it seems the only solution is to keep a number of old machines in-house that are disconnected from the internet (to avoid automatic upgrades) and have the *new* machine that gets all the recent goodies. Forget all these haters, nick. Keep on pluggin'!!
This is an interesting discussion to have regarding technology. Since computers have been invented they have always progressed forward and changed in a multitude of ways. Your argument is essentially about communication: what hardware and software should be communicating with another, and what our expectations are as a user. I would like to continue the dialog. We are all consumers. Some of us are artists. Some of us just compute. If you are not developing your own hardware/software, then you will be dependent on the expertise and decisions of others to create a computer for you to use. A lot of people featured in the video use the phrase “play within the rules” when referring to use of Apple software or development for it. This same perception could be seen with any object, whether manufactured or found in nature. This is design. “Upgrading” in its most basic form, should be a major consideration for any artist using technology that can be officially or unofficially modified. Changing a tool will impact your workflow. That’s why backup strategies on PCs are so important. In this example, upgrading Apple’s OS is used to make a case for “planned obsolescence”. I feel this is a misnomer. The very nature of science and technology is to build upon what has been learned before. Inevitably something will be lost as a natural byproduct. This is why its key to stick with a configuration that works for your needs. This is not a crazy idea, but more common sense once you realize why. About hallway through, you bring up video synthesis computers in an attempt to compare the mindset with how Apple started as a company versus your perception of their mindset now. This is great example to illustrate the rapid change in computing as the physical technology has increasingly become more powerful but also more compact. I think this ultimately goes against your overall argument. Smaller technology is more specialized. I believe the amount of devices that are user-serviceable will decrease over time, and I don’t feel this is necessarily a bad thing. Just the inevitability of new technologies that converge and build upon each other. While the Mac had been created in the spirit of DIY computing, I don’t think that was a major consideration for the design of their computers since that first decade. That’s definitely an area that Windows and Linux cater to, so I’m not sure why you felt Apple is the best example. Ease of use, as Steve Jobs talks about in your final clip, seems like what Apple has tried to do with their products since they started. Ease of use, or simplicity, comes with continuous development and progress, and this progress goes against the very concerns this video raises. One group of developers drone on about wanting to leave their app exactly in its current state, yet they complain that it looses functionality when a user upgrades their device. How is that surprising? The languages are different. Hardware and software need to communicate in order to function properly. That is up to the developers to maintain and we as users to keep up with, no matter the platform or device.
sadly, Linux distros like PureDyne stopped their support - it was a distro made from artists to artists - but btw, we have UbuntuStudio (seems good for starters)
Presumably apple take out extraneous code or codecs to keep the OS less bloated, and also encourage people to buy the latest hardware. I jailbroke an iPad mini and even then its only a bit more adaptable... although I have never written any thing in code.. apple software is way way too static, especially for people who want to engage with it in such a subterranean way. It would be good if there was a framework program that could run on apple allowing this type of experimentation.
part of the obsolescence culture is like, uhhh, like, basically? uhmm... they like, updated their software and now my apps that were developed for like... an older version? uhmm they dont work anymore.. and instead of updating my application im going to complain about apple actually updating their, uhmm.. software?
It seems to me that a lot of "glitch" and some forms of new media presented here are about the struggle of purpose. Planned obsolescence is almost like a necessary evil to their adaptation, which pushes the medium along. Obviously it's a terrible thing, but it seems like if you are going to be working within these controlled environments, especially through the means of deconstruction, it seems essential. From a consumer/environmental standpoint it's devastating.
the gripes are fine... but let's get real for a second - using windows or alternate systems have PRECISELY the same problems in a much worse and even less transparent way- so it kind of makes most of these gripes meaningless unless we talk about the computer software trade as a whole.
Full disclosure I'm no new media guru or anything, just a person who appreciates the medium. Also I have never commented on a UA-cam video so... that's the real FULL DISCLOSURE.
As far as your artware goes, you don't have to go through the Mac App Store, you can sign your apps. It's misleading to pretend that you can't get around that dialog as a developer. Search apple's developer site for an article titled "Distributing Outside the Mac App Store"
Shitty. Good thing there's already a readymade solution. Toss the overpriced Mac. Learn and develop something new with Linux. Shit, make your own art-specific distribution. Fixt. Sure, there's a learning curve involved, but as long as you're a slave to convenience, Apple will always have you right where they want you. Dont expect them to change, change yourself and your understanding of technology.
hey there ***** + Matt Watrous + dissforlife + et al. i get where yawwwl are coming from ( && i should preface by mentioning if u check out some of my older videos i advocate for linux + have developed projects exclusively on/for linux as a way to get artists to consider alternative platforms/methods + i should also say that for the reasons xpressed in the video [ && many more ] i nearly exclusively use linux now [ writing this comment via ubuntu ] ) >> that said, it's not so simple, the issue is much greater than disabling a built-in option or just switching to linux all together. It's not so much that i have to disable the verified developer "security" check, but rather that we're generally living in this "opt-in by default" scenario which most folks are oblivious to ( the tiny bits of ignorance add up && influence a great deal the way we understand && interact with computers ). Furthermore, asking all my artist friends to switch to linux is like asking them to move to a new country, u might have lots of issues w/where u live but that doesn’t mean the obvious solution is move to a new country ( when u’ve invested lots ot time in something it’s not easy to throw that all away… && Apple spent lots of money/efforts winning over artists to join them in “thinking differently” ). Still, i understand where u’re coming from ( which is why i’m taking the time to reply here… i think its a worth while convo ) but it’s important to consider the detail in nuanced situations like these. All that said, while its tricky to stay on top off all the settings/hacks/workarounds i do my best to share + teach folks how to gain a bit more agency over their computers ++ while it isn’t easy to switch, i’m still an open-source evangelist :) THNX 4 sharing!
I see where you're coming from. I've tried messing stuff around in Linux and yes, it definitely feels different from using a Mac. But I'd imagine the learning curve for experienced new media artists wouldn't be as steep, and again, all in the name of open-source advocacy. For example, I didn't want to update to Lion when it was first released, because stuff I did in MAX/MSP under SL (or some .plist UI hacks I made) didn't translate well in Lion, but knowing what I had to deal with, especially with OSX being as closed-source as can be, I had to learn to work around it and adapt. What I'm trying to say is that OSX is what it is and they won't be changing their dev approach any time soon, but maybe technological hinderances like these could turn out to be a good thing after all. Of course as a musician, my work doesn't require to exploit native OS features or anything like that, but being a interactive art programming enthusiast, I think at the moment we definitely have as much as we need, but if OSX was to be open-sourced at some point, sure it would have been graciously appreciated ~
thnx. the vid at the end was made by chicago based new media artist Joseph "Yolk" Chiocchi ( as listed in the credz ) u'll have to ask him :) hit up yolk[dot]cc
i was using an outdated codec on quicktime and an update removed it because its OUTDATED, and uhhh like.. uhmm.. instead of like, just redownloading that codec from the web.. uhh im whining about it and pretending apple is oppressing my shitty glitch art culture..
Very good point. But that's not a surprise. It's the way apple behaved since acquiring Logic Pro and discontinuing pc version.. then many others, like Shake, and the recent crippling of Final Cut.. it's more than a decade that apple show this kind of "closing" behavior. I'm surprised most of artists discovering NOW that apple is not a magic artist genius company but it's just like all the others. Money driven. Shame's not on apple, they just wanna do money. Shame's on the apple cult followers..
hi apple computers? im too stupid to disable the "verified developer" security check in my macintosh computer. rather than disabling this security check (which takes roughly 30 seconds to do) or using a non-macintosh computer (truly daunting), id like to call and whine about how oppressive mac osx is while simultaneously choosing to use it for no reason other than familiarity. thanks
Asking Apple to change their ways is like being in prison and demanding for freedom. Most of you new media artists are definitely on the wrong platform, for the sake of convenience and habit. As far as I'm concerned, having to disable a built-in option wouldn't really make me a disgruntled customer and cause such drama. I would just zip up a readmefirst.txt along with my project, with some rudimentary instructions. Or you know, you could always switch to Linux and go crazy. And if you like it, tell your artists friends too. I, for one, find it best to work under tremendous constraints and limitations.
![Glitch Codec Tutorial [glitch art demo] 6/6](/img/n.gif)
Great film, thanks for putting these long debated issues in a new light. It's important.
I agree.
right! good film
Fantastic work guys
this was brilliantly done
it seems the only solution is to keep a number of old machines in-house that are disconnected from the internet (to avoid automatic upgrades) and have the *new* machine that gets all the recent goodies.
Forget all these haters, nick. Keep on pluggin'!!
Good video
Thank you.
Really nice job man!
This is an interesting discussion to have regarding technology. Since computers have been invented they have always progressed forward and changed in a multitude of ways. Your argument is essentially about communication: what hardware and software should be communicating with another, and what our expectations are as a user. I would like to continue the dialog.
We are all consumers. Some of us are artists. Some of us just compute. If you are not developing your own hardware/software, then you will be dependent on the expertise and decisions of others to create a computer for you to use. A lot of people featured in the video use the phrase “play within the rules” when referring to use of Apple software or development for it. This same perception could be seen with any object, whether manufactured or found in nature. This is design.
“Upgrading” in its most basic form, should be a major consideration for any artist using technology that can be officially or unofficially modified. Changing a tool will impact your workflow. That’s why backup strategies on PCs are so important. In this example, upgrading Apple’s OS is used to make a case for “planned obsolescence”. I feel this is a misnomer. The very nature of science and technology is to build upon what has been learned before. Inevitably something will be lost as a natural byproduct. This is why its key to stick with a configuration that works for your needs. This is not a crazy idea, but more common sense once you realize why.
About hallway through, you bring up video synthesis computers in an attempt to compare the mindset with how Apple started as a company versus your perception of their mindset now. This is great example to illustrate the rapid change in computing as the physical technology has increasingly become more powerful but also more compact. I think this ultimately goes against your overall argument. Smaller technology is more specialized. I believe the amount of devices that are user-serviceable will decrease over time, and I don’t feel this is necessarily a bad thing. Just the inevitability of new technologies that converge and build upon each other. While the Mac had been created in the spirit of DIY computing, I don’t think that was a major consideration for the design of their computers since that first decade. That’s definitely an area that Windows and Linux cater to, so I’m not sure why you felt Apple is the best example.
Ease of use, as Steve Jobs talks about in your final clip, seems like what Apple has tried to do with their products since they started. Ease of use, or simplicity, comes with continuous development and progress, and this progress goes against the very concerns this video raises. One group of developers drone on about wanting to leave their app exactly in its current state, yet they complain that it looses functionality when a user upgrades their device. How is that surprising? The languages are different. Hardware and software need to communicate in order to function properly. That is up to the developers to maintain and we as users to keep up with, no matter the platform or device.
Clever.
this is a great æsthetic, man. so meta!
sadly, Linux distros like PureDyne stopped their support - it was a distro made from artists to artists - but btw, we have UbuntuStudio (seems good for starters)
yeahh!
It feels weird just liking something from a glitchier. At least my autocorrect changed "glitcher" to "glitchier." Better.
Presumably apple take out extraneous code or codecs to keep the OS less bloated, and also encourage people to buy the latest hardware. I jailbroke an iPad mini and even then its only a bit more adaptable... although I have never written any thing in code.. apple software is way way too static, especially for people who want to engage with it in such a subterranean way. It would be good if there was a framework program that could run on apple allowing this type of experimentation.
Great vid! How was the art in the background at the end created?
part of the obsolescence culture is like, uhhh, like, basically? uhmm... they like, updated their software and now my apps that were developed for like... an older version? uhmm they dont work anymore.. and instead of updating my application im going to complain about apple actually updating their, uhmm.. software?
emulation could be a solution - if there wouldn't be the copyright issues !
It seems to me that a lot of "glitch" and some forms of new media presented here are about the struggle of purpose. Planned obsolescence is almost like a necessary evil to their adaptation, which pushes the medium along. Obviously it's a terrible thing, but it seems like if you are going to be working within these controlled environments, especially through the means of deconstruction, it seems essential. From a consumer/environmental standpoint it's devastating.
the gripes are fine... but let's get real for a second - using windows or alternate systems have PRECISELY the same problems in a much worse and even less transparent way- so it kind of makes most of these gripes meaningless unless we talk about the computer software trade as a whole.
PureDyne was a beautiful proposition while it lasted... :(
UbuntuStudio is promising (though less emphasis on creative coding than PureDyne had)
Full disclosure I'm no new media guru or anything, just a person who appreciates the medium. Also I have never commented on a UA-cam video so... that's the real FULL DISCLOSURE.
As far as your artware goes, you don't have to go through the Mac App Store, you can sign your apps. It's misleading to pretend that you can't get around that dialog as a developer.
Search apple's developer site for an article titled "Distributing Outside the Mac App Store"
Shitty. Good thing there's already a readymade solution. Toss the overpriced Mac. Learn and develop something new with Linux. Shit, make your own art-specific distribution. Fixt.
Sure, there's a learning curve involved, but as long as you're a slave to convenience, Apple will always have you right where they want you. Dont expect them to change, change yourself and your understanding of technology.
hey there ***** + Matt Watrous + dissforlife + et al. i get where yawwwl are coming from ( && i should preface by mentioning if u check out some of my older videos i advocate for linux + have developed projects exclusively on/for linux as a way to get artists to consider alternative platforms/methods + i should also say that for the reasons xpressed in the video [ && many more ] i nearly exclusively use linux now [ writing this comment via ubuntu ] ) >> that said, it's not so simple, the issue is much greater than disabling a built-in option or just switching to linux all together. It's not so much that i have to disable the verified developer "security" check, but rather that we're generally living in this "opt-in by default" scenario which most folks are oblivious to ( the tiny bits of ignorance add up && influence a great deal the way we understand && interact with computers ). Furthermore, asking all my artist friends to switch to linux is like asking them to move to a new country, u might have lots of issues w/where u live but that doesn’t mean the obvious solution is move to a new country ( when u’ve invested lots ot time in something it’s not easy to throw that all away… && Apple spent lots of money/efforts winning over artists to join them in “thinking differently” ). Still, i understand where u’re coming from ( which is why i’m taking the time to reply here… i think its a worth while convo ) but it’s important to consider the detail in nuanced situations like these. All that said, while its tricky to stay on top off all the settings/hacks/workarounds i do my best to share + teach folks how to gain a bit more agency over their computers ++ while it isn’t easy to switch, i’m still an open-source evangelist :) THNX 4 sharing!
I see where you're coming from. I've tried messing stuff around in Linux and yes, it definitely feels different from using a Mac. But I'd imagine the learning curve for experienced new media artists wouldn't be as steep, and again, all in the name of open-source advocacy. For example, I didn't want to update to Lion when it was first released, because stuff I did in MAX/MSP under SL (or some .plist UI hacks I made) didn't translate well in Lion, but knowing what I had to deal with, especially with OSX being as closed-source as can be, I had to learn to work around it and adapt. What I'm trying to say is that OSX is what it is and they won't be changing their dev approach any time soon, but maybe technological hinderances like these could turn out to be a good thing after all. Of course as a musician, my work doesn't require to exploit native OS features or anything like that, but being a interactive art programming enthusiast, I think at the moment we definitely have as much as we need, but if OSX was to be open-sourced at some point, sure it would have been graciously appreciated ~
That editing that makes your speech sound like it has static is really fucking annoying mate.
thnx. the vid at the end was made by chicago based new media artist Joseph "Yolk" Chiocchi ( as listed in the credz ) u'll have to ask him :) hit up yolk[dot]cc
Hey Nick, I'm really interested in the stuff your doing! You got an email? I could a few questions for you!?
:: )
Howdy to ya CHI-CA-G0!
I have changed them
i was using an outdated codec on quicktime and an update removed it because its OUTDATED, and uhhh like.. uhmm.. instead of like, just redownloading that codec from the web.. uhh im whining about it and pretending apple is oppressing my shitty glitch art culture..
HELLO NEIGHBOR
Very good point. But that's not a surprise. It's the way apple behaved since acquiring Logic Pro and discontinuing pc version.. then many others, like Shake, and the recent crippling of Final Cut.. it's more than a decade that apple show this kind of "closing" behavior. I'm surprised most of artists discovering NOW that apple is not a magic artist genius company but it's just like all the others. Money driven. Shame's not on apple, they just wanna do money. Shame's on the apple cult followers..
hi apple computers? im too stupid to disable the "verified developer" security check in my macintosh computer. rather than disabling this security check (which takes roughly 30 seconds to do) or using a non-macintosh computer (truly daunting), id like to call and whine about how oppressive mac osx is while simultaneously choosing to use it for no reason other than familiarity. thanks
make the switch to linux!
to theodore darst: download mpeg streamclip.
thnx BoyteFilms + nickbriz[at]gmail[dot]com
Asking Apple to change their ways is like being in prison and demanding for freedom. Most of you new media artists are definitely on the wrong platform, for the sake of convenience and habit. As far as I'm concerned, having to disable a built-in option wouldn't really make me a disgruntled customer and cause such drama. I would just zip up a readmefirst.txt along with my project, with some rudimentary instructions. Or you know, you could always switch to Linux and go crazy. And if you like it, tell your artists friends too. I, for one, find it best to work under tremendous constraints and limitations.
Do not play Appleball