From Counterculture to Cyberculture - Assignment Example

Assignment Assignment Question Empires The Roman Empire The Roman Empire, at its time and age, had one of the most superior setof technologies, some of which were lost through the unstable eras of the Late Antiquity, as well as the early Middle Ages. Increasingly, some of the technological accomplishments of the Romans were revived and/or enhanced, whereas others carried forward on what the Romans had accomplished during the Middle Ages, as well as the establishment of the Modern Age. Numerous Roman technological accomplishments in different areas such as construction materials, civil engineering and transport technology along with some creations like the mechanical cutter were astonishing achievements till the 19th century, and others, for instance the arch, have stayed untouched to this date. The Romans attained high levels of technology in large scale since they borrowed greatly from and engrossed the culture of the reputable Hellenised tribes belonging to the Mediterranean basin (Black, 2001). Technologies such as machines, aqueducts, roads, bridges, mining tools, man-made dams among other things are what made the Roman Empire prominent. The empire’s inventions have had profound effects to this world up to today. For instance, the Romans were the first people to invent road tarmac roads, which, today, are very influential to the development of a country (Black, 2001). British Empire Science and Technology had a couple of roles in the life of the British Empire. The products of industrialization were dispersed to every part of the globe as missionaries and traders travelled all through the world, regularly with the administrator not so far behind. The relative advantage of industrialization signifies that a small number of non-Europeans had much of an opportunity against the well-resourced soldiers and modern ships that Britain could call to arms. Once colonized, the means of communication and transportation that Britain could implore meant that the empire could efficiently administer large tracts of the world with the least manpower. Also, in the past, Europeans could have grave health problems in these foreign parts of the world (Black, 2001). The enhancements in the medical sciences would significantly aid the cause of the British Empire, creating whole new areas to administrator as medicines were created to guard them from lethal tropical diseases. What made the British Empire great was the fact that it formed the backbone of industrialization in this world. They were the cornerstone of industrial towns, developed cities and advanced water transport (Black, 2001). Everything the empire’s regime did was stored secretly not wanting any other empire to steal their secrets, which they did extremely well. The Japan Empire The Empire of Japan also known as the Empire of the Rising Sun was both an empire and world power, which existed from the Meiji reinstatement on January 3rd, 1868, to the endorsement of the post-Second World War Charter of Japan on May 3rd, 1947. Colonial Japans fast militarization and industrialization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its surfacing as a world power, ultimately culminating in its association in the Axis alliance, as well as the subjugation of a large fraction of the Asia-Pacific expanse. At the summit of its authority, in 1942, the Japanese Empire administered over a land spanning 2,857,000 sq mi (7,400,000 square kilometers), which made it one of the leading marine empires in history. The Japan Empire was known mostly for its telecommunication advancement (Black, 2001). The Empire of Japan had a remarkable tally of technological accomplishments, and a remarkably well-equipped military. The army was advanced, but extremely oriental and traditional beyond the rank of other top rated empires. Even though, instead of having bullets, ballistic shells, missiles, warheads and other more straight based weapons, they created hi-tech arms, which armed the Imperial Japanese Forces technical fighting skills needed to defeat any superpower empire out there. They had the most superior forms of battleground robotics, walkers and altering units came at the fighting of the three powers (Black, 2001). Even though, the Imperial Japanese Air Force was not as good as the "Allieds" and the "Soviets", their flexibility and versatilities more than makes up for their flaws. Nevertheless, the Empire did develop far more sophisticated Anti-Aircraft Technology, which assisted them to bring problems to superior nations during the world wars. Question 2: Product Lines Apple Inc., ever since it started its operation in the 70s, has had a magnificent timeline, which people could consider as a success to the company (Isaacson, 2011). In the 70s, the company produced numerous computing machines such as the Apple I, Apple II, Disk II, which was a driver, and Apple Writer computer software. In the 80s, the firm launched the Apple III computer. It also launched the IB modems, Monitor III, IIA printers, Apple Image writer, Macintosh (128K), AppleColor Composite Monitor and AppleShare Server 1.0. The firm also launched, in the 80s, Macintosh Portable, Apple FDHD SuperDrive and Apple Scanner. In the 90s, the firm launched Macintosh IIfx, Macintosh Classic II, the PowerBook series from 100 to G3, Apple Design Powered Speakers and the Workgroup Server series from 60 to 8550 (Isaacson, 2011). Also, they came up with the Apple Network Server 700/200, eMate 300, Power Macintosh G3 desktop, Power Macintosh G3 minitower, Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, iMac G3, iBook, iMac (slot loading), Cinema Display (22"), as well as the Power Macintosh G4 Graphite. All these were inventions that took place before the new millennium. They were considered as landmark inventions to such a small established company in the field of IT. However, the 2000s has seen the popularity of Apple Inc. rise to another level. They have invented numerous things such as the Server G4 Quicksilver, iPhone (1st to 5th gen), iPod (1st gen to the 6th gen), iMac G4 15 inch, eMac, PowerBook G4 Aluminum (17 inch), AirPort Express (802.11g), iMac G5 20 inch, Mac Mini, Apple Remote Desktop 3, Mac Pro, MacBook Air (Early 2008), iLife 09, as well as the Aperture 3. In 2012, Apple Inc. created the iBook Author, Apple TV, iPad (3rd gen), iOS 6, iPod Nano, OS X mountain Lion and the iPad Mini along with the iMac. They firm plans to increase its productions this year, which they propose will attract more customers to the brand (Isaacson, 2011). The Big-Kids computing world managed to arbitrate between the numerous computational roles, which could not be reconciled in a more direct manner through making the Apple’s materials a must-have item (Isaacson, 2011). People admire Apple’s items just the way children admire toys that it why people who purchase it are branded as big-kids. They want to own Apples things, which they use to please themselves just the way children please themselves. However the Big-Kids computing world monitors the quality of its products and services continually. Satisfied consumers who spread the word regarding Big-Kids computing world are regarded as the best source of new clients. Big-Kids computing world pays attention to customer service, pricing, product availability, as well as punctual delivery (Isaacson, 2011). Question 3: Who and Where Stewart Brand Stewart Brand refers to an American writer widely recognized as the prime editor of the Whole Earth Catalog (Turner, 2006). Brand was born on 14th December, 1938, in Rockford, Illinois. Stewart Brand founded a couple of organizations, including the Global Business Network, The WELL, as well as the Long Now Foundation. Brand is the author of a number of books, most currently Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto. He went to Phillips Exeter Academy, prior to studying biology at the University of Stanford. Brand was wedded to Lois Jennings, a mathematician and Ottawa Native American. Stewart Brand, as a fighter in the United States Army, trained infantry skills and was a parachutist (Turner, 2006). Brand was later to put across the thought that his life in the army had fostered his ability in planning, as well as organizing. A civilian once more, in 1962, Brand studied photography at San Francisco State College, design at San Francisco Art Institute and took part in a legitimate scientific research of the then-legal LSD, in Menlo Park, California. From then, Brand has resided in California. He and his wife reside on Mirene, a 64-foot operational tugboat. The boat, built in 1912, is docked in a former dockyard in Sausalito, California. Brand does his job in Mary Heartline, a stranded fishing boat nearly 100 yards away from his "residence". A beloved item of Steward is a desk on which Otis Redding is alleged to have used "(Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay". He got it from an antiques merchant in Sausalito. Brand is one of the most renowned advocators of technology in this world. He believes that technology is good for the environment. According to him, information should be free because it is so cheap to distribute, recombine and copy. Also, it wants to be costly as it can be infinitely valuable to the receiver (Turner, 2006). Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly is the founding administrative editor of Wired journal, and a ex- publisher/editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. Kelly has also been a photographer, writer, conservationist, as well as a student of digital and Asian culture (Turner, 2006). Kelly was born on 14th August, 1952, in Pennsylvania. He finished school back in 1970 from Westfield High School in New Jersey. Kelly, only one year after joining the University of Rhode Island, dropped out of school to pursue his dream as a writer. He now lives in Pacifica, California, a minute coastal town south of San Francisco. Kevin Kelly is also a devoted Christian and is married to a wife who they have three children Ting, Tywen, and Kaileen. Among his personal involvements is a fight to make a full catalog of all living things on earth, an attempt also identified as the Linnaean venture (Turner, 2006). The aim is to make a try at an "all species" web-related list in one generation (25 years). Sixties Counterculture Scene The counterculture of the 60s, on the other hand, was a cultural occurrence, which developed first in the United Kingdom and the United States, but spread all through the Western world from the early 60s to the late 70s (Turner, 2006). The group gained force during the United States governments widespread military involvement in Vietnam. As the 60s advanced, extensive tensions developed in the United States society, which appeared to flow along generational lines concerning the war in Vietnam, human sexuality, race relations, traditional modes of authority, womens rights, conflicting understandings of the American Dream and experimentation with psychoactive drugs (Turner, 2006). Fresh cultural forms materialized, comprising of the pop music of the English band the Beatles, as well as the simultaneous expansion of hippie culture, which led to the quick evolution of a youth subculture, which highlighted experimentation and change (Turner, 2006). In addition to the Beatles, numerous songwriters, musical groups and singers from America and the United Kingdom came to impact the counterculture group. References Black, E. (2001). IBM and the holocaust: The strategic alliance between Nazi Germany and Americas most powerful corporation. New York: Three Rivers Press. Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve jobs (1st ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. Turner, F. (2006). From counterculture to cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the rise of digital utopianism. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. Read More