Computers, what would we do without them?

Ahhh finally a topic for one these blog posts that I can actually relate to. As I'm sure is general knowledge by now, computers are awesome. They allow us to do so many things we couldn't do before, and even do something better than we used to. From software like Photoshop, to simple things such as viewing tv shows and movies, computers have a permanent place in our society because they are just so damn useful. The federal government figured that out a long time ago when it used a mechanical counting system to tabulate the US Census. That machine got the job done in a few weeks whereas before it took years to complete. What we need to be aware of however, is that computers were not always as powerful as they are today.

Originally, computers were used for minute taks such as counting and making various other calculations. On top of Census Tabulation, the first real computers were used to generate military firing charts (calculations that allowed the military to know how far their projectiles would go when they launched them). The personal computer didn't come about until the mid 1970s. Now here's the crazy part; today we all know Microsoft and Apple as the big computer moguls. Well the crazy thing is, neither one of those companies developed the first personal computer. In fact, they copied the technology from its original creator. In 1974, Xerox, (no you're not reading that wrong) the company that made you a copy of that business report this morning, created the Xerox PARC Alto, the world's first personal computer. The only problem was, the Xerox execs didn't think the technology would go anywhere; so when Steve Jobs, among other tech junkies, visited the Xerox lab, they sold the technology to them. The Apple1 is a complete ripoff of the Xerox PARC Alto.

Now don't let this post fool you, I'm not hating on apple as I'm sitting here typing on my 15 inch Macbook Pro, but it should be noted that the people we generally give our hard earned money to are selling us the fruits of someone else's labor. From that point on, personal computers would continue to evolve into the computers we know today. This article on TechNewsDaily shows some of the steps the personal computer took along its long and winding journey to its current state.

Watson: Future Skynet? or Man's Greatest Creation?

In mid february, IBM stunned the world, by creating a machine capable of understanding human language, and competing on game shjows alongside humans. I am talking about of Course, IBM's computer system known as Watson, and its appearance on the "Jeopardy!". Watson competed against two "Jeopardy!" greats, Ken Jennings, the man who won 74 consecutive games, and Brad Rutter, who won has won the most money from the show. Watson stunned the world when it not only won, but blew away the competition. Watson showed off its computing brilliance with a gusto, and but us humans to shame. Watson operates on a database that takes up an entire room, and contains 15 terabytes (I only wish my computer had that much memory...) of memory space.

As we move into an era where machines are becoming more and more integrated into our society, we have to wonder, will machines ever overtake humanity? While we probably won't have to worry about Watson becoming Skynet and leading a revolution of machines against humans, we should all be aware that as we build computers that are more and more intelligent, and we integrate them into everything, we risk them figuring out how to take off their proverbial leashes, and becoming self-sufficient. While Watson will allow us to create many extremely useful technologies; I hear IBM is already beginning work on a physician's assistant for medical schools and physicians everywhere; we also need to be aware of our limits and avoid bringing about our own demise.

TV: Then and Now

In today's world, tv is everywhere. Every home in the US has one if not more TVs in it, and we spend countless hours every day watching them. However as we are all well aware, television didn't always exist. The first commercially available televisions were available right after the 1939 World's Fair, where RCA displayed one of the first working televisions. Before television, the only means of broadcasting available was radio. However, radio only broadcasts sound, and while we have seen the power of the radio medium, television has strengths that radio can't even begin to imagine. While radio captivated users by allowing them to generate their own images, television has the ability to bring its users right into any kind of event. Sporting events are by far the most watched television broadcasts because the user can experience the euphoria of attending a game, right from their own home. News programs allow the user to transported right into a battlefield, inside Congress or the White House, or to the forefront of any current event. Television has many uses, but its most important use is as a means of mass communication. Throughout the entire cold war era, a system to warn of a Soviet Nuclear strike was designed where television was used as the menas of communication.

While today, everyone seems to be into HD and 3D displays, television didn't always look like it does today. However, the oldest televisions still around today are the old tube TVs. In order to see early television, and to better understand the profound impact television has on our society, one would have to travel to the Museum of Television. Or, you could go to their website, www.mztv.com, and see all the different types of televisions that were created. The Museum of Television provides many online exhibits, including a timeline of significant events in the creation of television, as well as information on the individuals that created tv. Understanding the things that greatly impact our society is a important if we are to ever truly learn from them.

Early Radio: User Generated Content

Early radio is often compared to television because they were both largely created by the same people, and both markets had largely the same structure. However, what people rarely realize anymore is how vastly different the two are. This is partly because radio is vastly different today than it was in its early days. Radio these days is mostly just music and disc jockeys. In it's Golden Age however, radio was made up of a wide array of shows. Radio had everything from horror stories and comedies, to news and sports broadcasts. President Franklin Roosevelt famously used the radio to communicate with the people through his "fireside chats". Essentially, all the kinds of shows we see on TV nowadays all originated on the radio. Kids would fight to be the closest to the speaker, and adults would even fight over what to listen to. While today we know that just about every home in America has a tv, back then, literally every home in America had a radio. Even after the advent of television, radio still maintained its popularity. In the 60s and 70s, transistor radios were by far the most popular media outlet due to their portability. Even today, with the advent of satellite and internat radio, many people still tune in. The question is, why was radio so popular, even after television was created? What did radio do to captivate people so much? The answer, lies in the fundamental difference between radio and television.

Television became wildly popular because for the first time ever, full high quality images could be broadcasted across the entire nation. However, before TV, all people had to go off of was sound. Early radio shows consisted only of people speaking, combined with sound effects. Therefore, each radio show was actually many different shows all in one. The reason for this, the reason early radio was so captivating, and the reason it remains popular still today, is because we the listeners, generate the images that go with the broadcasts. Whereas tv gives us an image, radio lets us create our own. Which means that each and every listener could imagine a show completely differently, and thus one broadcast, is actually millions of different performances. The fact that radio allows its users to create such an integral part of any kind of show, allows its users to become more captivated and interested in it. Imagine for example, a horror show. On tv, we would see a generic scary creature chasing some dumb ass blond bimbo down a dark and dreary highway or hallway, and ultimately, would be a terrible production. However on radio, the creature would be generated by the listener, and thus would literally be created from our fears, allowing for a much scarier performance. TV, as we all know, can get boring after a while; but radio, combined with the power of imagination, is an extremely powerful medium, and the broadcasters of radio's golden age were well aware of that. Unfortunately, this wasn't always a good thing.

On Halloween night, 1938, Orson Welles broadcasted a radio show that would forever live in infamy. The War of the Worlds was a horror novel written by H.G. Wells, about a martian invasion of Earth, and the events that occurred around it. Orson Welles reproduced this chilling tale on the radio, and upon hearing the broadcasts listeners completely freaked out. It got to the point where people actually started fleeing. The main reason this broadcast was so believable was because of the tremendous use of sound effects by Welles. The life-like sounds actually made the listeners believe martians were actually invading. The other reason the broadcast scared so many people, is because listeners back then, much like we do with tv commercials now, had a tendency to change the dial on their radios between breaks, and because of this, most people missed Welles' introduction. The point is that something like this will never happen because of a tv show because we are given an image, but with a radio broadcast, the user's imagination is let loose, and if the osund is good enough, the klistener might even think it's real.

Experimental Skeleton: Artists, or Crazy People?

Experimental Skeleton is a group of artists residing in Tampa, that, based on what I have sen, makes some truly amazing stuff. When I first saw some of E.S.'s work, I honestly didn't know what to think. And oddly enough, that is what drew me to their work. None of the art that E.S. makes any sense at all, and yet their pieces are so intricately put together they leave you in pure awe and amazement. My favorite work by E.S. is part of a project they call the Refractory, called the Dream Machine. Basically the Dream Machine is a revolving light shade with moth shaped holes cut into it. The best part: you look at it with your eyes closed. The sensation is hard to describe, but when the light crosses the outside of your eyelids, the blackness infront of your eyes lights up. And the period of the rotation makes the light feel like a heart beet.

E.S.' artwork is genius because there is no right way to view it. Their art allows the viewer to determine how to experience it. The refractory is filled with many other large light based sculptures, and just based on where you stand, they appear differently. It's this kind of thinking that makes Experimental Skeleton's artwork enjoyable. Another one of their projects I enjoyed is the Lotus Project. Essentially, the Lotus Project was a series of lotus shaped sculptures that could float. On New Year's Eve 1999, they were released at a port in St. Petersburg. The lotuses were remotely lit and later remotely detonated in a blazing glory. Experimental Skeleton makes artwork that not only forces the viewer to think outside the box, but is also a very beautiful sight.

The Post WWII Era: Blue, White, and that third color...

The post WWII Era was an interesting time in the US. We had just defeated the Axis powers, our economy had finally recovered from its lowest point and history, and people were just generally happier; or at least they were for a little while. After WWII was a period of time known as the Cold War. Relations between the United States and Russia had been deteriorating rapidly over the course of the war, but things got much worse after the war. The Russians were upset over the division of Germany because they felt they did not get what they deserved. And to be fair, the Russians took more casualties than any other country involved in the war. After WWII the United States and Russia hated each other, plain and simple. The only thing keeping the two nations form declaring war on each other was the threat of nuclear destruction. However just because Russia and the United States never fought each other directly, doesn't mean there wasn't any military action at all. One of the results of Japan's surrender at the end of WWII was the liberation of Korea. After the island was liberated, the question became, what kind of government would take over? The people of Korea were divided; the North Koreans wanted to be communist, and they tried to enforce their ways on the people of southern korea, with the help of the Chinese, and of course, the Russians. The US responded to this by sending troops to help the south, and in the end, a ceasefire was signed, and the island was split into to nations, North and South Korea. Both if which still exist today. Then, there was the Vietnam War. The Vietnam war was the longest war in world history, was made immensely larger by the tension between the US and Russia. Ironically, this war had nothing to do with the US or Russia, but because the leader of the Vietcong, the people wanting liberation from France, was a communist, the Russians supported them. The US, afraid of the spread of communism, sent in troops to counter the Russians. As we all know this war was a colossal failure for the US, and many men were lost in the process.

While there was a lot going on overseas, it is also important to note what was going on in our own neck of the woods. At the end of WWII, the US hated the Russians. If you were remotely against democracy, or even liked the color red, you were instantly labeled a communist. Congress even established a committee called the House Committee on un-American Activities to keep track of those who they believed to be communist. Of course, all this committee actually did was falsely accuse hundreds of people of being Communist. Particularly those in the film industry. Walt Disney was even called to testify before the committee. All forms of media were affected by our rivalry with Russia. Cartoons and comic book heroes such as G.I. Joe, and Captain America, were created to depict the evils of communism, and the strength of democracy. The tensions between the 2 nations also began what is known as the space race. The launch of the russian satellite Sputnik, scared the living hell out of every American. The thought of a Soviet nuclear strike form space was not something anyone wanted to imagine. However thanks to the efforts of President Kennedy in the early 1960s, we were able to send the first man to the moon in 1969. The conflict between the US and Russia would last until 1989, when President Ronald Reagan famously demanded that the Russians tear down the Berlin Wall.

As much as we hated the Russians back then, our anti-communist sentiment wasn't the only social issue at work. The 1960s saw the birth of a civil rights movement. Rosa Parks became famous for starting the Montgomery bus boycotts, and even more well known, and a man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stepped up and lead many demonstrations in the hopes of gaining equal rights. And sure enough, by 1965, blacks had gained equal rights.

A lot happened in the post WWII Era, and even though ont all of it was good, we can still learn from it all, and hopefully, never make the same mistakes again.

Frame by Frame animation: tedious, but awesome

Frame by frame animations are a double edged sword. On the one hand, the fact that the artist has to animate frame by frame means he has a lot of control over how the animation unfolds. However, the downside is that the artist must animate, EVERY, SINGLE, FRAME. Frame by frame animations are a lot of work, but they can be very rewarding. The following links are for some frame by frame animations that I found to be entertaining.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shOFoZwtbfA


The first is a Budweiser spoof entitled "All Together Now." The reason I really like this animation is because in multiple frames throughout the animation, multiple events occur at the same time. in the first image on the right there is from the animation. The stapler, the piece of paper, and every person inside the picture frame move individually. Having many moving objects in a frame by frame animation often requires more work, but it pays off in the end because the audience becomes much more interested in the animation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CayTtHLbdsI&feature=related

This second animation is just a random one, but I like it for two reasons. The first is the music. Whilst watching this animation, the music played the role of keeping the momentum of the animation. I was really into the fast pace of the animation and the music does a great job of keeping the audience enticed. The second thing I liked about this animation is that the camera was constantly changing perspective. There were front, rear and side shots of the guy in his chair throughout the animation. the nonlinearity of this animation keeps the audience guessing until the vary end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3-OSwVDtug&feature=related

Finally, this third animation is also random, but this animation did something that really caught my attention, and I think it's all the better because of it. In the bottom image on the right we se human fingers interacting with the drawing on the post it note and physically altering its form. The reality altering aspect of this animation isn't something I see very often, and it really opens the door to many other possibilities one could use in a frame by frame animation.

Napoleon: Conquerer, or Hollywood Superstar?

We all know Napoleon as the short French man with an attitude you wouldn't want to cross. While we all recognize Napoleon for his military achievements (and failures), he is seldom recognized for his on screen exploits. Abel Gance's film Napoleon used technology that was ahead of its time and was one of the most highly anticipated films of 1927.

Gance placed three strips of film side by side to create a triptych, a type of multi-panel art. The technique Gance used in Napoleon, is a predecessor of a famous form of cinema display that was popular in the 1950s called cinerama. Cinerama was done by simultaneously projecting images from three different projectors onto a screen that consisted of hundreds of large curved strips. Gance may not have been able to for see the future use of his techniques, but Napoleon was a great success on screen, and Gance will always be remembered for it.