Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Nicholas Negroponte and VR

“VR can make the artificial as realistic as, and even more realistic than, the real” (Negroponte 116). “VR started as far back as 1968, when none other than Ivan Sutherland built the first head-mounted display system” (Negroponte 118). The military would use this interactivity to give the soldiers hands-on experience in times of attack. When Negroponte says that virtual reality can be more realistic than the real, he is making the point that with so many simulations being utilized, more scenarios can be looked at and prepared for. “In the simulator, a pilot can be subjected to all sorts of rare situations that, in the real world, could be impossible, could require more than a near miss, or could rip apart an actual plane” (Negroponte 117). With this technological advancement, virtual reality can be used as a more cost effective way of training than actually training in an expensive piece of aircraft, or any other type of machinery. For instance, a pilot can get more hours practicing at a cheaper cost for the government. Not only that, but it is a safety precaution. Instead of an amateur pilot controlling a real aircraft for the first time, he or she can control a simulator safely in all types of scenarios.

Not only can virtual reality be a beneficial source for training purposes, it can also be used for gaming. Gaming has become so advanced; virtual games are eagerly anticipated to the point of being expected. While VR may be too expensive at the moment, video game systems such as the Nintendo Wii and the XBOX360 have made much progress in the technological advancements of virtual gaming. These systems may not be the exact thing as virtual reality, but the graphics are advancing with almost every new system that arrives. VR may soon be apart of households all around the world. “Sega and Nintendo will also be extinct if they do not wake up to the fact that PCs are eating their lunch” (Negroponte 115). Nintendo did wake up with the Wii. It is a video game system that has motion sensitive controls. The Wii remotes can be used as extensions of the player’s hands and arms by duplicating the movements of a baseball bat, sword, or even golf club. Personal computers used to be too expensive for the average person to buy, but now computers have a place in millions of homes all over the world. This can be the same for virtual reality one day. Game systems have already made huge leaps towards virtual reality.

Virtual reality in many homes may be just around the corner for virtually every consumer. There are many advantages to this interactivity. It can be used for safety precautions, economic benefits, and gaming. This innovation created years ago is still advancing and will eventually become many of our everyday lives.


Negroponte, Nicholas. Being Digital. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Writing on McLuhan's The Medium is the Message

McLuhan states that “the medium shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action.” “The content or uses of such media are as diverse as they are ineffectual in shaping the form of human association.” “Indeed, it is only too typical that the content of any medium blinds us to the character of the medium.”(McLuhan) So, the medium carries the message, which stores the content and without the medium there can be no content and therefore, eliminating the message?

I liked the example he gave of the electric light and baseball at night. McLuhan said that it can be argued that the night baseball could be the content and then he went on in saying that without the electric light, there would be no night baseball. This reiterates the point of without the medium, there can be no content. Although I can see this point, it is possible to play baseball at night without light. Someone may get hurt, but it can be done. But, does this point make the case for the other point? If there is no light (the medium) there can be no night baseball (the content), but if there is no light and there is night baseball, does this mean that the baseball in itself becomes the medium? Later on in the writing, McLuhan states that it is not till the electric light is used to spell out some brand name that it is noticed as a medium. Then it is not the light but the content, which is also another medium. (McLuhan)

So, the medium is the message. Our cell phones, computers, and even possibly the iPod’s are new media’s form of mediums. Without these, the messages or content that we receive are reduced. And just because we are in a culture of new media rather than old media, the concepts haven’t changed according to McLuhan. Without books, there can be no book content. The medium is the message.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

My name is Josh Gates and I love golf. I play anytime I have a chance. i have a pet cat. His name is Simon.