Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

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The technological artifact that I have chosen are Compact Discs (CD’s). I feel that it defines me personally and my generation as a whole because of its MANY  uses in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.  Throughout my childhood, I remember walking through each aisle of movies and video games at the Walmart, amazed at all content a single disc was capable of. Holding hours songs, an entire world of fighting video game characters, and playing whole movies from start to finish. I remember my aunts burning CD’s with their favorite bands and convincing them to make me a CD with RnB music, even through I probably didn’t know what half of the slang meant or who even was rapping. Nothing could compare to inserting my Mortal Combat game into my PlayStation and playing for hours without a care in the world. In comparison now, where people have to wait several minutes and even hours just to able to download games, and that’s including have the disc in the console.

The factor that I found interesting after visiting The Media Archaeology Lab’s website is the focus on older technology and how its limited role in todays era. Compact Discs are of course still being used for movies, and music albums but less often now because of the grown popularity of Spotify, SoundCloud, and Netflix. Before these digital applications, there was actually shopping physically and handpicking that 50 Cent CD or renting out the latest fast and furious movie from Blockbuster. Now that disc format has been replaced with online gaming at least for me has changed my view on video games. The only thing that is left is the nostalgia and the appreciation for times that were simpler.

This picture depicts a Polaroid camera and the pictures it takes. This picture was on the Carousell website which is a platform used to sell items. (Carousell, Instax Mini 8 Yellow Polaroid Camera, 2017)

My digital artifact is a polaroid camera. This is a camera that can take pictures and immediately print that photograph on a small film. This camera is something I was very fascinated by when it first hit the market. I loved the idea of being able to take pictures of things that are important to me and having the instant gratification of getting a hard copy of that photo in a matter of seconds. I took my camera to Hawaii with me last summer and I took amazing quality pictures of the beaches, sunset, seals, and my family that I will have forever. Not only is this camera special to me, it is also a great representation of my generation. As millennials, we get so caught up in taking pictures of everything and photographing special moments that sometimes we forget to actually live in the moment and be present. Also, laziness is something younger generations are known for, this camera allows the user to instantly print pictures they’ve taken instead of having to go to a store and get pictures printed. A polaroid camera is something that has been “trending” for quite some time. Millennials are all about owning things that are trendy or popular at that time and a polaroid picture gives you just that aesthetically pleasing vibe.

This picture depicts the first Polaroid camera invented in 1948 by Edwin Land. This picture used in the article linked is to show the invention of this camera and how it was viewed and used. I could see a similar version of this camera being in the MAL. (Tony Long, ‘Take a Polaroid’ Enters the English Language, 2012)

The media archeology lab’s purpose is to represent forms of technology from the past to better inform people of the future. A polaroid camera to me seems ironic because “instant” cameras were first invented in 1948 but the world began to transition from instant cameras to digital cameras. Now, instant cameras are starting to reappear like my polaroid camera. I think that this camera would be an interesting artifact in the MAL because the majority of the new technology has drastically changed from the technology seen in the past however this polaroid camera has reverted back to the 40’s in not only design but popularity.

2015 Sony Walkman which was the Walkman that I got when I was 10 years old.(Bing image)

Sony Walkman plays a important role in my life. I am the person who like to listen music whatever I do and Wherever I was. The very first music player that I have got was Sony Walkman, and Sony Walkman was the device that build up my music interest.

Walkman is a series of portable music player. The first Walkman was released in 1979, and it changed the way of listening music. It allowed people to listen to music on the move. However in October 2010, it was reported that the Walkman would stop producing in Japan. Luckily Sony would continue produce Walkman in China to present to users abroad, such as united state, some Asian countries, and Europe.

I got my own Sony Walkman as a present when I was 10 years old. I was super excited when I got Walkman, and I started to download music onto my Walkman. I slept with Walkman, and traveled with Walkman. It was extremely convenience to use Walkman listening the music at that time. 2015 Sony Walkman was  as small as a chocolate bar. Thus, people could put 2015 Sony Walkman is their pocket, and carried them and listened music everywhere, every time. Besides, 2015 Sony Walkman could download music digitally and play music digitally instead of using tape to play music. 2015 Sony Walkman could save around 2G music in one device, and that could be regraded as a huge amount of music.

Music always helped me to find myself clearly. When I was angry, I listened some light music to reduce my anger. When I was sad, I listen some hard music or music with motivated lyric to push myself. Briefly, music is the tool that help me to find myself, and Sony Walkman is the device that lead me to music.

This summer, my mother asked me to go through an old cardboard box in my closet and donate what I didn’t need any more to the local garage sale. As I am brushing aside cobwebs and dust, I found my first music playing device: a Hit Clip. I had not used this device since I was around six-years-old; almost fifteen years ago.

A Hit Clip device that my sisters and I bought. (Photo by Tori Bredy, August 2018)

As I rotated the device, examining it from all angles as if it was a foreign object, all the memories I had with the music player flooded back into my brain. I flashed back to my little six-year-old self walking down the street with my three sisters, carrying a plastic bag full of coins we had saved up to spend at the neighborhood garage sale. We found a Hit Clip music player with additional clips ranging from Britney Spears to Vanessa Carlton to Michelle Branch to Smash Mouth. My sisters and I decided to spend our money on the Hit Clip because our older cousins loved theirs, and we trusted everything our cousins said.

The Hit Clip music clips that would play a snippet of the hit song (Photo by Tori Bredy, August 2018)

The Hit Clip came with a big device that would play a thirty second snippet of a song out loud. It also had a feature where one could listen to the music through an ear bud. Reflecting on my generation and what is happening present day with technology and music, people like to listen to music by themselves. Every day as we drive, walk to class, study, etc. we notice people with ear buds. It is important to have personal space and be able to connect with what we are listening to with ourselves. With that being said, cars commonly have auxiliary cords that allow us to share music with others; just like the Hit Clip. With the Hit Clip, I would put in the chip and share the player with my sisters as we listened to the songs. Sharing music is an incredible move in the technological field because music brings people together no matter if it is listening to it by yourself or with others.

If I would have to think of an technological artifact that defines me it would be a VCR other wise known as a video cassette recorder. I choose this because I love movies and memories much like other people and for me growing up using the VCR we had at home was the only way I could experience any of that. Essentially a VCR was a pre cursor I would say to the DVD player because it did the simple things a DVD player would do. For example you would buy movies in VHS form (this was what you would put in the VCR to play much like a disc into a DVD player) and run it into the VCR and you could watch whatever movie you just bought. Another thing the VCR did was it could record TV programs for you, kind of like a DVR would nowadays. My dad would use the VCR to record soccer games he would miss because of work then come home to watch them before we had a DVR player.

Similar VCR to the one I have at home

To me the VCR means a lot to me because we would record family events on VHS tape and play them over and over again to remind us of our good times. I don’t have any family here in this country they are all in Mexico, so the only way I can see them and be reminded of the great memories we had is through watching old VHS tapes we recorded when I did get the chance to see them. Another thing my parents or sisters did is they would buy me movies in VHS form and I would watch those movies repeatedly. Some movies in particular were the Star Wars movies which are my favorite to this day and I first watched them on my family’s VCR. Much like the Media Archaeology Lab I still have this artifact in my house to remind my family and I of the past. How the past is the best way to help us make a better future either in the sense of my family and memories, or in the sense of the MAL and understanding past technologies to better the present and future technologies.

This is a Boeing 747, a common 2018 international airplane. (Bing images)

A technological artifact that plays a large role in my personal life is aircraft. Having a love for travel and a desire to see the unknown would be impossible if not for airplanes or in that case, any form of transportation. After recently traveling to, and backpacking around Asia, I have developed a severe case of the travel bug. I feel that exploring new places and cultures is something vital to everyone, and has really helped me find myself as well as my views and morals. Given this, I want to spend the rest of my life traveling all around the world, this would not be feasible without transportation. Aircraft is one of the most valuable and treasured pieces of technology in my life and will continue to be so. I was 12 when I flew on my first plane and immediately fell in love with it! Everything from the airport to the take off, planes truly captured my heart. For a while I even thought about becoming a pilot. My dreams of traveling the world haven’t faded, yet the desire to be the one flying the plane has. Regardless, aircraft In general has shown me a another world, latterly and figuratively. For that I am thankful and will continue to spend the rest of my life looking forward to my next flight.

The Wright brothers successfully flew the first plane in 1903. (Bing Images)

Understanding the history and value of aircraft is important. After Reading about the mission of the Media Archaeology Lab, I thought about how far technology has come, and how safe and dependable aircraft has become in return. Take the Wright brothers for example, who developed the first successful plane. Their model was the first step, followed by many in between, that would in turn, create the plane we know and use today. After comparing the past to the present, its incredible how far we have come in the world of transportation. Aircraft has become a common everyday example of extraordinary technology that few appreciate for its capabilities. It is exiting to think of the future of aircraft and the soon to be possibilities.