A postmortem gray.” Baker brings to light a technical weakness that runs counter the assumption that e-readers (at least newer models) should be just as visually appealing as reading a standard book. When Baker does eventually get past the “sickly gray” and finds that it is possible to read on a Kindle, he finds other concessions readers will have to make. Baker writes “Photographs, charts, diagrams, foreign characters, and tables don’t fare so well on the little gray screen.” The fact that images such as photographs and maps are blurred or are absent from some Kindle editions of books is a problem. Distractions such as these do not help a reader to become lost in a book. Baker also finds issues with the auto-reader function, a fading of the screen in direct sunlight that causes the reader to have to reload the same page multiple times and entire articles missing from the Kindle Edition of the New York Times. Baker writes that in spite of all of the aforementioned issues and a few disappointed consumers, the Kindle has a large and devoted following. This success is not likely to go unchallenged as other companies such as Barnes and Nobel, Sony, and Apple move into the realm of e-books. In fact Baker advocates bypassing the Kindle and by using an IPod Touch or an iPhone as an e-reader instead. In the end Baker finds he is able to get past the hype/headache of the Kindle and gets lost in one of its e-books.
After considering the various pros and cons, Baker makes a rather astute observation about the Kindle’s creator and manufacturer Amazon, “Amazon, with its listmania lists and its sometimes inspired recommendations and its innumerable fascinating reviews, is very good at selling things. It isn’t so good, to date anyway, at making things.” The Kindle has been very successful and yet it is not the replacement of print and paper. Baker has illustrated in the article that just because this innovative piece of technology may be popular, the technology is still in its infancy. One of the current limitations of the Kindle’s technology was exposed when Baker shined a light on a number of books that he had couldn’t download, simply because they weren’t available. While it is unrealistic to assume that every book should be available in the e-book format, it is a limit that is not as tight at a local library, for example. The Kindle has been the most recognizable format for using e-books, but Baker has shown the level of quality still has a long way to go. My reading of A New Page seems to have been especially timely with the unveiling of Apple’s iPad. In his article Baker was almost prophetic in his endorsement of the iPhone as an easier to read alternative to the Kindle. Baker writes, “The nice thing about this machine (the iPod Touch/iPhone) is (a) it’s beautiful, and (b) it’s not imitating anything. It’s not trying to be ink on paper.” One of the fundament flaws Baker saw in the Kindle was the fact that the screen was jarring to his eyes; not so, with the iPod Touch. Even before the revelation of the iPad, the iPod Touch was delivering a comparable if not superior format to read e-books. Baker’s article clearly points to the fact that the innovation in e-books would not come from pale imitations that are of dubious quality but from technology that would focus on accurate representations. In A New Page Baker takes his readers through his experiences with the Kindle in an evenhanded way; we are neither riled to abandon print and paper books nor are we discouraged to seek the electronic representation of them.
August 2009. Web. 28 Jan. 2009.
Read this article
In his article A New Page, Nicholson Baker examines the emerging market of the digital distribution of books, with special attention on Amazon’s Kindle line of e-readers. In his piece Baker questions the basic necessity and quality of the various editions of the Kindle. Baker shares his own personal experience in purchasing a Kindle and is somewhat disappointed with the device. After unwrapping the Kindle from its elaborate packaging Baker finds that the screen is not at all what he had expected. Baker writes, “The problem was not that the screen was in black-and-white; if it had really been black-and-white, that would have been fine. The problem was that the screen was gray. And it wasn’t just gray; it was a greenish, sickly gray. A postmortem gray.” Baker brings to light a technical weakness that runs counter the assumption that e-readers (at least newer models) should be just as visually appealing as reading a standard book. When Baker does eventually get past the “sickly gray” and finds that it is possible to read on a Kindle, he finds other concessions readers will have to make. Baker writes “Photographs, charts, diagrams, foreign characters, and tables don’t fare so well on the little gray screen.” The fact that images such as photographs and maps are blurred or are absent from some Kindle editions of books is a problem. Distractions such as these do not help a reader to become lost in a book. Baker also finds issues with the auto-reader function, a fading of the screen in direct sunlight that causes the reader to have to reload the same page multiple times and entire articles missing from the Kindle Edition of the New York Times. Baker writes that in spite of all of the aforementioned issues and a few disappointed consumers, the Kindle has a large and devoted following. This success is not likely to go unchallenged as other companies such as Barnes and Nobel, Sony, and Apple move into the realm of e-books. In fact Baker advocates bypassing the Kindle and by using an IPod Touch or an iPhone as an e-reader instead. In the end Baker finds he is able to get past the hype/headache of the Kindle and gets lost in one of its e-books.
After considering the various pros and cons, Baker makes a rather astute observation about the Kindle’s creator and manufacturer Amazon, “Amazon, with its listmania lists and its sometimes inspired recommendations and its innumerable fascinating reviews, is very good at selling things. It isn’t so good, to date anyway, at making things.” The Kindle has been very successful and yet it is not the replacement of print and paper. Baker has illustrated in the article that just because this innovative piece of technology may be popular, the technology is still in its infancy. One of the current limitations of the Kindle’s technology was exposed when Baker shined a light on a number of books that he had couldn’t download, simply because they weren’t available. While it is unrealistic to assume that every book should be available in the e-book format, it is a limit that is not as tight at a local library, for example. The Kindle has been the most recognizable format for using e-books, but Baker has shown the level of quality still has a long way to go. My reading of A New Page seems to have been especially timely with the unveiling of Apple’s iPad. In his article Baker was almost prophetic in his endorsement of the iPhone as an easier to read alternative to the Kindle. Baker writes, “The nice thing about this machine (the iPod Touch/iPhone) is (a) it’s beautiful, and (b) it’s not imitating anything. It’s not trying to be ink on paper.” One of the fundament flaws Baker saw in the Kindle was the fact that the screen was jarring to his eyes; not so, with the iPod Touch. Even before the revelation of the iPad, the iPod Touch was delivering a comparable if not superior format to read e-books. Baker’s article clearly points to the fact that the innovation in e-books would not come from pale imitations that are of dubious quality but from technology that would focus on accurate representations. In A New Page Baker takes his readers through his experiences with the Kindle in an evenhanded way; we are neither riled to abandon print and paper books nor are we discouraged to seek the electronic representation of them.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
No Strings Attatched
As I look at the various intersections of technology and culture, I begin to think of my favorite episode of the Twilight Zone, To Serve Man. In the episode, a race of aliens, the Kanamits, come to earth and share the “fruits of their knowledge” with humanity. Mankind is all too eager to accept the technological advancements with little thought given to potential dangers. I see this paralleled today in our own culture; are we just as eager to welcome technology into our lives, giving little thought to what the consequences may be. In this blog I hope to explore America’s use of technology to be constantly entertained via IPods, cell phones, gaming devices, etc. I would also like to explore the digitalization of media (music, films, and literature) with little concern for the impact it may have on the quality of the media. There is also the exponential growth of videogames over the past forty years and the inevitable impact that has been made on society. These are just a few of the main issues I hope to deal with, in just asking whether the fruits of technology’s knowledge is worth what it asks for in return.
At this point allow me clarify, my purpose in this blog is not to spread doom and gloom; I just want to look at just a few aspects of technology and culture with an analytical eye. I wish to cover America’s use of technology as entertainment because while I believe that IPods, cell phones, and gaming devices can be useful in moderation, I find that people use digital devices to escape the utter horror of being bored. I also want to cover the digitalization of media because while the digital distribution of media has its benefits there is still the matter of piracy. In particular the digitalization of books; while on the surface an appealing idea, is it worth making books intangible? I also desire to cover the impact of videogames on American culture, where on one hand you can have an emerging form of story telling and on the other hand videogames can cause people to miss out on meaningful life experiences. In regard to technology and culture I don’t want to appear to demonize or fear technology’s impact on our daily lives; I simply want to ask a few questions before I reach out my hands.
At this point allow me clarify, my purpose in this blog is not to spread doom and gloom; I just want to look at just a few aspects of technology and culture with an analytical eye. I wish to cover America’s use of technology as entertainment because while I believe that IPods, cell phones, and gaming devices can be useful in moderation, I find that people use digital devices to escape the utter horror of being bored. I also want to cover the digitalization of media because while the digital distribution of media has its benefits there is still the matter of piracy. In particular the digitalization of books; while on the surface an appealing idea, is it worth making books intangible? I also desire to cover the impact of videogames on American culture, where on one hand you can have an emerging form of story telling and on the other hand videogames can cause people to miss out on meaningful life experiences. In regard to technology and culture I don’t want to appear to demonize or fear technology’s impact on our daily lives; I simply want to ask a few questions before I reach out my hands.
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