Becoming Active

Maybe the most obvious distinction between computers and traditional media is denoted by activity.

For a start, computers must be switched on. They require energy. Processes are running inside of them that have to be maintained permanently. Under the surface there is ongoing activity.

But also on the surface, especially on that of the screen, there is motion — not only when movies are playing.

Such motion pictures preceded computers, thus heralding the age of new media, so to speak. They already had strong influence on our world view and, for example, gave rise to a fairly new notion of time — not least in physics.

Computers, however, are new and outstanding mostly due to their interactivity, which allows the user to launch and manipulate various kinds of actions.