Not so ugly...

http://www.appstate.edu/~shackletonsl1/ugly/notugly.html

Ugly!!

http://www.appstate.edu/~shackletonsl1/ugly/ugly.html

First Writing

My first encounter with a computer all began when my grandmother made her first purchase of a Dell. My grandmother used to live on the same street as me and I can still remember walking to her house after school when I got off the school bus to go get on her computer. However, my first experiences were not of getting on the actual internet. I would always get on various games that were already installed on her computer and she also would buy me the educational software games that I could get on and play. I spent quiet a bit of time playing the mouse and cat game as well as minesweeper. I was much too young to be operating a computer for a I never understood the concept of shutting down the computer. Instead, when the computer would freeze up I would jerk the plug from the wall and then plug it back in. Seemed to work just fine until the computer crashed....sorry Memaw!The one thing that I do remember early on about actually connecting to the internet was the sound of the dial up whenever we would access the internet. The sound was one of a kind and forever recognizable I could hardly stand it. It only was a reminder that it wasn't in fact high speed internet.

As sound was the first thing that came to mind when thinking back, another recognizable trait about earlier internet use was the imagery of older programs. I still remember the old original American Online logo design. It really has came a long way! My first real frequent experiences being online was when I developed my own screen name. I was so young I didn't really have a purpose to be online a lot other than to talk to friends. Eventually, instead of relying on my grandmothers computer my mom ended up purchasing one for my older sister. She in which got her screen name first and gave me the idea, go figure.

My relationship with the internet was much similar to Vannever Busch's when he gained his insight on how the internet could or should work. I was hooked on it and have been ever since. The new technology was something that I was always learning and advancing in where as my parents had to come to me to learn how to do things. For example, my Dad still has no idea how to use the internet in such a way that is useful. I was talking with him on the phone the other day and asked if he could check my mom's email and his response was “the only thing I know how to do is get to the used car dealership page.”

I guess if I didn't feel similar feelings to his theory then I would not have chosen the major that I am, being Graphic Design. It is amazing to me that when I was young I can remember web code very vaguely. I was always curious as to what it meant and how a website was created. I was first introduced to web coding barely a year ago and my interpretation of it before is much different than what I have learned it to be now. Vannever Bush's vision is really something that has made my future possible. I have never viewed the internet as a negative advancement because a lot of it is just an easier way to advertise businesses. It may not have been his initial idea for the memex to be geared for advertising but with his idea further explored it is one of the great outcomes from it.

I feel that another great aspect of the invention of the internet is the extensive amount of research that we can access with the click of a button. This is very much so one of the ideas Vannever Bush had in mind as he was drawing out his concept of the “memex”. In his “As We May Think” essay he predicted that many kinds of technology would come from this device such as the internet, the World Wide Web, online encyclopedias. He stated “wholly new forms of encyclopedias will appear readily made.” Once again looking back I can remember coming home from school just when I was in elementary school and having to define definitions as homework and I would use the online dictionary because it got to the point where it was quicker and easier for me and more easily accessible. I wanted to get my homework done as quickly as possible so I could go out and play. Many say that technology has taken away from the amount of activity that children participate in. I could maybe take that argument at this point in time but back when it was first being introduced it really only had a positive effect on me.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's speaking of the advancement of the wood stove he was referring to this new technology as being a threat to social and domestic life. I think that his way of envisioning it was not very realistic to me. You are capable of making what you want of your interaction with new technologies and you don't have to pick up a video game controller or sit at a computer all day playing games or engage in any activity that takes away from your social life.