Ken's Lecture + Novel Contest

Ken Perlin

The New Media Center we visited in the Gallatin building was yet ANOTHER amazing facet of NYU which I had not been previously exposed to. I take classes in Gallatin every semester and I had no idea there was a lab on the 12th floor of the building. Incredible. This seems to be a repetitive motif in my blogging, but I am still frustrated with the segregation between schools and departments within NYU and our lack of exposure to them as students. But I digress...

I think I can safely say that Ken impressed every student in the class. Ken's involvement in everything from Microsoft to Disney amazed me and gave me a sense of pride for our resources at NYU. Ken's talk was accessible and entertaining and I appreciate the time he took to visually narrate his process as a computer scientist. His step by step analysis of the creation process made it easy to grasp.

I really liked hearing about Ken's involvement in the Game Center for Learning. One of the client's we work with at Brew is Grockit a startup currently in Beta that implements online gaming into standardized test prep. Although Grockit has an older target audience, the principles behind the site are the same. Check it out here: http://grockit.com/

Novel Contest

I wish I was driven enough to attempt to complete something like this. Although writing a novel a month seems daunting for me personally, I think it's a really cool concept to engage the public with. Ken's co-authorship of a novel makes the task seem (slightly) less labor-intensive but I think in order to accomplish something like that, someone would need to be exceptionally linguistically gifted (which I am not).

Ken stressed that the writing that is produced from the contest isn't supposed to be mind blowing, it's the process that's important. This constant narrative and persistence reminds me of Ken's insistence on writing for his blog every day, something which I also, personally, know I wouldn't enjoy. Even as a kid, I never kept a journal and for me, the writing always ended up being too forced.

What does interest me is this continuous narrative that is less edited and sculpted but more stream of conscious-esque. Already with the advent of social media, a new fabric of narrative seems to be emerging from the web and I think this contest is in response to that, so I'm eager to see how the contest pans out.

Google Wave + Digital Dirt

Google Wave

I've been hearing buzz about Google Wave for awhile now so was excited to examine this within the context of the classroom. "Real-Time" anything is super trendy right now in digital media/technology so I think Wave is riding (no pun intended) on this trend and hoping to capitalize on the intense interest in real-time. Right now, the system is really buggy in beta and when a coworker tried to use it, she was frustrated with the system so I don't think it's ready for the masses just yet.

What Wave (conceptually) gives users the option to do is collaborate on documents "live" which I think is really cool. A system like Wave would make doing any kind of group work WAY easier. Think about any time you've pressed reply all to more than 2 people, it becomes a pain to respond to individuals in email chains and then have to pick out the important stuff (from a sharing of information/documents perspective). So I think this product should be released in two forms: one for corporate purposes so businesses can use them (I feel like this is where the product would truly shine) and a second edition that is for personal use. Maybe I should email Eric Schmidt...

Digital Dirt

I think this is something that was good to bring to light for the purposes of class but I think that anyone who has a presence online and is actively working, is fully aware of the repercussions of a digital trail. With this said, I would like to point out that at my job, I am sometimes encouraged to utilize social networking (particularly facebook and twitter) to build a presence online and adequately represent clients and their media coverage. I am on twitter or Facebook every day at work and use it constantly to communicate ideas about projects we're working on.

I think students our age often think that Facebook is made purely for socializing, which, was true five years ago when the site launched but Zuckerberg has long abandoned the basic social aspects of the site to create and develop a platform that runs applications to service a community in various ways. There are plenty of ways in which you can use these sites to help you professionally, and I also think that although there is a definitive line between your professional and private life, your online presence should reflect both of these things in a positive way.

New Media Reader Chapters 10-12

10. The Construction of Change
Timeline:
1964: Roy Ascott's "The Construction of Change" is published. Comments on New Media Art.

Summary:

• Roy Ascott = London-based artist. One of the first essays to create a link between cybernetics and art.
• Frank Popper = author of "Art of the Electronic Age." Popper distinguishes between participation and interaction in New Media Art.
• Popper defines participation as "a relationship between a spectator and an already existing open-ended art work" (127) and interaction as a exchange between a person and an AI system.
• Telematic art = communication between people in different locations. Ascott was a pioneer in the field.
• Ascott states that art is an intersection of the behavior of the artist's and the spectator's.
• Cybernetics = communication between man and machine via art

11. A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing and the Indeterminate

Summary:

• Ted Nelson coined the term "hypertext" and created the concept that accompanies it.
• Chunk style hypertext (using links to move to new pages on the web) is a subtext of hypertext.
• For Nelson, hypertext was a way information was connected complexly in means not representable on paper

12. Six Sections by the Oulipo

Introduction:

• Workshop for Potential Literature (Oulipo) = group of writers working on experimental literature and ways of manipulating text
• Techniques include: lipogram (one letter of the alphabet can't be used) palindromes, algorithms (choose-your-own-adventure books)
• Key individuals: John Crombie "Yours for the Telling," Warren Motte "Story as You Like it," George Perec's La Disparation, Italo Calvino If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, Stanley Chapman A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems
• Computer-meditated textuality

A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems:

• Similar method to cut and paste, relies on serendipity
• In both French and English
• Creates a sonnet

"Yours for the Telling":

• Example of choose-your-own-adventure story
• Queneau = self proclaimed co founder of Oulipo
• Focuses on experimental literature - the group recorded and collected a history of experimental writing techniques to use and study
• Used these methods on some already existing texts
• Goal was more abstract than creating literature - to think about literature, language and the stories within a theoretical way.

Computer and Writer, The Centre Pompidou Experiment:

• Paul Braffort = logician, computer scientist and writer. Commissioned to educate public and other writers about a fusion of computer science and literature
• Combinatory Literature = Queneau's sonnet experiment
• Algorithm Literature = Queneau's create-your-own-adventure story

Prose and Anticombinatorics, Italo Calvino

• anticombinatory = among a large sample of options, a computer chooses the few possibilities that are compatible with corresponding constraints
• Order in Crime = example of anticombinatory
• Calvino walks through the options the methodology would map out therefore, alluding to multiple plot possibilities

Ken Perlin

Ken's Website

A few comments about this site, and again more criticism for NYU. Ken's site is pretty lame aesthetically speaking. I really appreciate all the applications on it but visually, it's not particularly engaging. Then I realized Ken's site is part of the nyu.edu which means that the University, not Ken probably designed and sponsored the site. NYU needs to work on this because I feel like the design of the site make Ken look less credible as a graphic designer than he actually is! NYU: get on it.

Also, did anyone happen to check out the easter bunny application Ken did for Google last easter? It's one of his demo games on the site and I would just like to say kudos!

And, additionally, thumbs down to NYU for not publicizing this information. This was an issue I previously have had with the University. I feel like I get junk email all the time from the University but never know about all these resources we have. I still vote PR revamp!

Ken's Blog

I appreciate Ken's blog (and site) a lot for the sheer accessibility of it. Most of us in class aren't familiar with the computer science that goes into these technologies but Ken, like Noah and Rich all put their thoughts into language that was colloquial and useful. Individuals like Ken who make efforts to link technology to other things (example, Ken's poetry on his blog and Noah's fictional narratives) make the field more lucrative to those not initially interested.

Ken's Inventions: NOISE-TURBULENCE and PAD

First off, Noise-Turbulence is one of those technologies that resonates with me just because I can visually recognize moments and when this technology was used, so for me, it becomes easier for me to make connections and recognize the importance of technology when I feel a personal tie to it. I l-o-v-e Toy Story (and most Pixar films) so was thrilled when I found out Ken contributed.

PAD is something I would actually use and use frequently. I know he has this patented but I feel like there's something similar to it out there...I think I keep thinking of multiple iphone/cloud computing technologies combined so I'm probably off on that hunch. I wonder if this can be applied to websites and create a personally annotated online open source interface? Even just using this for notes for class or storing personal information (of literally any kind). Has Ken been approached by anyone about using these technologies in software? I feel like he should, again maybe this is a lack of marketing on NYU's part for not getting Ken's ideas out there.

New Media Reader Chapters 5-9

Chapter 5
Timeline:
1962: Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider promoted to head of DARPA
- Had a background in engineering and behavioral science
- Became involved in promoting computing for millitary and gave funding $ to Universities instead of companies
1968: Licklider writes "The Computer as a Communication Device" with Robert W. Taylor
1969: October - Doug Engelbart connects second node for DARPA
- Eventually this network became the internet
Summary:

• Vannevar Bush steered millitary towards tech research --> the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Organized for millitary's space program
• Licklider's work developed PhD Computer Science programs at MIT, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford
• Licklider & Taylor introduce "Oliver" (on-line interactive vicarious expediter and responder) --> Idea of Personal Network Agent

Chapter 6

Summary:

• "Happening" = used to describe events/performances organized by Allen Kaprow (and others) in 1950s-60s
• Karpow - associates the idea of interaction with Happenings
• Karpow places emphasis on the responsibility of the observer
• Connection (for New Media purposes) between Kaprow's anti-hierarchical creation of art and Nelson's anti-hierarchical computing
• "Happenings" = relatable to Myron Krueguer's "responsive envirornments" a fusion of tech/art

Chapter 7

Timeline:

1961-1978: Burroughs works on cut-up method with Brion Gysin

Summary:

• Cut up method - used by beat poet William Burroughs, inspired by Surrealist artists
• Burroughs suggests that entropy can lead to new composition in literarary work

The Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin by William S. Burroughs:

• Man (Tristan Tzara) creates poem by pulling words out of a hat; riot ensues
• 1959: Brion Gysin painter/writer cuts newspaper articles and random pastes them together --> collage for writers
• All writings, are cut-ups (technically) and the method can be applied to other things ex. military strategy, computer science

Chapter 8

Timeline:

1962: Engelbart files first report for FLASH-3

1988: Engelbart publishes A History of Personal Workstations (Engelbart explains unfulfilled visions)

Summary:

• Douglas Engelbart invented computer interfaces such as: mouse, the window, word processor. He helped establish the Internet, independently invented hyperlink
• Engelbart = misrepresented in media
• Engelbart envisions that: 1) humankind's problems are approaching faster than we can deal with them 2) this is a good way for tech to "make a difference" 3) mixed graphic and text visions on CRT
• Engelbart quits job, works at Stanford Research Institute and tries to get funding

Chapter 9

Summary:

• Sketchpad system = graphic ancestor of computer graphics created by Ivan Sutherland
• Sketchpad = first direct-manipulation interface and first conversational interface

Sketchpad: A Man-Machine Graphical Communication System by Ivan E. Sutherland

• Sketchpad - lets man and computer communicate via line drawings
• Eliminates typing things in favor of line drawing
• Info on how drawing is composed is stored in computer , also stores structure of subpictures used
• "Construction of a drawing with Sketchpad is itself a model of the design process" (113)
• Can be used to: Store and update drawings, gaining scientific or engineering understanding of operations that can be described graphically, as a topological input device for circuit simulators, AND for highly repetitive drawings

Internet Documentary

The most memorable part of the documentary was, for me, hearing about Marc Andreessen. Marc is a great figure when studying the web and I often forget that he was the creator of Netscape, the first tool that allowed us to easily access the internet. What makes him such a cool figure in Silicon Valley is his presence. He is one of the few people in the Valley to survive, rebound and still remain profitable after the dot com boom. I think with web 2.0 a lot of young, entreprenurs have taken over the Silicon Valley scene (Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Rose, etc.) so it's great to see someone still impact technology.

Andreeseen, co-founder of Ning also currently serves on the boards at eBay, Facebook, and HP AND as of this summer, has his own Venture Capital Firm.

Here's a Wikipedia site on Andreeseen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen

Also, if anyone's interested in the transition from the dot com boom to web 2.0 in Silicon Valley I suggest reading Sarah Lacey's "Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0" It's not very technical/dry at all and is easy for anyone to read, even if you're not very knowledgeable about the Silicon Valley scene.

Steam Punk: Part Deux

Derivation of PUNK in Steampunk, Cyperpunk, etc.

First off, I didn't realize this genre went this deep in terms of classification and sub genres. I wish there were some more visuals included in this article/more descriptions because I'm not really sure I understood what differentiated each of the movements from one another. I also am not into Science Fiction too much so I don't think I picked up on a lot of the literary references mentioned in the piece. Cyberpunk made me think of Clockwork Orange (I've never seen the film but realllly want to) although it was written earlier than the movement occurred.

Also, just wanted to throw out there I like the term cyberprep - having a more positive outlook on technology - because although I wouldn't associate myself with any of these genres, I think that we need to recognize that whether we are active or passive in creating technological change, it happens regardless so we might as well embrace it and utilize it.

http://www.answers.com/topic/postcyberpunk

Steampunk Month

I had no idea this gained so much mainstream attention! I was browsing the Brooklyn Indie Market site devoted to the Steampunk day and was impressed/intrigued to see that New York Magazine covered the event last year in one of their fashion blogs. Because I'm not sure if I can relate to the ideology surrounding steampunk I think I appreciate the aesthetic of it the most. If you're interested (I know we have some fashion-mongers in class) please check out the blog and the visually delicious slide show that accompanies it:
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/10/steampunk.html

Per usual, NY Mag does not disappoint!

Augmented Earth & Online Music

Augmented Earth

We discussed this in class and I think a lot of people will think this is a HUGE infringement on privacy but with the Internet, and Google Earth and security cameras on every corner in NYC I feel like it is what it is. I personally don't feel like there's anything wrong with it. I think Augmented Earth can be used to help monitor illegal activities in a more efficient manor. I think the term privacy is totally subjective so for me, I just don't see any difference between this and Google Earth or Security Cameras. They have them in stadiums, parks in many urban areas anyhow so I don't think this is harmful. I feel like there will be a large part of the population that will be outraged if this is implemented nationally. Yes, it is sort of big-brother ish but I think the Internet is in ways too so it's definitely a double edge sword at times.

Decide for yourself here:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/10/01/nr.augmented.earth.cnn

10 Sites to Help You Navigate the New World of Music

I'm surprised this appeared on CNN and I have a hunch if it was featured in a more tech-savy or online pub like Gizmodo, CNET or TechCrunch it would have a different perception on what sites to use/the fate of the music industry.

See this TechCrunch post by Michael Arrington about the downfall of the music industry. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/10/01/nr.augmented.earth.cnn

I am really pro free music online. I always stream my music and (yes, I admit it) illegally have been downloading music for years. I don't think I've used iTunes since I was 14. Bad, illegal, I know, but I think that free content is where the web is taking us so I'm going with the flow on this one.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pandora and have the mobile application downloaded and use it every where I go. I hardly ever use my ipod. Another cool site - if anyone's interested is Indaba Music
http://www.indabamusic.com/ It's really awesome from the a dj/remix/composition perspective of music. It allows you to "remix" aspects of a song (piano, bass line, vocal melody etc) and compose other parts to create something new. It works as part social network part music service. Indaba also does promotions with artists (Mariah Carey, Yo-Yo Ma, and Weezer are some popular ones) that allow you to mix parts of their songs with whatever you create via the service.

The site hit mainstream when it was featured on the Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert used the service and recorded an audio clip of him speaking, and challenged viewers to remix his voice into a song and he'd play it on air.

Ladies and gents check it out: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/217342/february-02-2009/dan-zaccagnino

DIY Digital Design

How To Create Your Own Font

Although I personally have no use for this service (i.e. I have chicken scratch handwriting/little artistic skills) I know plenty of people who would really appreciate it. My roommate does graphic design and has been recently doing some freelance work creating invitations for NYC events/parties. She always complains about having to purchase fonts online (she already has a mac and some kind of font package) but from what I understand, the price tag on purchasing new fonts is quite hefty. She recently purchased a package of fonts for a little over $200. I don't know the details of what exactly come with this package but was appalled that she had to pay that much money - INSANE.

The create your own font (she found) particularly useful because she is also interested in studio art so she has the artistic capability to actually utilize something like this and have a final product that's aesthetically pleasing. Did I mention it's free??

Check it out here:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/09/17/chris.pirillo.handwriting.fonts.cnn
to see a CNN Video

To access the site:
http://www.fontcapture.com

Photosketch: Internet Image Montage

This, on the other hand, is something that I think had very little value. Do I appreciate all the time, technology and effort that was put into this? Yes. I understand that it's based on a complex algorithm system and obviously was exceptionally difficult to create. Is it neat? I guess so but I just don't know what anyone would DO with it. Personally, I would not go out of my way to try out this service. I think the kind of computing that went into this, is probably utilitarian some way or another but I'm not quite sure how. Does anyone see any value in this? I know we often have this debate or not (the idea of practicality) and obviously not all things have to be for us to enjoy them but I feel like this has very little use or even entertainment. Opening up the floor for thoughts....

Gizmodo: (Gawker Tech) http://gizmodo.com/5374890/this-is-a-photoshop-and-it-blew-my-mind

YouTube demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW1Epl2LdFM

Steampunk, Brain Scan Tech, CAVE Claymation

Steampunk

I read I think Zach's (if I'm incorrect - my apologies to the rightful muse of this post) blog post about Steampunk and was inspired to further comment/support a love for subcultures without a participatory role in them. The fact that stuff like this exists, and communities thrive via communication, and the spreading of ideas occur through an online medium fascinates me. This has to be one of the most eccentric cultural paradigms I have seen in awhile.

It sort of reminds me of the animated version of Disney's Atlantis which fuses a futuristic, yet simultaneously magical and ancient culture within the confines of a Victorian setting. The story isn't particularly great but Disney does (I think) a beautiful job with the animation and concocting this mystical world underwater. I'm pretty sure the movie came out when most of the class was older (probably early teens) but I'm the oldest of five and being a big Disney animation fan, had the opportunity to see it.

Brain Scan Technology

A-ma-zing. Truly. I understand that people have concerns (religious or otherwise) about the manipulation of the human body, but the 60 Minutes piece can be utilized as a conduit to change minds and give meaning to those who have lost mobility and speech due to paralyzation and disease. It still boggles my mind when I think of that man going to work every day, despite how much time and effort it takes him to speak and communicate. His story is a very powerful one and I hope that this reached a large audience when it aired because I think it is a piece of media that has the ability to persuade, which today can be difficult task to accomplish.

Plato's Cave

The technique used in this traditional claymation reminded me of the style of Gumby, a show I (and I'm sure many of you) saw growing up. The aesthetic style is simple, and clear which I like.

I think something like this could be a great educational tool. At a college level, I don't think it is that effective because students are studying Platonic concepts at a greater depth however, I think the animators clearly shaped, what I perceived in my mind to be a lucid visual representation of Plato's Cave. This can be difficult when the ideas being conveyed are conceptual. I think a series of shorts like this, highlighting philosophy, would be beneficial to young adolescents (9th/10th graders come to mind) who are asked to grasp these concepts but only within the confines of definition memorization and historical context, without considering philisophical notions. A short like this has the potential to visualize to students more abstract ideas that they may not grasp at that age without some sort of visual representation.

Aggregation of Information: Overload?

Augmented Reality - Layar

So this to me, actually doesn't seem too new. I mean it's different in that it combines a bunch of different technologies but there are mobile applications that do similar things - primarily via a location based system in your phone. LBS applications in phones were super popular when the first iPhone came out in 2007. One that comes to my mind particularly is Loopt http://www.loopt.com/ which (I'm pretty sure) was created by an NYU grad. Loopt and other apps like it (dodge ball, limbo) use LBS in a really warped way (albeit again, different than Layar, more simplistic one might say) to locate individuals with the service at any time in a certain radius of you. This allows for communication and connection (like social networks allow) with strangers, and friends. For example apps like Loopt will show you where your friends are (bars, gym etc) based on where they physically are in NYC (or other metropolitan area) at the given moment you request the data or even open the app.

I think Layar is similar to this, and its use of high quality photography remind me of the iphone. I'm sure that with the iPhone you can accomplish the same things, just with a variety of apps, so I guess what's unique about Layar is the ability to aggregate all of that content into one application. I don't have an iPhone but I'm sure there are kids in class who do...do you think Augmented Reality technology is already present on the iPhone or is this something completely different?

Project Natal
Ok so I have heard buzzing in the press about the upcoming launch of this new Microsoft product since (I think) last June and the video made me more skeptical than I already was. I guess hearing about it and conceptualizing about a kind of product that streamlines media in a compact way sounds great but when I saw it on that YouTube link I was really creeped out by it. The video made it look uber corporate and a little too "big brother" for my liking.

I am usually super responsive and interested in this stuff.

I think that Microsoft went about it's demonstrative ad campaign in the wrong way. It's aggressively eager and the video seems overacted and a desperate move by Microsoft to keep up with Nintendo Wii sales. Personally, I'm not a fan. I think if they want the product to sell they need to find a different way to position it to the consumer.

Rich Rodriguez

Rich's presentation was exactly what I was looking for in terms of widening my understanding of video games. Noah's presentation was comprehensible, but still I seemed unable to connect with it. I think Rich was able to articulate ideas in the vernacular of gaming, but still create an outlet and a means in which to communicate them to the class which seems (mostly) comprised of non-hardcore gamers. For this, Rich, I applaud you. I think I'm starting to "get" gaming.

I don't own any gaming systems where Little Big Planet would apply, however, I have two younger brothers (ages 10 and 12) who have Nintendo DS and occasionally ask them to teach me to play during long family road trips. I really enjoy it (granted I'm not talented) but when I asked my 10 year old brother about Scribblenauts he described it as, "mad cool" and "really wants it." So I think the game and the DIY/UGC appeals to a large market. And I think the nice thing about DS is I think it's super popular among the female tween audience and could be great way to achieve a developed segment in that market based on a game that isn't typically "girly" such as pet/fashion oriented games.

The User Generated Content aspect of Scribblnauts to me (glitches aside) seems incredible. Like, unfathomable. I had no idea that this existed, and I mean the concept alone is so simulating and also echoes the idea of infinite possibility, something we encounter frequently within the sphere of digital media. I am now officially making a request to Santa to include Scribblenauts in my brother's stocking this year!

New Media Reader Chapter 3: Computing Machinery and Intelligence

Timeline:
1943: Cambridge mathematician Alan Turing helps build The British Colossus computers
- Decoded coded language. Created mathematical abstraction, "Turing Machine"

1991: Start of annual Loebner Prize Competition for Chatterbots
- Inspired by the Turing test

Summary:

• Early computers were similar to calculators; "number crunchers"
• Wasn't noticed that computers had the capacity to manipulate words
• Shift from numbers to words --> email, word processing, voice recognition, basic commands ("ok")
• Turing develops a theoretical machine that can solve any computable problem --> Turing writes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence"
• Turing asks question, can a computer pass as a human? within a philosphical context (Turing Test)
• Turing anticpates human-computer dialogue occuring, important in that it recognized a computer as a "thinking" machine

New Media Reader Chapter 2: As We May Think

Timeline:

1940: Bush convinces Franklin Delano Roosevelt to fund and support colloborative effort between millitary, industry and academic research

- Grew over 5 years --> "military industrial complex" or "iron triangle" by Dwight Eisenhower

1945: Vannevar Bush publishes "As We May Think" in the Atlantic Montly and Life

- Primary organizer of Manhattan Project

- Felt technology didn't have to be a destructive force in society

- Architecht for computing projects at MIT

Summary:

• 1940 Bush approaches FDR --> "iron triangle" under Eisenhower
• iron triangle = self-perpetuating military, industrial and academic relationships
• "As We Think" published pre and post U.S. nuclear attacks on Japan
• Bush's article describes voice interaction, wearable information devices, and wireless data connections that are imaginable today
• "memex" = Bush's super accurate proposal, a device, similar to modern PCs, a way to share knowledge/information and his goal alludes to the goals of New Media
• Doug Engelbart = radar technician inspired by memex, began work that led to word processor, mouse and hyperlink
• Ted Nelson, came across Bush's essay which was a major influence of his discovery of the hyperlink