NMR Notes Part III, Part I

This week I’ve decided to read Put That There by Richard A. Bolt as my primary text this week. It’s really interesting to find out that all the way back in 1980 they were trying to find ways not to put computers with people directly (as it seemed with earlier theorists) but to have people and computers act simultaneously towards one another. One of the most glaring examples that I can see of this doesn’t come out of the manufacturing world or architect design world but out of the world of video games. The example I’m speaking of is obviously the Kinect for the Xbox 360.

One of the most interesting applications I’ve seen of this type of theory of direct interaction with the Kinect would be Kinect Labs. This is a game which allows individuals to create their own projects and designs for gameplay with the Kinect. What’s more interesting is the types of things people have built (virtual open houses, sports games, etc) harken back to earlier theory about computing being able to directly simulate and compliment human life. This evolution shows the want of humans to have  direct experience with their computing hardware; we’ve long moved past the part of technology where we are idle where our computer is dynamic. Combining dynamic functions on behalf of both parties, the computer and the user, allows for a more intimate and reciprocity based computing cycle.

When we travel down the rabbit hole a bit further we get into the ideas behind what actually created this. I think this is something that the original philosophers and theories of new media would have really found interesting. What created this technology wasn’t built for any altruistic motive to satisfy the chagrin of scientists curiosity it was built merely as a competitive move in a capitalist society to rival the Nintendo Wii. It’s funny to me that all these articles generally have some kind of idea that their theory will be used to help better the human race, cure aids or cancer, or stop war. Really what it all comes down to is being able to compete in a capitalist society.

The second article I read, Proposal for a Universal Electronic Publishing System and Archive, is another feat of the future that we’ve passed. The kindle and things like it have already begun the process of publishing online and being able to share documents with one another. This, however, is strictly from the capitalist perspective. This commercial system only sells from one aspect to another. What’s more interesting, and more true to the theory of the article, is Google Documents. In this way we can share selectively, collectively, and privately between one another using a free service. While this may not be the ideal way in which Nelson would have liked his literary machine to work it’s the closet thing we have. The hurdle that needs to be jumped for this theory to truly come true would be for the need for paper based products and publications to go extinct. This, I don’t believe, will ever happen. There are paper trails for a reason and the issue of internet security will always be the greatest challenge to a truly free Electronic Publishing System and Archive.