Reading Response 2 - Skip Brea

In capturing my attention with such a intriguing title, the chapter did the title justice by keeping me entertained the whole time. Brenda Laurel opened up my mind in comparing the beginning stages of computing to the level of creation that Johann Sebastian Bach offered us. She used the ENIAC as an example of evolution and as example of physical interactions with knobs, and more. Comparing computing to theatre is something that you don't just think about. This was obviously something that lingering in Laurels mind for a long time. It is something that has been persistent because it is well thought out, and it makes sense you can see her main points with theatrics, and drama. Laurel mentions Drama; it incorporates the notion of performance. She gives us an example from The Elements of Friendly Software Design [1982] of how the program is giving a performance for its user. To me I took it as the performance is what is happening as you use the CPU. The performance is viewed by an observer which is usually the audience in my case the person using the CPU is the audience.

"The element of graphical design is only part of the whole representation that we call an interface." after reading that all I could think of is the new IOS7 that apple has created. It seems so much like Samsung's interface because of the colorfulness that it comes with. But after using it its so much better and smoother with an interface that is user friendly. Having both tested the Galaxy interface, and the new IOS7 the only similarity I would guess that Laurel would simply say that although the interfaces look the same the performance of both are totally different. Laurel would say that what IOS7 has to offer is larger, more complex, and more fundamental the way you interact with the phone. Although apple made it simple to use, there’s still more that can be done, and more to the eye with what the phone has to offer physically. Although Samsung did an amazing job with the brand new interface it offered us in 2011 it lacks business aspects, and more. As for apple with the new IOS software has this friendly, yet business like interface that’s more attractive to the public.

I definitely do see the imaginary worlds created through graphic design in many of the programs I use. A lot of the programs I use I feel like do have special relationship with all of my programs because its how you manage them, its how you use them. I can see it now as something we can extend, amplify, and enrich our own capacities to think, elaborate on what we already have, and lastly act on using the knowledge of the theatrical domain that comes with the task.