2. Introduction to Humanities Computing Spring 1999 Lecture Four

3. Important distinctions  Algorithm  integrated circuit  floppy  plastic rodent  Program  microprocessor  stiffie  mouse

4. Know your generations  1st vacuum tubes  2nd transistors  3rd chips  4th microprocessors

5. Changes  How do computers change communication?  What do computers not change?

6. Change?  How we communicate Internet, E-mail, WWW, Chat, MUDs, IRC  What we communicate Multimedia, Procedures, Agents  Where we communicate Home Office, Virtual Spaces  When we communicate Asynchronous Communication, Chat  Pace of communication

7. Pace More ways = Faster? how where when what More places = Faster? More times = Faster? More types = Faster?

8. Cost More ways = cheaper? how where when what More places = cheaper? More times = cheaper? More types = cheaper?

9. Theorum most content-related glitches in computer-mediated communication result from the confusion of one-to-many communication with one-to-one communication it is impossible to know your audience once and for all so the big innovation wrought by computer-mediated communication increase in feedback * response * follow-up expectations

10. Alluquère Rosanne Stone The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age (1995) See Chapter Five “Agency and Proximity” for an engaging history of the CommuniTree BBS Network Varieties Pay close attention to how Stone portrays the link between the physical and virtual.

11. Communication networks  Semaphores  Postal Service  Rail network  Telegraph  Phone network  Couriers  TV Networks  Internet

12. Layers Some of the layers involved in connecting computing machines :  Physical Layer - Cables, Routers, NIC (Cards)  Software Layer - Protocols and Packets  Service Layer - WWW, E-mail, Gopher

13. LANs  Local Area Network Network Cards Cable Networked Devices File Server Net Printer Shared Devices Personal Computers

14. WANs  Wide Area Network CAnet (Canada Wide) Onet (Ontario Wide) McMaster Backbone Internet (US nets) Togo Salmon LAN Other Buildings Other Universities

15. Movement of Information Packets 1. Your file is divided into lots of small packets. 2. The packets are addressed. 3. The packets are sent out. 4. Packets are reassembled into a file IP = From: and To: TCP = How many packets, order Information

16. Shapes of Connection  Daisy Chain  Star  Ring Remember the selection from Alluquère Rosanne Stone. What kinds of mental spaces do these formations evoke?

17. Topologies  Daisy-Chain  Star  Ring Modems Mainframe Terminal

18. Star Modems Mainframe

19. Daisy Chain

20. Ring

21. Modem  Operates via telephone line connection  Modem changes digital bits into analog signal and vice versa  See demo on Computer Confluence CD

22. What can you do with network?  Share a Mainframe - Terminals  Share a File Server  Swap Files (FTP)  Send Electronic Mail  Join Discussion Groups  Publish and Read Information (Gopher, WWW) Application Server File Server E-mail Server WWW Server List Server (Listserv)

23. How do you connect?  Direct Connection (You have an IP address)  Through an Access System (muss) TerminalMainframe (Access System) muss.cis.mcmaster.ca Internet Internet Machine Internet

24. Stretch... What is the impact of Moore’s law on bandwidth? Moore’s Law In 1965, Gordon Moore, Chairman of Intel predicted the power of a silicon chip of the same price would double about every eighteen months for at least two decades. Bandwidth Basics physical media network traffic software protocols network connection Bandwidth & Processing Speed the third element in network growth is Storage Space Which of these depends upon processor speed ?

25. End simple concepts when connected appear to become complex