Cantitate/Preț
Produs

The Future Was Here – The Commodore Amiga: Platform Studies

Autor Jimmy Maher, Nick Montfort, Ian Bogost
en Limba Engleză Paperback – 5 mar 2018
Exploring the often-overlooked history and technological innovations of the world's first true multimedia computer.

Long ago, in 1985, personal computers came in two general categories: the friendly, childish game machine used for fun (exemplified by Atari and Commodore products); and the boring, beige adult box used for business (exemplified by products from IBM). The game machines became fascinating technical and artistic platforms that were of limited real-world utility. The IBM products were all utility, with little emphasis on aesthetics and no emphasis on fun. Into this bifurcated computing environment came the Commodore Amiga 1000. This personal computer featured a palette of 4,096 colors, unprecedented animation capabilities, four-channel stereo sound, the capacity to run multiple applications simultaneously, a graphical user interface, and powerful processing potential. It was, Jimmy Maher writes in The Future Was Here, the world's first true multimedia personal computer.

Maher argues that the Amiga's capacity to store and display color photographs, manipulate video (giving amateurs access to professional tools), and use recordings of real-world sound were the seeds of the digital media future: digital cameras, Photoshop, MP3 players, and even YouTube, Flickr, and the blogosphere. He examines different facets of the platform—from Deluxe Paint to AmigaOS to Cinemaware—in each chapter, creating a portrait of the platform and the communities of practice that surrounded it. Of course, Maher acknowledges, the Amiga was not perfect: the DOS component of the operating systems was clunky and ill-matched, for example, and crashes often accompanied multitasking attempts. And Commodore went bankrupt in 1994. But for a few years, the Amiga's technical qualities were harnessed by engineers, programmers, artists, and others to push back boundaries and transform the culture of computing.

Citește tot Restrânge

Din seria Platform Studies

Preț: 30194 lei

Nou

Puncte Express: 453

Preț estimativ în valută:
5780 6171$ 4786£

Carte tipărită la comandă

Livrare economică 25 decembrie 24 - 08 ianuarie 25

Preluare comenzi: 021 569.72.76

Specificații

ISBN-13: 9780262535694
ISBN-10: 0262535696
Pagini: 344
Dimensiuni: 159 x 229 x 24 mm
Greutate: 0.41 kg
Editura: Mit Press
Seria Platform Studies


Notă biografică

Jimmy Maher

Descriere

Exploring the often-overlooked history and technological innovations of the world's first true multimedia computer.