New Media in the 1980s

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New Media in the 1980s

• The explosion of home computing

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dates, ideas, persons

• 1976 to 1980 the development of home computers
• 1980 to present home computing changing our
  lifestyles
• 1980 -- From Mindstorms Children, Computers, and
  Powerful Ideas, Seymour Papert, pp. 413
• 1980 -- "Put-That-There" Voice and Gesture at
  the Graphics Interface, Richard A. Bolt, pp. 433
• 1981 -- Computer and Writer The Centre Pompidou
  Experiment, Paul Fournel. pp.
• 1982 -- Will There Be Condominiums in Data
  Space?, Bill Viola, pp. 463
• 1983 -- The Endless Chain (from The Media
  Monopoly), Ben Bagdiliian, pp. 471-472
• 1983 -- Direct Manipulation A Step Beyond
  Programming Languages, Ben Shneiderman, pp. 485
• 1984 -- Video Games and Computer Holding Power
  (from The Second Self,! Sherry Turkle, pp. 499-
• 1985 -- A Cyborg Manifesto,Donna Haraway, pp. 515
• 1985 -- The GNU Manifesto, Richard Stallman, pp.
  543-544
• 1986 -- Using Computers A Direction for Design,
  Terry Winograd and Fernando Flores, pp. 551-552
• 1986 -- Towards a New Classification of
  Tele-Information Services, Jan L. Bordewijk and
  Ben van Kaam, pp. 575
• 1986 -- Mythinformation, Langdon Winner, pp. 587
• 1987 -- From Plans and Situated Actions, Lucy A
  Suchman, pp. 599-600
• 1988 -- Siren Shapes Exploratory and
  Constructive Hypertexts, Michael Joyce, pp.
  613-614
• 1988 -- The Work of Culture in the Age of
  Cybernetic Systems, Bill Nichols, pp. 625-626

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80s and home computing

• 1972 saw the birth of home video games with the
  Magnavox Odyssey,
• 1977 saw the release of the venerable Atari VCS,
• 1980 saw the release of the Sinclair ZX80 - the
  first home computer under 99,
• 1982 saw the first video game market crash and
  the release of the Sinclair Spectrum,
• 1985 saw the great UK home computer market crash
  as lots of companies ran out of money etc as well
  as the release of the Commodore Amiga, the list
  goes on!

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Atari VCS

• http//retrogamer.merseyworld.com/atari.htm

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Atari VCS

• The VCS was conceived in 1976 by Joe Decuir, who
  designed the chip set and the first prototypes
  Harold Lee, who had pushed Nolan Bushnell in the
  direction of consumer electronics with home Pong
  and Steve Meyer, who figured out how to make the
  VCS cost effective.
• It was based around the 6507 micro-processor, had
  4k of ROM max and 128 bytes of RAM to keep track
  of scores etc. It had three sound channels that
  it put out in glorious mono. Its CPU clock speed
  was 1.19 MHz (the same units as in "an Athlon
  1333 runs at 1333 MHz").

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Commadore Amiga
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Commadore Amigahttp//www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/M
useum/Commodore/a1000/a1000.php

• This is the machine that helped spawn a
  generation of kids who were massively into their
  machines, as well as a demo scene that's still
  going to this day.
• When it was released in the summer of 1985 it was
  an absolutely outstanding machine - 4096 colour
  pallette, stereo sound AND a graphical user
  interface (GUI) that featured an environment
  similar to the Apple Lisa and Macintosh also
  known as WIMP - Windows, Icons, Mouse Program.
• There was nothing like it around at the time, but
  boy did it cost! The basic machine was well over
  1500 and couldn't drive a TV - you either needed
  the Amiga monitor, had to suffer composite video
  output or bought the extra TV modulator. (All of
  the above reasons are why I didn't buy one!)

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Apple II
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Apple IIhttp//apple2history.org/museum/computers
/computers.html

• Who can tell, without Steve Wozniak and Steve
  Jobs I wonder how long it would've taken for the
  PC brigade to cotton onto the concept of a mouse
  related operating environment? Both Steves met at
  the Homebrew Computer Club (whose membership also
  boasted one William Gates III) where Woz had been
  working on a MOS 6502 based micro kit. That
  machine became the Apple I after the company was
  formed, and it sold for 666.66.
• Its successor, the Apple II, was a massive
  success in homes, schools, colleges and
  universities all over the world - it was very
  expandable and many companies jumped on the
  expansion bandwagon, offering everything from
  memory expansion through colour TV cards to SCSI
  interfaces once SCSI had been accepted as a
  standard, Z80 co-processors etc. I've got a
  massive box of Apple cards here that range from
  printer interfaces to DEITY knows what. Maybe
  one day I'll catalogue them )
• Despite the fact the computer mouse had been a
  reality since the mid 60s (1966 I think) only
  bigger workstation manufacturers like Xerox and
  Three Rivers had used the rodent in their
  machines. Apple changed all that with the Lisa
  and the Macintosh - named after the designer's
  favourite brand of apple. They also gave us
  floating toolbars in applications (MacDraw, 1984)
  and very small pre-emptive cooperative
  multitasking operating systems - LisaOS plus the
  Lisa Office applications fitted on 7 400K
  floppies!
• Many stories surround the flop of the Apple III,
  I like the one that says Steve Jobs had designed
  the case before the hardware boys had finished
  the electronics, which resulted in a machine that
  failed a lot due to overheating.
• Success of the Apple line of machines led to
  competition from companies who copied the design
  and beefed it up a bit, 2 names spring to mind
  here - Franklin and Laser both made Apple
  clones that did more than irk Apple themselves
  (lawsuits abounded in those days ), they made
  'em produce machines like the c and c to try
  and outdo the competition.

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IBM PC
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IBM PC

• In July of 1980, IBM representatives met for the
  first time with Microsoft's Bill Gates to talk
  about writing an operating system for IBM's new
  hush-hush "personal" computer. IBM had been
  observing the growing personal computer market
  for some time. They had already made one dismal
  attempt to crack the market with their IBM 5100.
  At one point, IBM considered buying the fledgling
  game company Atari to commandeer Atari's early
  line of personal computers. However, IBM decided
  to stick with making their own personal computer
  line and developed a brand new operating system
  to go with. The secret plans were referred to as
  "Project Chess". The code name for the new
  computer was "Acorn". Twelve engineers, led by
  William C. Lowe, assembled in Boca Raton,
  Florida, to design and build the "Acorn". On
  August 12, 1981, IBM released their new computer,
  re-named the IBM PC. The "PC" stood for "personal
  computer" making IBM responsible for popularizing
  the term "PC".
• The first IBM PC ran on a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088
  microprocessor. The PC came equipped with 16
  kilobytes of memory, expandable to 256k. The PC
  came with one or two 160k floppy disk drives and
  an optional color monitor. The price tag started
  at 1,565, which would be nearly 4,000 today.
  What really made the IBM PC different from
  previous IBM computers was that it was the first
  one built from off the shelf parts (called open
  architecture) and marketed by outside
  distributors (Sears Roebucks and Computerland).
  The Intel chip was chosen because IBM had already
  obtained the rights to manufacture the Intel
  chips. IBM had used the Intel 8086 for use in its
  Displaywriter Intelligent Typewriter in exchange
  for giving Intel the rights to IBM's bubble
  memory technology.
• Less than four months after IBM introduced the
  PC, Time Magazine named the computer "man of the
  year"

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Cultural impact of home computing

• Access to computers at home changed our culture
  in the following areas during the 80s
• Leisure time
• Finances
• Record keeping
• Planning
• Writing
• Studying

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Leisure time

• It spread computer games affected the way
  people spent their leisure time
• games that were previous played at home such as
  card games and board games descreased in inverse
  portion to the acessibility of computer games.

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Finances

• On a more serious note, access to computers at
  home changed the way people handled their
  finances
• The use of spreadsheets
• Electronic checkbooks
• Budget managers
• Tax managers
• Basically people were able to perform complex
  financial calculations that previously only
  specialists could perform

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Record Keeping

• 1985 Windows 1.0
• The first version of Windows provided a new
  software environment for developing and running
  applications that use bitmap displays and mouse
  pointing devices.
• In addition, Windows users could switch among
  several concurrently running applications.
• The product included a set of desktop
  applications, including the MS-DOS
• file management program,
• a calendar,
• card file,
• notepad,
• calculator,
• clock,
• and telecommunications programs,
• which helped users manage day-to-day activities.

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Record keeping, cont.

• From simple file management programs to
  sophisticated database programs, software has
  enabled home computer users to keep their records
  organized electronically
• One significant lifestyle change involved in this
  new way of recording keeping was that records
  proliferated at astonishing rates.

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Planning

• Financial planning is most likely to be the most
  pervasive use of planning in personal
  computing, however, other uses should not be
  neglected in analyzing how the home computer
  revolution changed our cultures.
• Calendars enable long term plans. For example,
  if you had a project, you could break it into its
  components and assign them to specific days or
  times.
• Early software centered in calendars have evolved
  into very elaborate project planners
• Teachers rely on calendars for creating syllabi
• Spreadsheets have other planning uses than
  keeping financial records
• They can be used to schedule room assignments
• They can be used a databases for keep records on
  various collections
• A simple example of a lifestyle change involving
  the use of a spreadsheet on an Apple II computer
  occurred when my son inherited mine. He used it
  to calculate batting averages of his favorite
  players and later to participate in fantasy
  baseball leagues

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Writing

• Computers have changed the way we write and
  publish our writings
• The ability to cut and paste text
• The ability to delete passages and maintain the
  page
• The ability to add footnotes
• The ability to change print formats, etc.
• Of course hypercard for the Mac change our
  writing in more fundamental ways
• Like record keeping, we now produce vastly more
  TEXT than ever before.

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Studying

• Laptops were not a prominent computing device in
  the 80s even though they were available
• The computer considered by most historians to be
  the first true portable computer was the Osborne
  1. Adam Osborne, an ex-book publisher founded
  Osborne Computer and produced the Osborne 1 in
  1981, a portable computer that weighed 24 pounds
  and cost 1795. The Osborne 1 came with a
  five-inch screen, modem port, two 5 1/4 floppy
  drives, a large collection of bundled software
  programs, and a battery pack. The short-lived
  computer company was never successful
• Even in the 80s the changes in education that
  have occured since the computer revolution were
  already appearing in the decade
• The educational uses of computers exploded in the
  90s with the Internet, networking, and CDs.

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History of laptops

• Also released in 1981, was the Epson HX-20, a
  battery powered portable computer, with a
  20-character by 4 line LCD display and a built-in
  printer. 
• In January of 1982, Microsoft's Kazuhiko Nishi
  and Bill Gates begin discussions on designing a
  portable computer, based on using a new liquid
  crystal display or LCD screen. Kazuhiko Nishi
  later showed the prototype to Radio Shack who
  agree to manufacture the computer.
• In 1983, Radio Shack released the TRS-80 Model
  100, a 4 lb. battery operated portable computer
  with a flat and more of a laptop design. 
• In February 1984, IBM announced the IBM 5155
  Portable Personal Computer.
• Three years later in 1986, Radio Shack released
  the improved and smaller TRS Model 200. 
• In 1988, Compaq Computer introduces its first
  laptop PC with VGA graphics - the Compaq
  SLT/286. 
• In 1989, NEC UltraLite was released, considered
  by some to be the first "notebook style"
  computer. It was a laptop size computer which
  weighed under 5 lbs.  (second photo)
• In September 1989, Apple Computer released the
  first Macintosh Portable that later evolved into
  the Powerbook. (second photo) 
• In 1989, Zenith Data Systems released the Zenith
  MinisPort, a 6-pound laptop computer. (more
  Zenith laptops)
• In October 1989, Compaq Computer released its
  first notebook PC, the Compaq LTE.
• In March 1991, Microsoft released the Microsoft
  BallPoint Mouse that used both mouse and
  trackball technology in a pointing device
  designed for laptop computers.
• In October 1991, Apple Computers released the
  Macintosh PowerBook 100, 140, and 170 - all
  notebook style laptops. (more on Powerbooks)
• In October 1992, IBM released its ThinkPad 700
  laptop computer.
• In 1992, Intel and Microsoft release APM or the
  Advanced Power Management specification for
  laptop computers.
• In 1993, the first PDAs or Personal Digital
  Assistants are released. PDAs are pen-based
  hand-held computers. 

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Seymour Papert

• People laughed at Seymour Papert in the sixties
  when he talked about children using computers as
  instruments for learning and for enhancing
  creativity. The idea of an inexpensive personal
  computer was then science fiction. But Papert was
  conducting serious research in his capacity as a
  professor at MIT. This research led to many
  firsts. It was in his laboratory that children
  first had the chance to use the computer to write
  and to make graphics. The Logo programming
  language was created there, as were the first
  children's toys with built-in computation. The
  Logo Foundation was created to inform people
  about Logo and to support them in their use of
  Logo-based software for learning and teaching.

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Seymour Papert

• Today Papert is considered the world's foremost
  expert on how technology can provide new ways to
  learn. He has carried out educational projects on
  every continent, some of them in remote villages
  in developing countries. He is a participant in
  developing the most influential cutting-edge
  opportunities for children to participate in the
  digital world. He serves on the advisory boards
  for MaMaMedia Inc. (whose founder, Idit Harel,
  was once a doctoral student of his at MIT) and of
  the LEGO Mindstorms product line (which was named
  after Papert's seminal book Mindstorms Children,
  Computers and Powerful Ideas).

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LOGO

• 1980 -- From Mindstorms, and Powerful Ideas,
  Seymour Papert, pp. 413
• Papert wrote The Childrens Machine
• Papert invented LOGO a computer programming
  language for children
• That put control of the computer in the
  childrens hands
• Lego robot kits were developed from his ideas

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Graphics Interface

• 1980 -- "Put-That-There" Voice and Gesture at
  the, Richard A. Bolt,
• The 1980s brought the graphics interface to home
  computing
• MACs introduced the first graphical interface
• Windows produced a parallel graphical interface
• Apple corporation sued Microsoft for stealing its
  invention but lost.

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Text vs graphical interfaces
Text based interface
Graphical interface
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Cyberspace

• William Gibson is said to have introduced the
  term cyberspace in 1984
• He described it as a virtual space that was
  habitable in Neuromancer
• His fictional idea took hold in the computer
  world and led to questions like Will there be
  condominums in Data Space?

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Databases have Data Space

• Cyberspace is now understood to be an artificial
  reality that projects the user into a three
  dimensional space generated by computers.
• Data Space is NOT a term used in Computer
  Science.
• Databases are software programs that became
  available to the general public in the 80s which
  store information in retrievable forms from sets
  of inter-related files

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Direct Manipulation

• 1983 -- A Step Beyond Programming Languages,
  Ben Shneiderman, pp. 485
• The idea of manipulating images on a screen is a
  precursor to visual thinking
• flowcharts
• Programs that allow you to change your look
• Or your house

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Virtual Identities

• In The Second Self (1984), Sherry Turkle explores
  the ways in which video games allow persons to
  assume virtual identities
• In the 90s, virtual identities became a major
  factor not only in video games but also in chat
  rooms, email, and other forms of communication in
  cyberspace

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Media Monopoly

• In The Endless Chain (1983), Ben Bagdiliian
  reported that 50 corporations dominated the new
  media
• In his 200 Preface to the book, he noted that now
  only six firms dominate all US mass media
• AOL / Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, News Corp,
  Bertelsmann, and General Electric

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Cyborgs

• In A Cyborg Manifesto (1985),Donna Haraway,
  argues that as a consequence of our use of
  technological extensions of our human abilities
  we have become cyborgs (half human, half machine)
• Cyborgs are a common figure in sci fi films, eg.
  Terminator, etc.

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Open source code

• In The GNU Manifesto (1985), Richard Stallman
  discusses the implications of closed vs open
  source codes
• Closed codes are proprietary and users cannot
  modify the software a policy that took hold in
  the 80s
• Open course codes allow users to modify their
  software Apache, MySQL are the main open source
  codes used today.

39
AI not human

• In Understanding Computers and Cognition (1986),
  Terry Winograd and Fernando Flores argue that the
  AI design aspects of computers and their
  computational abilities does not correspond well
  to the way persons think.
• In Plans and Situated Actions (1987), Lucy A
  Suchman develops a similar argument, pointing out
  that interaction between people and machines is
  profoundly different from interaction between
  people and other people.

40
Tele-Information

• 1986 -- Towards a New Classification of
  Tele-Information Services, Jan L. Bordewijk and
  Ben van Kaam, suggest new categories for
  understanding how we communicate information
  electronically
• They were trying to account for new media forms
  such as MUDs.
• MUDs are virtual worlds where visitors interact
  by playing a variety of roles in an established
  setting such as Dungeons and Dragons.

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Mythinformation

• In Mythinformation (1986 ), Langdon Winner
  critiques the ideas
• that computers distributing information provide a
  democratic basis for understanding
• That information is knowledge
• Information are sets of unrelated facts like
  telephone books
• Knowledge relates facts to each other

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Exploratory and Constructive Hypertexts

• In Siren Shapes Exploratory and Constructive
  Hypertexts (1988), Michael Joyce, distinguishes
  between two different uses of hypertexts,
• one that leads the user to explore the virtual
  environment
• An another that structures the users movements
  in the virtual environment
• Joyce is best known for his hypertext fictions
  written in StorySpace.