I find this topic funny because it is experienced by everyone, has been experienced since computers were popularized, and still exists today. I will open my discussion with the greatest battle of our time: PC vs MAC.
I remember when I was younger that there had not been a Microsoft Word for Macs out yet, or it was highly incompatible. Some students were forced to either buy PCs or work in the libraries on hw assignments. This seemed silly to all of us. Why can’t there just be one device or one program that everyone can use? Especially since this program is a necessity to writing!
Some stereotypes have existed in the past about PCs being for nerdy programmers and MACs for artists. This has been debunked. In reality MAC is a hardware/software company and traditionally PC has not been. Many hardware can run PC but only one hardware traditionally runs MAC. This is why MAC prices are typically higher. MAC is the only company that sells MAC hardware/software. The main noticeable difference though is the user interface. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZXY5990xZs)
As far as formatting is concerned, I will take the case study of CommonApp for college admission in 2013. The CommonApp was created as a way for students to send one essay to multiple schools at the same time. Typically many students procrastinate and do not submit applications until the last minute. When this happened apparently after copy/pasting their admissions essays they became mis-formatted completely across all of their potential schools. This is an issue because it leaves a negative impression of yourself with your potential university. Admissions may ask a few questions: Why is their font so large? Why did they use that font and not the requested one. Why didn’t they indent their paragraphs? Students were outraged. (http://nyti.ms/1LXJCVX)
My last observation looks at the age of software/hardware. At what point should we require that documents are created and saved to the newest format? Is it okay to run the newest software on the oldest hardware? In the case of entertainment media: will every “classic” have to be remade to the newest format? What is our process of doing so? Is it easy or difficult?
In summary I wonder: Is there a sense of nostalgia for older hardware? Why do companies make products backwards-compatible? Can/should we be able to blame our technology for formatting issues? Or do we blame ourselves for not being fully prepared and aware of such disasters? Is it our responsibility to look up a frequently asked question on how to fix something? Or are we stuck with endless loops of auto-generated customer service?
-Angelo Lambroschino
PS: I'm actually having trouble indenting my paragraphs. I blame wiki.
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Technological Nostalgia
Do you believe in time travel? For many of us, our greatest wish is to return to a better time; to a moment that we cherished most. But what makes a moment and why can’t we relive it again in the present? I would argue that a moment is made up of the sounds, style, mood, and overall feeling of unique comfort. Being a “90s Kid”, it bring me great joy when I can play my Nintendo 64 again on my tube tv while listening to Oasis on my Casette stereo inside of my pastel colored room.
Thankfully, my generation is extremely creative. We have created time travel through a new musical genre called Vaporwave. Take a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVxQTXvOZo0 .
Vaporwave isn’t just a musical scene though, it’s a microgenre (think of it as a sub-sub culture). I found the best explanation for what Vaporwave is given through a Vice article:
“To put it another way, imagine taking bits of 80's Muzak, late-night infomercials, smooth jazz, and that tinny tune receptionists play when they put you on hold, then chopping that up, pitching it down, and scrambling it to the point where you’ve got saxophone goo dripping out of a cheap plastic valve. That’s vaporwave.” (Michelle Lhoqq) (https://thump.vice.com/en_ca/article/is-vaporwave-the-next-seapunk)
This is a noticeable trend; the popular now will become the classic/vintage/old school of tomorrow. Perhaps this is why there are so many tv channels that play “classic” content and why there are radio stations dedicated to a particular decade. We place great value on the past to remind us of what we were like back then. However, can living in the past or being stuck in the past be a crutch that we can’t get past? Is nostalgia good or bad? A NYT article describes the benefits of nostalgia:
So then, perhaps these are some of the reasons why games are remade and music and movies are remastered. By preserving our past we can hopefully one day return to relive it again.
-Angelo Lambroschino
Lhooq, Michelle. "Is Vaporwave The Next Seapunk? | Thump."Thump RSS. N.p., 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
I remember when I was younger that there had not been a Microsoft Word for Macs out yet, or it was highly incompatible. Some students were forced to either buy PCs or work in the libraries on hw assignments. This seemed silly to all of us. Why can’t there just be one device or one program that everyone can use? Especially since this program is a necessity to writing!
Some stereotypes have existed in the past about PCs being for nerdy programmers and MACs for artists. This has been debunked. In reality MAC is a hardware/software company and traditionally PC has not been. Many hardware can run PC but only one hardware traditionally runs MAC. This is why MAC prices are typically higher. MAC is the only company that sells MAC hardware/software. The main noticeable difference though is the user interface. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZXY5990xZs)
As far as formatting is concerned, I will take the case study of CommonApp for college admission in 2013. The CommonApp was created as a way for students to send one essay to multiple schools at the same time. Typically many students procrastinate and do not submit applications until the last minute. When this happened apparently after copy/pasting their admissions essays they became mis-formatted completely across all of their potential schools. This is an issue because it leaves a negative impression of yourself with your potential university. Admissions may ask a few questions: Why is their font so large? Why did they use that font and not the requested one. Why didn’t they indent their paragraphs? Students were outraged. (http://nyti.ms/1LXJCVX)
My last observation looks at the age of software/hardware. At what point should we require that documents are created and saved to the newest format? Is it okay to run the newest software on the oldest hardware? In the case of entertainment media: will every “classic” have to be remade to the newest format? What is our process of doing so? Is it easy or difficult?
In summary I wonder: Is there a sense of nostalgia for older hardware? Why do companies make products backwards-compatible? Can/should we be able to blame our technology for formatting issues? Or do we blame ourselves for not being fully prepared and aware of such disasters? Is it our responsibility to look up a frequently asked question on how to fix something? Or are we stuck with endless loops of auto-generated customer service?
-Angelo Lambroschino
PS: I'm actually having trouble indenting my paragraphs. I blame wiki.
***
Technological Nostalgia
Do you believe in time travel? For many of us, our greatest wish is to return to a better time; to a moment that we cherished most. But what makes a moment and why can’t we relive it again in the present? I would argue that a moment is made up of the sounds, style, mood, and overall feeling of unique comfort. Being a “90s Kid”, it bring me great joy when I can play my Nintendo 64 again on my tube tv while listening to Oasis on my Casette stereo inside of my pastel colored room.
Thankfully, my generation is extremely creative. We have created time travel through a new musical genre called Vaporwave. Take a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVxQTXvOZo0 .
Vaporwave isn’t just a musical scene though, it’s a microgenre (think of it as a sub-sub culture). I found the best explanation for what Vaporwave is given through a Vice article:
“To put it another way, imagine taking bits of 80's Muzak, late-night infomercials, smooth jazz, and that tinny tune receptionists play when they put you on hold, then chopping that up, pitching it down, and scrambling it to the point where you’ve got saxophone goo dripping out of a cheap plastic valve. That’s vaporwave.” (Michelle Lhoqq) (https://thump.vice.com/en_ca/article/is-vaporwave-the-next-seapunk)
This is a noticeable trend; the popular now will become the classic/vintage/old school of tomorrow. Perhaps this is why there are so many tv channels that play “classic” content and why there are radio stations dedicated to a particular decade. We place great value on the past to remind us of what we were like back then. However, can living in the past or being stuck in the past be a crutch that we can’t get past? Is nostalgia good or bad? A NYT article describes the benefits of nostalgia:
“Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety. It makes people more generous to strangers and more tolerant of outsiders. Couples feel closer and look happier when they’re sharing nostalgic memories. On cold days, or in cold rooms, people use nostalgia to literally feel warmer.” (John Tierney) (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/science/what-is-nostalgia-good-for-quite-a-bit-research-shows.html?smid=pl-share)
So then, perhaps these are some of the reasons why games are remade and music and movies are remastered. By preserving our past we can hopefully one day return to relive it again.
-Angelo Lambroschino
Lhooq, Michelle. "Is Vaporwave The Next Seapunk? | Thump." Thump RSS. N.p., 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
"NostalgiaTAPE Vaporwave MIX." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Tierney, John. "What Is Nostalgia Good For? Quite a Bit, Research Shows."The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 July 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.