Technology: The Digital Information Age1

The Digital ParadigmConvergenceSolid State ElectronicsHuman-Machine Interface

Paul E. Ceruzzi

Extend Ceruzzi’s discussion

about the “digital information age” (xvi)

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Weave in what you learned about Rushkoff’s notion of taking control over your life

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“Do we construct machines that do what is technically feasible and adapt the human to their capabilities, or do we consider what humans cannot do well and try to construct machines that address those deficiencies?

The answer is to do both, or a little of each, within the constraints of the existing technological base” (42-43)

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Bit: “the measure of information” (3); a binary signal; the smallest unit that “splits all signals [going into a computer] into two classes” (flowing and not flowing) (10)

Logic Blocks: And, Or, Inversion are “connected in order to create other functions” [taking place on a computer] (11); adapted from Boolean logic by Claude Shannon (3)

Byte: The smallest unit of storage that can be accessed in a computer's memory (RAM or ROM) holding 8 bits

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Eight bits grouped together form a byte

KB = kilobyte = about 1,000 (one thousand) bytesMB = megabyte = about 1,000,000 (one million) bytesGB= gigabyte = about 1,000,000,000 (one billion) bytes

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Machine

Generations of Programming Languages

Machine Code IndependentAda, Pascal

Newer GenerationsLISP, JAVA

Binary (0, 1)

SymbolicAssembler

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Program

Working/a Programming Language > Machine-Language Instructions, via Operating System

Stored in the computer’s Memory

Represented by patterns of Bits based on Logic Blocks (AND, OR, INVERT)

Implemented by Switches, in Parallel or in a Series

Controlling a physical substance like electricity or water, sending one of two Signals: 1 and 0

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Rushkoff’s Notion of Taking Control over Your Life

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8 bits (1 byte) x 32 bit computer = 256Numbers range from 0 to 255 for each of the three colorswith 0, 0, 0 = Black; and 255, 255, 255 = White 1

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Hexa- (Greek for “6”) + Decimal (Latin for “10th”) = 16*

Base 16 Number System

The first six letters of the Latin alphabet (A - F) + numbers 0-9

*Note: The pure Latin form would be "sexadecimal", but it was believed that computer hackers would shorten the word to "sex". The etymologically correct Greek term would be hexadecadic (Modern Greek deca-hexadic (δεκαεξαδικός) is more commonly used).

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“Hex” “Decimal System”0= 01= 12= 23= 34= 45= 56= 67= 78= 89= 9A= 10B= 11C= 12D= 13E= 14F= 15

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Expressed in binary code: 01001111

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Expressed in “hex”: 4F, or (4 = 0100, F = 1111)

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“Hex” “Decimal System”0= 01= 12= 23= 34= 45= 56= 67= 78= 89= 9A= 10B= 11C= 12D= 13E= 14F= 15

“B60023”

B & 6 = Red0 & 0 = Green2 & 3 = Blue

B6: Multiply B, or 11, by 16 to get 176, then add 6 to give you 182.

00: Divide by 16 gives 0. So, no green

23: Multiply 2 by 16 to get 32, then add 3 to give you 35

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Knowing how computers work allows you to expand your use of color in your design work.

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“Approach to Provincetown” (1948), by De Hirsh Margules, Heckscher Museum of Art