Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

If you are reading this post, chances are you are using WiFi, or wireless fidelity. Before WiFi, any device accessing the Internet had to be physically connected, either by phone line or Ethernet cable. Nowadays, many ordinary web surfers never have to deal with hooking up a wire to their device to access the Internet, thanks to WiFi. A WiFi router like the one here acts as the gateway between many wireless devices and a single Internet connection. My generation has witnessed the shift from wired to wireless communication, either over WiFi or a cellular data network.

Most of the time, I don’t even think about being on the WiFi network nearby wherever I am because in general, my device joins automatically. WiFi is ubiquitous. At WSU, the WSU Wireless network blanket the campus, even outdoors. Coffee shops, gyms, airports, trains, buses, and even airplanes now offer free WiFi, often without a password. So many people take WiFi for granted that when it goes down, people become upset, even if it is provided as a courtesy. Recently, many laptops have been shipped without Ethernet ports to facilitate a wired Internet connection in exchange for slimmer designs, further necessitating WiFi connectivity.

A Linksys WRT54G wireless router. Photo by Charlie Hanacek, August 2018

I chose this particular router because I happened to have it, but also because it was one of the best selling early WiFi routers. The Linksys WRT54G served both consumer and enterprise customers. The blue and gray case with the double antennas was an iconic design that proved to be successful. These routers were designed to be vertically stackable with each other in order to increase the number of possible WiFi users in a single area. I remember walking into my local public library and seeing one mounted on the wall to provide free-to-access Internet in 2008.

The router pictured here would be relatively slow by today’s standards, but certainly usable for normal web browsing. The Media Archaeology Lab‘s mission is to keep new technology in perspective with old technology. In this way, people who are accustomed to browsing the Internet with the latest WiFi standards might get frustrated if they experienced slow speeds. However, those slow speeds would probably be top-of-the-line for this WiFi router. I don’t use this router for my day to day tasks, but if I had to, it would probably work great.

The technological artifact I chose was my Polaroid camera. I chose this because it mainly defines me, but also somewhat defines my generation. While Polaroid cameras are not new products, they have made quite a come back. Polaroids and the small photos they create have created an aesthetic for my generation. A lot of people post photos of Polaroids and/or have them strung up in various rooms in their homes. Even if you don’t have a Polaroid camera, you somehow end up with a Polaroid photo of your own.

Polaroids have created an aesthetic for my generation. (Photo by Jenna Walker, 2018)

Why I think this defines me is because out of all my friends I feel like I am the one who likes to document the moments we share together. Bringing a Polaroid in to the mix provides actual photos for us rather than what is on our phones or posted to various social media platforms.
These small photos create more sentimental value and something that can be carried with everywhere. Like I said before, Polaroids are not new products. I believe that Polaroids cameras will be around for a long time because they are a very interactive way to take photos. They have been used for many years despite the newer versions of cameras that are available for purchase, people still buy Polaroid cameras.

After visiting the MAL website, it is apparent that there is always something new coming out. Bringing this back to my artifact, it is obvious that the cameras being released and bought now are the new versions. Some cameras now even have WiFi so that photos can be sent directly to a phone or computer. The quality on cameras has improved as well, with today’s cameras no one has to be concerned with how the photos will develop because cameras also have a feature to adjust brightness, increase contrast, and other tools that were not provided on Polaroids or other older cameras. Overall, the MAL showed that there are always new “up-to-date, cutting-edge, tools available,” and compare the old to the new providing a fresh outlook and appreciation for the tools that are provided that once weren’t.

The fireworks illustrate point and line. Photo by Claire Martin, July 2016.

Every image, whether it be a photograph or digital creation, contains some sort of point, line, or plane. However, it’s the way in which these concepts are used that classifies the compositional elements. In the first image, many little points in the form of sparks make up lines (by definition a series of points) that draw the eye towards focal points at the center of the fireworks. The eye is drawn to the center of the fireworks due to the contrast between the dark night sky and the bright fireworks, which act as leading lines.

This photo of British Museum ceiling illustrates line. Photo by Claire Martin, July 2016.

What I find interesting about the second image is that the lines appear to be fairly straight in some areas yet have more curvature in other places. Additionally, the thickness of the lines changes throughout the photo; the lines in the upper right appear to be thinner, while those in the bottom and upper left appear thicker. Finally, the eye is drawn to the sun in the left of the photo because of its brightness and the leading lines that seem to almost open up as them approach it.

This image displays plane and line. Photo by Claire Martin, July 2016.

The sign in this image is an example of plane because it’s simply a flat surface with height and width. I love the juxtaposition of the smooth, 2-dimensional sign with its straight, precise lines and the texture and curvature of the 3-dimensional grass within the forefront of the image. The contrasting white of the sign and boldness of the text draw the eye away from the natural greens in the foreground and background.

This image displays volume, as well as line and contrast. Photo by Claire Martin, July 2016.

This image displays volume as the height, width, and depth of the building’s chimneys and pop outs are visible. I love the many differing textures and styles of architecture pictured and the contrast between the white windows and the dark building. This photo uses the concept of line in the form of leading lines, drawing the viewers eye to the left due to the angle, as well as to separate the different parts of the building. Line can also be seen within the image’s textures, including the brickwork of central tower and the shingles of darker section.

The scale of an object can determine a significant amount about it. A small dot would on an empty canvas would likely be referred to as a point, while a much larger dot may be thought of as a plane. Similarly, a thin line would be thought of as just that: a line, while a much thicker line could be thought of as a plane. An example would be the newly designed Diet Coke can we examined in class. The stripe on the can be thought of as merely a thick line or a plane.

These are my Apple headphones I use to listen to music and watch TV shows (Photo by Milo Larson, August 2018).

Growing up I enjoyed listening to music my parents used to play off CDs in the house or on long car rides. When MP3 players were first released I received one as a birthday gift as well as a pair of cheap headphones that came with the device. I downloaded a couple of songs and would listen to them on repeat for weeks. Eventually I bought an iPod Shuffle with the money I had saved up and with it came my first pair of Apple headphones. These Apple headphones are the same type of headphones I use daily with my iPhone because of their availability and growing popularity.

I feel that these headphones not only represent my personal life, but my generation as a whole. People my age, whether or not they use them, usually have a pair of these exact headphones lying around somewhere. Although the idea of an device meant strictly for playing music is gone, the Apple headphones are still often used with any smartphone device. Overall, these headphones have been around for years and although they are evolving in ways such a Bluetooth capabilities, I don’t see them being outdated anytime soon.

This is a photo of an amazon echo dot which is something that I use on a day to day basis (Photo taken from amazon.com, 2018).

The technological artifact that I chose to share with the class was my amazon echo dot. This is something that I feel defines my generation because it is one of the first pieces of technology that embodies the sole purpose of listening and responding to spoken commands alone. There is no need to press any buttons on the device—everything can be done through audio. It is really nice to be able to ask a question into thin air and have an answer within seconds.

I think that this device is very important to my generation because it has many convenient capabilities such as turning on various things throughout the home as well as playing music and answering questions among other things. This device is very innovative. My generation as a whole like to have devices that are easy to use and help us in our day to day lives. This device definitely embodies all of those qualities and makes life much easier for some people. This device is especially important for people who may suffer from debilitating disabilities. It could potentially give someone the opportunity to perform a task in which they could not do prior to the invention of this technology.

I think that the Media Archaeology Lab is an extremely important organization because they preserve devices which may have been just as important as my echo dot is to me. However, these devices could have belonged to our parents or even our grandparents. It is amazing that we are able to touch and hold those devices to see how they work rather than just seeing pictures of them on a computer screen. I think it is so interesting that we can actually use some of the devices we have heard older generations talk about but never got to personally experience.