Software Takes Command by Manovich

SOFTWARE TAKES COMMAND

By Lev Manovich

Presented by Inês Rodolfo in “History and Tendencies of Media”

Digital Media PhD - UT | Austin Portugal Program

Software Takes Command

By Lev Manovich - presented by Inês Rodolfo

Part I: “Inventing Cultural Sofware”1st Chapter: “Alan Kay’s Universal Machine”



Summary1. Manovich aims to understand the present and the future of media history by

analyzing the origin of new media and of the computational culture;

2. Aims to understand “what is media after software” and what are the consequences of our culture after the media have been “softwarerized”;

3. Is interested about the process of remediation of old media into new media;

4. Evaluates what are possibilities of the Media in what concerns to languages, techniques and concepts of the XX century after computation;

5. Manovich shares the vision of Alan Kay;

6. This presentation of “Software Takes Command” rests in the discussion of the article published in 1977 by Alan Kay and Goldberg where is discussed the concept of “Metamedium” and the launch of Dynabook, the first personal computer.



Manovich focus on Alan KayFor introducing the new paradigm of computers as “personal dynamic media”;

For stimulating different types of media in a unique personal machine through a remediation process which converted already existing artistic languages, introducing the concept of “Metamedium”;

For evolving all type of users in a two way conversational system relationship e.g. through edition tools.

For Kay facing the computers as a mean of artistic expression.

For enabling free programming tools and by defending the democratization of software development within a shared community.



Kay’s vision

“To provide users with a programming environment, examples of programs, and already written general tools so the users will be able to

make their own creative tools”

Digital Computer was mostly used for military, scientific and business

calculations as well as data processing.

It was not personal.It was not Interactive

1940 - 1980




Artists, Filmmakers, musicians and architects use computers since the

1950’s with computer scientists working in

research labs:Bell Labs, IBM Watson

Research Center...

1950’s


Work developed at Xerox PARC introduced the

concept of computers as personal machines (CRUD)New Praradigm of media

computing.

1970 - 1980



Computer as personal media

+ World Wide WebComputers as Cultural

Mainstream

1991



Expansion of computer networks and www. + Social Software Products = Digital

revolution (production, distribution and access)

Digital Culture

2000





Sketchpad 1962

By Ivan Sutherland

MIT PhD thesis

First interactive media authoringCreate and modify line drawings



Ted Nelson 1965

“Let me introduce the word “hypertext” to mean a body of

written or pictorial material interconnected in such a complex

way that it could not be conveniently be presented or

represented on paper”

Article “A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing, and the Indeterminate”

Hypertext concept

www - “Chunk Style”



Ted Nelson 2007

“with the computer-driven display and mass memory, it has become possible to create a new, readable

medium”

“It (computer text) need not be treated as a simulated paper book since this is a new medium with

new properties”

Hypertext, Hiperfilm, Hypermedia



Engelbart 1968

View Control

@ Research Center for Augmenting Human Intellect“Computer supported collaborative work.”

Computer Conference DemoSan Francisco



SuperPaint 1972 - 1973

By Richard Shoup

@ Xerox PARC

“Videographic medium”Grabbed frames from video

“From a larger perspective, we realized that the development of

SuperPaint signaled the beginning of the synergy of two of the most

powerful and pervasive technologies ever invented: digital computing and video or television”


Xerox PARC 1970 - 1981

Research Center at Palo Alto

Alan Kay - Head of Research

Based on previous work made by:Sutherland; Nelson; Englebart, Licklider, Seymour Paper

Personal ComputersGUI (overlapping windows, icons, bitmapped display, mouse...)

WYSIWYGSmalltalk language

Word Processor; File System; Drawing and Painting Program; Animation and Music edition Programs

Paradigm of media computing




Xerox PARC 1970 - 1981

Research Center at Palo Alto

Star User Interface



Remediation 2000By Jay Bolter @ Richard Grusin’s book of remediation

“Understanding the Media”

“GUI -based software turned digital computer into a remediation machine”

“The representation of one medium in another”

“What is new about digital media lies in their particular strategies for remediating television,

film, photography, and painting”


Dynabook 1977

By Alan Kay @ Xerox PARC

1997 Article of Alan Kay co-authored with Adele Goldberg:

“To create a personal dynamic medium the size of a notebook (the Dynabook) which could be owned by everyone and could

have the power to handle virtually all of its owner’s

information-related needs.”




Dynabook 1977

By Alan Kay


Dynabook 1977By Alan Kay @ Xerox PARC

Metamedium Concept

A Platform for all the already existing artistic media

“Simulation is the central notion of Dynabook”

Mapp old media to generate new media





Metamedium Concept

Ted Nelson Hypertext & Hipermedia

Engelbart Automated external symbolmanipulation

Kay Metamedium

“Meta” = “Hypper”




“A personal Computer for Children of All Ages”


Apple 1984

First Macintosh

128 KUS$2,495

Included: Word Processing (Mac Write)Drawing Application (Mac Draw)

Brought the vision of Xerox to consumers




AppleSteve Jobs visit to Xerox

1979

when Steve was 24 years old


EnglebartAlan Kay

Ted NelsonShutherlandNegroponte

Add more Properties

Pioneers and inventors of

computational media

Personal Dynamic Media

DevelopersDesignersArchitects

Programmers

Metamedium


Processing 2000By Ana Oliveira in “Generativismos”

“Especulações semi-codificadas; Aleatoriedade como regra”



ConclusionThe computer seen as a cultural tool framework

Dynabook has introduced a new paradigm in computer history by being established on the “Metamedium” concept and “Universal Media Machine”;

The new media are considered to be new when the add new properties to an existing one as all media live in a process of remediation;

According to Manovich, the semantic of the media didn’t followed the revolution of digital development and growth;

Mentions Apple as being responsible for closing the open source software democratization in the beginning of the 80’s, however allowing later the sharing of new languages to come forward.

Technology

Software Takes Command by Manovich