- Nelson coined "Hypertext", as well as the original concept. It is noted however that it differs from what we generally acknowledge as hypertext today (the internet, with its "chunk-style" info setup, where one static link might lead to another and so on).
-Starts by pointing out the need for a dynamic system of file storage/retrieval, one that can be shifted/rearranged to suit a number of needs at any given moment.
-Proposed solution: Evolutionary List File, or ELF, to be written in PRIDE.
-Began work in 1960, ultimately intent on the Dream file, a sort of file that would hold information just the way the user wanted, in a very user-specific order/layout. Makes sense so far, I absolutely can't stand having to pack up an in-progress workspace, only to have to come back to the project or whatever it is and then unpack again, and take the time to settle back into that familiar zone of comfort/convenience.
-Obstacles: Cost, sense of need, design - actually making the thing
-Relating back to the worksace idea, this seems like it'd strive to be an ultimate workspace tracker, keeping tabs on certain steps the user's taken to make the progress that he or she has, and being able to recall to any previous decision at the push of button, to potentially branch out on a separate idea from there. -Totally hypertextual.
Oh Hey, Some More Ted Nelson: Nelson Wiki
-born in 1937, he is a sociologist, philosopher, and pioneer of information technology
-founded Project Xanadu in 1960, intent on creating an easy to use computer network
-the project never quite came to be. Though it seems as though Nelson was more concerned with the ideology behind it, as it is noted that he still advocates it.
-Co-founded IBM as a retailer, and eventually influenced them to put out their own PC.
-Working on the ZigZag data structure, which seems a bit derivative of some of his original ideas from Xanadu.
-Coined "Populitism", relating to the idea of authority within a writing space should be local and contingient
Nelson's Hyperland:
-also a poet
- as such, i guess its interesting to point out how much the man enjoys the word "hither".
-points out that the world wide web was not in fact his idea, contrary to what some have said of him.
Nelson's Literary Machines:
-Literary Machines - Nelson's first book, published in 1980.
-Delves greatly into Nelsons's Term "Hypertext", and his Project Xanadu.
-Discusses his theories on "tumblers", "transclusion", and "microPayments".
-The book itself is nonlinear, and can be followed in most any order, so long, I assume, as there is some logical thought behind the chosen order, in terms of "Hey, reading x just made me think of y, let me go and look further into y". Then again, something along the lines of "Hey, while reading about x, y, totally unrelated, came to mind, let me look further into that" seems feasible as well.
Eccescopy, Part 1
-Starts with the idea of "The game is in there, you just can't open the box yet". An interesting sentiment, which pretty much puts forth the notion of setting a goal for the future, and working towards that goal. In this case, the goal was Sims 4, despite Sims 2 still being in production. I guess it also goes to say that having some tangible reminder of your goal is also something important, for the sake of motivation, etc.
-Eccescopy - Ecce stands for eye centered computer environment.
-An eccescope, Perlin says, is a device that enables the user to see an alternate world created within the computer cloud, alongside what is seen in the real world. Augmented Reality.
Eccescopy, Part 2
-one example: Video wherein ideas are shown to be pulled out of thin air and manipulated.
- generally the idea behind augmented reality seems consist of being able to manipulate and interact with images, information, etc, as it is visually represented (not actually there/physically intagible) by some sort of computing technology, whether its a smartphone, through the lens of a computer, projector, etc.
-most interesting to me was the Magic Projection Demo, as it brings the AR into a realm in which many people can interact with it all within the same instance, as opposed to each viewer requiring their own personal viewer.
Eccescopy, Part 3
-Here, Perlin states that an early example of eccescopy can be seen in the original Star Wars films, where characters look at what I originally perceived as being holograms, or projections of images into a shared physical space, similarly to how people watch a television, only the image is projected into thin air.
-Speak of the Devil, (the devill having been referred to in the previous post) Perlin also points out the idea of the eccescope not disrupting the shared physical space, meaning the user/viewer doesn't require his/her own apparatus to view whatever it is thats being shown.
Eccescopy, Part 4
-Holodust eccescopy - a more physical take on the idea of thin-air projection. (Physical being in reference to their being actual particles in the air). The premise here is that a cloud of particles is precisely lit up to create the image of something being projected in thin air.
- Points out that the Heliodisplay technology is not in fact eccescopic, as there isn't interactivity to it. No that the previous example can necessarily be physically fiddled with, but the distinction here lies in the fact that the Holodust renders a multi-dimensional image that can be observed from different angles, where as the Heliodisplay is simply a flat image, and will remain the same no matter how it is viewed.
Eccescopy, Part 10
-Finally the idea of individual eccescopes.
-Perlin mentions that if the eccesope is to be made into something for everyone in everyday life, it must be something unobtrusive, that wouldn't interfere too much with things like being able to make eye contact.
Eccescopy, Part 14
- There are plenty of things to take into consideration when working on technology that will potentially change the way we live our every day lives, such as community, and how we will end up interacting with others because of it.
-Nonetheless, Perlin refers to his previous model of the Sims, though now the Sims 5, and how not quite having the means to achieve your ends yet in no way means that new ends should cease to be thought of.
Eccescopy, Part 18
-Privacy in an ambiscopic world.
-Is there such a thing anymore, now that everyone has the ability to record another?
-Perlin points out there is a good and a bad side to everyone now having some sort of a recording device at the ready.
-Bad: As mentioned, no one really has any privacy anymore, when it comes to public sphere.
-Good: Uses the example of the anti-war protest, and how such injustice would be nearly impossible nowadays, as there is more of a public-generated source of info with which others can compare that which they simply hear or read about in the sometimes heavly edited/agenda-oriented mainstream.
"Relating back to the worksace idea, this seems like it'd strive to be an ultimate workspace tracker, keeping tabs on certain steps the user's taken to make the progress that he or she has, and being able to recall to any previous decision at the push of button, to potentially branch out on a separate idea from there. -Totally hypertextual."
ReplyDeleteI think your summary of the ELF is a good one. Seems to me what he imagined was not simply an organizational tool, but kind of an extension of the brain. The way I read it, the project he had in mind would know our thought patterns better than we do...