Tablet computing
The physical and shape of computers are changing. The creation of the tablet computer, while technically existing before, is vying to overtake the desktop computer. The Apple iPod2, the Motorola Xoom, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, to name a few, are currently some of the most highly sought after tablet computers.
The use of a tablet incorporates the functionality of a computer alongside our, perhaps very human desire, for tactility. In utilizing this form of computing, we are closing the distance between the traditional CPU, monitor and keyboard and ourselves. I think this is a real example of how we are becoming more and more like machines because the distance we must extend to use the machines is shrinking. I wonder if tablet manipulation is a skill we will all have to learn. For example, I know that anciet scribers were made obsolete by the printing press, are we headed towards something similar?
Google Voice
Google Voice, on the surface, appears to be a Skype-like clone. Embedded within the very popular Google email service, Gmail, Google Voice users can now have a telephone number, complete with voicemail that transcribes voicemail messages, and can be forwarded to any cell or land line. As of the writing of this blog post, this service is free.
However, the functionality of the computer program is much more than a means for communicating. It is dictating how we choose to communicate with others: will I email or call or text; or will I simply ignore you? (It is also possible to text a Google Voice number from Gmail or from a cell phone.) Google Voice, while having a very practical application in our lives, adds a layer of distraction to the already immensely distracting email.
Digital Cameras
The digital camera is a device that takes pictures--much like the old 35mm or 120mm photographic cameras, like the Yashica 635 above which is currently the camera I use--and creates digital (binary-code) files that represents that image on the computer. The files can be uploaded to the internet and shared on sites Picasa or Flickr, or even Facebook. It is an affordable device that has progressed over the past years to include professional-level devices that take images that cannot be stored on memory cards and have to be connected to external hard drives or computers. A digital camera can be had today for as little as fifteen dollars in RiteAid or Walgreens.
The practice of taking a photograph, in the past, involved having a camera, understanding how to use the camera (many devices were automatic, but a fair number of them required one to understand the complex balance between F stop, aperture, film speed, and lens speed!), having film, developing that film, and then waiting until the images were given back to you. There was a definite finite feeling to the taking of images in 35mm (usually 24 or 36 exposures) or 120mm (only twelve exposures). You could take more pictures of you had more film, but it would cost more to develop more film.
There was a composition process to the taking of photographs in film that is very different from taking a digital photo. With a digital photograph, you can immediately see your work, adjust settings and retake them. You can take thousands of shots in hope of finding that perfect shot. With a film camera, you have to plan out your shots and hope you capture what you think you captured.
The digital camera has entirely changed how we compose pictures. For better or worse, that's for the individual photographer to decide!
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