Group Members: Demetri Golden (A), Tony Prentice (B), Chelsea McNett (C), Mary Kate Snyder (D), & Matt Dalton (E)
A: Describe the elements of the new art form: the material, the actions, the way it is made and the way it is received (i.e., audience)
The Dynabook idea was the first time anyone had ever thought to use a laptop for more than just a device to help out people with their job such as a salesmen to display their product. Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg thought that computers could be used not only by adults, but by children too and for more than just work reasons. The Dynabook could be used by children to learn simple things, such as learning how to draw certain shapes, paint pictures, or to create to music. Alan Kay created software called “Small Talk” which made working with these activities possible. “Small Talk” takes computer langue and translates it into a simple button to click so that command prompt would soon enough become absolute. Also, “Small Talk” has come a long way since when it was first created back in 1980. The actual design for the Dynabook that Alan Kay had come up with has still not been made today, thirty six years later, but he says that laptops today have become almost equivalent to the ideas he had in mind thirty six years ago.
B: How does the technology of that time inform, produce or make possible this new art form?
The Dynabook really was the introduction to the later invented Laptop computer. At the time that dynabook was developed, there had been many advances in technology. The first predeccessor and one that really helped Dynabook takeoff was the introduction of sketchpad. Sketchpad's most recognizable features were its direct-manipulation interface, which allowed elements to be drawn based on constraints.
[http://www.newmediareader.com/cd_samples/Kay/index.html]
Also develped around this time was GRAIL, which, using the Rand Tablet and code for recognizing objects, the system would allow freehand input of letterforms, boxes, and lines, as well as corrections to previous drawings.
[http://www.newmediareader.com/cd_samples/Kay/index.html].
These ideas and concepts were put together to design something that could be used to program, but simple enough for children to use. The whole idea behind Dynabook became geared towards being used primarily with children. Sketchpad and Grail were really what helped produce dynabook more than anything else.
C: How does the technology of the time inform, produce or make possible new social interactions related to this new art form?
The Dynabook was initially just an idea, a sketch, at the time it was created. The idea of computers being small and personal was not even thought of as a possibility when Alan Kay designed it. Now, almost every single person has access to one or mulitple personal computers which are direct descendents of the original Dynabook sketch. First there were the personal desktop computers, then the laptops, then tablet PCs, but the closest relative to the Dynabook are smartphones and hand held gaming devices. The Dynabook has revolutionized social interactions, especially when discussing Smartphones and hand held gaming devices. While Smartphones allow people to connect and socialize with people over the phone, internet, and messaging system at any given time, leaving us open and available for interactions more frequently, hand held gaming devices have allowed users to disconnect from others, isolate themselves, and ignore their surroundings.
The true art behind Dynabooks is the computer language Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg developed which would power the Dynabook: SmallTalk. “It is "called "Smalltalk"--as in "programming should be a matter of ..." [Smalltalk] and "children should program in ..." [Smalltalk].” –Alan Kay. SmallTalk is based on being easy to use, because it offers objects to users to manipulate with simple commands, rather than long code. This is one of the earliest Object Programming Language. This has allowed people to communicate with technology without being specialists, which may change how we see computers. Instead of being mysterious, complicated entities, they can be manipulated, personal, and universally understood.
D: How does the new art form reflect on the art forms that preceded it?
Decades ago technology, such as the computer, was thought to be the most accelerated form of media at the time. In today’s world technology has surpassed engineer’s expectations and has become an everyday necessity to even the most common of man even children. The once slow and very large computer is now faster and smaller and shared computing has given way to personal computing not only at work and home but on portable devices. The computer has become very useful in such areas such as mathematics and science, business and health professions as well as for authors, journalists, musicians, and students. Although the computer can help people perform career orientated tasks more proficiently it can also be used for entertainment and pleasure opposed to business. Kay and Goldberg describe Xerox’s vision of the more personal and quicker portable desktop. It was envisioned to benefit all ages with particular attention to children. Xerox recognized the imagination and creativity of a child and used that as their vision when designing the most personal desktop that could be used in many ways. Their vision was to incorporate art into the computer’s everyday functions. Music and drawing could be done fast and easy by using applications that allowed the owner of the computer to interact with and manipulate the computer.
E: Explore the possible “critical” functions of the new art form.
The Dynabook vision challenged the first generation of computer engineers to think outside the box. It challenged them to not only think of computers as a tool for achieving business applications, but to also function as a new medium for creative expression. Alan Kay and his team sought to create an interactive electronic medium that would allow users, especially children, to interact with the machine, learn from it, and express their individuality through the graphic interface of the medium. The Dynabook vision would allow user’s to create drawings, poems, stories, music and storing them and making them available to be accessed whenever the user wanted. This is revolutionary because it allowed user’s to be as creative as they wanted and granted them the freedom for the first time to go back and replicate and change their original art, a luxury not provided by the previous art mediums. With the recent creation of netbooks, smart phones, and 3G wireless networks, Kay’s original idea of a Dynabook comes closer and closer to fruition.
Sources
http://www.smalltalk.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
http://www.wired.com/gadge
http://simberon.com/videos
http://video.google.com/vi
http://www.newmediareader.
www.manovich.net/26-kay-03
http://shrike.depaul.edu/~
http://www.youtube.com/wat
http://os.typepad.com/my_w
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk
http://www.newmediareader.com/cd_samples/Kay/index.html
http://shrike.depaul.edu/~jkendrick/media.pdf
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/11/museum-celebrat/
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