Benjamin H. Bratton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029575
- eISBN:
- 9780262330183
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029575.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter discusses the fifth of six layers in The Stack, the Interface layer. The chapter outlines a typological history of interfaces, from the mechanical and the iconic to the haptic and the ...
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This chapter discusses the fifth of six layers in The Stack, the Interface layer. The chapter outlines a typological history of interfaces, from the mechanical and the iconic to the haptic and the gestural. Interfaces are the membrane through which Users address The Stack, and it in turn addresses them. As an interactive visual diagram, graphical user interfaces (GUI) present a visually coherent image of otherwise opaque systemic flows. Suites of interfaces, provided by specific platforms, cohere into intrerfacial regimes that structure how a User understands The Stack and the range of possible actions that might be made. New interface technologies, such as augmented reality, superimpose interfacial elements directly into the perceptual field, and this capacity to render an imagined community of objects and subjects by collapsing the metaphorical space between object and interpretation can engender weird kinds of cognitive fundamentalism.Less
This chapter discusses the fifth of six layers in The Stack, the Interface layer. The chapter outlines a typological history of interfaces, from the mechanical and the iconic to the haptic and the gestural. Interfaces are the membrane through which Users address The Stack, and it in turn addresses them. As an interactive visual diagram, graphical user interfaces (GUI) present a visually coherent image of otherwise opaque systemic flows. Suites of interfaces, provided by specific platforms, cohere into intrerfacial regimes that structure how a User understands The Stack and the range of possible actions that might be made. New interface technologies, such as augmented reality, superimpose interfacial elements directly into the perceptual field, and this capacity to render an imagined community of objects and subjects by collapsing the metaphorical space between object and interpretation can engender weird kinds of cognitive fundamentalism.
Alan Dix
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- March 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198799603
- eISBN:
- 9780191839832
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198799603.003.0008
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Logic / Computer Science / Mathematical Philosophy
This chapter explores how precise formal methods can be used effectively and practically in interaction design. The term ‘formal methods’ in computer science refers to a suite of techniques drawing ...
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This chapter explores how precise formal methods can be used effectively and practically in interaction design. The term ‘formal methods’ in computer science refers to a suite of techniques drawing on mathematical notions of sets, logic, and functions or precise diagrammatic notations, most of which are currently primarily focused on safety-critical applications in the aerospace or nuclear industries. While research into broader use of these methods could be regarded as a theoretical interest, the early development of formal methods was driven as much by practical considerations as theory. This chapter features two case studies on formal notations and their use in areas of practical interaction design beyond safety-critical applications, as well as understood, used, and appropriated by clients and designers who have no formal training or expertise. Each offers specific notations and techniques to the reader and also explores more general lessons for creating practical formal methods for HCI.Less
This chapter explores how precise formal methods can be used effectively and practically in interaction design. The term ‘formal methods’ in computer science refers to a suite of techniques drawing on mathematical notions of sets, logic, and functions or precise diagrammatic notations, most of which are currently primarily focused on safety-critical applications in the aerospace or nuclear industries. While research into broader use of these methods could be regarded as a theoretical interest, the early development of formal methods was driven as much by practical considerations as theory. This chapter features two case studies on formal notations and their use in areas of practical interaction design beyond safety-critical applications, as well as understood, used, and appropriated by clients and designers who have no formal training or expertise. Each offers specific notations and techniques to the reader and also explores more general lessons for creating practical formal methods for HCI.
Kenneth B. McAlpine
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- November 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190496098
- eISBN:
- 9780190496135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190496098.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western, Popular
This chapter examines the cultural phenomenon that was Nintendo’s Game Boy and suggests that its portability and low cost was pivotal in taking chiptune from primarily a desktop activity to something ...
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This chapter examines the cultural phenomenon that was Nintendo’s Game Boy and suggests that its portability and low cost was pivotal in taking chiptune from primarily a desktop activity to something that could be taken onstage and gigged. Crucial to the Game Boy’s success was Tetris, the machine’s ‘killer app’. It was such a hit that its music made the transition from silicon to vinyl, demonstrating that video game music could be popular music in its own right. After the release of Nanoloop and Little Sound DJ in the late 1990s, musicians realized that the Game Boy was more than just a handheld gaming device; it was a cheap and very portable music workstation. The chapter concludes by looking at how this idea has driven a new wave of equipment hacking, as users have rediscovered and reinvented vintage consoles as musical instruments.Less
This chapter examines the cultural phenomenon that was Nintendo’s Game Boy and suggests that its portability and low cost was pivotal in taking chiptune from primarily a desktop activity to something that could be taken onstage and gigged. Crucial to the Game Boy’s success was Tetris, the machine’s ‘killer app’. It was such a hit that its music made the transition from silicon to vinyl, demonstrating that video game music could be popular music in its own right. After the release of Nanoloop and Little Sound DJ in the late 1990s, musicians realized that the Game Boy was more than just a handheld gaming device; it was a cheap and very portable music workstation. The chapter concludes by looking at how this idea has driven a new wave of equipment hacking, as users have rediscovered and reinvented vintage consoles as musical instruments.
