From Windscreen to Widescreen: Screening Technologies and Mobile Communication

Packer, Jeffrey A.; Oswald, Kathleen F.

doi:10.1080/10714421.2010.525478

Cited by 19 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Yet the kind of labour it automated differed greatly from that of industrial production-SAGE automated Earth observation. In addition, SAGE is a paradigmatic case for understanding media (Packer & Oswald, 2010). Screening technologies are defined by one broad goal and are increasingly oriented around digital display screens (see Figure 1).…”

Section: The Foundations Of Sagementioning

confidence: 99%

Romancing the Drone: Military Desire and Anthropophobia from SAGE to Swarm

Packer

Iii

2013

Canadian Journal of Communication

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This article provides an historical account of the U.S. military’s creation of and reliance upon Earth observation media to orient their ability to conduct first the Cold War and then the War on Terror. Two technological case studies are provided: 1) an account of the development of the Semi-Automated Ground Environment (SAGE) system developed to automate the surveillance necessary for anti-nuclear bomber defence; and 2) a brief history of drone development from the nineteenth century to the present war on terror. These observational media systems provide evidence of how Kittler’s two claims regarding media development merge in the teleology of the digital and the “war answer” in which warfare has come to be autonomously guided by computerized media.Cet article offre un compte-rendu historique de la création de médias d’observation de la planète par l’armée américaine et de la dépendance de celle-ci sur ces médias pendant la Guerre froide et, par la suite, la Guerre contre le terrorisme. Deux études de cas sur la technologie s’ensuivent : 1) la présentation du Système d’infrastructure semi-automatique au sol (SAGE), développé afin d’automatiser la surveillance requise pour se défendre contre des bombardiers munis d’armes nucléaires; et 2) une brève histoire du développement des drones à partir du dix-neuvième siècle jusqu’à la Guerre contre le terrorisme actuelle. Ces systèmes d’observation montrent comment les deux affirmations de Friedrich Kittler sur le développement des médias convergent vers une téléologie du numérique et une « réponse guerrière », où la guerre se fait désormais par ordinateur.

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Section: The Foundations Of Sagementioning

confidence: 99%

Romancing the Drone: Military Desire and Anthropophobia from SAGE to Swarm

Packer

Iii

2013

Canadian Journal of Communication

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“…It is a cultural technique (Parikka, 2013; Siegert, 2015)—linking body operations (typing), tools (smartphones), and concepts about contemporary textuality—which rearranges the traditional division of labor between the writing digits: the thumbs, which traditionally supported the grip of writing tools, are now promoted to communication procedures; the rest of the fingers, which were disciplined to writing and then typing techniques, are now demoted to holding the mobile phone. The mobility of users and devices dictates behavioral modifications (Packer and Oswald, 2010), and while the new dominancy of the thumb does not mean that thumb-typing is the only option—indeed, users engage with the smartphone in many alternative ways (Palin et al, 2019)—it still suggests a new functionality of the thumb as executing rather than supporting finger, and promotes an unprecedented equivalency and interchangeability in finger employment to typing. This, I propose, problematizes traditional conceptions of textuality, its performance, and authorship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thumbs up and down: The cultural technique of thumb-typing

Ramati

2021

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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This paper explores thumb-typing as a cultural technique stemming from the mutual development of typing interfaces and practices. Focusing on the work of the typing fingers, it examines how the assignment of thumbs to be the primary writing digits is an innovation that correlates—and in some respects causes—textual and social changes that are central to digital culture. It argues that thumb-typing embodies recursive relations between behavioral patterns, technological infrastructure, and textual creation. The analysis shows how the invention of the typewriter keyboard introduced the fingers to typing, and how developments of digital media refined the finger-work in interacting with the device, resulting in thumb-typing. The new functionality of the thumb as an executing rather than supporting finger, promotes a novel equivalency and interchangeability in finger employment to typing. This, I propose, problematizes traditional concepts of textuality, its performance, and authorship.

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