As our everyday social and cultural experiences are increasingly mediated by electronic products -- from "intelligent" toasters to iPods -- it is the design of these products that shapes our experience of the "electrosphere" in which we live. Designers of electronic products; writes Anthony Dunne in Hertzian Tales; must begin to think more broadly about the aesthetic role of electronic products in everyday life. Industrial design has the potential to enrich our daily lives -- to improve the quality of our relationship to the artificial environment of technology; and even; argues Dunne; to be subverted for socially beneficial ends.The cultural speculations and conceptual design proposals in Hertzian Tales are not utopian visions or blueprints; instead; they embody a critique of present-day practices; "mixing criticism with optimism." Six essays explore design approaches for developing the aesthetic potential of electronic products outside a commercial context--considering such topics as the post-optimal object and the aesthetics of user-unfriendliness -- and five proposals offer commentary in the form of objects; videos; and images. These include "Electroclimates;" animations on an LCD screen that register changes in radio frequency; "When Objects Dream...;" consumer products that "dream" in electromagnetic waves; "Thief of Affection;" which steals radio signals from cardiac pacemakers; "Tuneable Cities;" which uses the car as it drives through overlapping radio environments as an interface of hertzian and physical space; and the "Faraday Chair: Negative Radio;" enclosed in a transparent but radio-opaque shield.Very little has changed in the world of design since Hertzian Tales was first published by the Royal College of Art in 1999; writes Dunne in his preface to this MIT Press edition: "Design is not engaging with the social; cultural; and ethical implications of the technologies it makes so sexy and consumable." His project and proposals challenge it to do so.
#1593059 in eBooks 2014-02-10 2014-02-10File Name: B00MFWFMV8
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Interesting History of a work-in-progressBy Steven FerréA well-written history of the building and various remodeling efforts undertaken at Versailles; this book managed on a several occasions to prove interesting. However; I found the amount of detail on the actual construction of the palace to be; on the whole; rather meager; greater emphasis was devoted to the ridiculous court etiquette. As noted in the book; there were a a few occasions where court etiquette necessitated a quirky floor plan or structural modification to the palace; but on the whole the emphasis on etiquette seemed odd. Also; strangely; the history of the palace after the revolution; particularly int he 19th century during which most of the modifications were made to the palace in its transition to a museum and conceivably better documented; were glossed over.Warning to fellow e-book readers - there were no illustrations and the formatting/footnotes were useless. There were also a myriad of typos and punctuation errors; which I presume happened during the translation into an electronic format.Lastly; I laughed-out-loud when the author lamented that Versailles is a victim of global warming; because a 200+ year-old tree planted by Marie Antoinette was felled by a recent windstorm. Um...old trees have been toppled by wind since there were old trees and wind.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. An Inside Story of VersaillesBy Thomas RandlemanIf you wished to know how the Palace of Versailles came to be built and the manner in which the occupants lived there; this is the book for you. If you want a book written by an excellent writer whose "charm" infuses the writing; this is the book for you. The conventional historical details are given in the order of events.Beyond this; there are snapshots of the actual lives lived within the Palace in each era and phase of its construction. The author has created a well crafted tapestry of documentation based on actual diary and journal writings of the period. In this way;one can appreciate a fully fleshed set of images and human sensibilities. For those who have a special interest in French Eighteenth Century History in general and a desire to know more of an indepth "portrait" of the actual characters and those who worked for them and how they lived specifically; this volume will be enormously enriching. Finally; the author is first-rate. This is not a fluff or coffee table book. It is also very acessable and not scholarly to the point of being a cool calculated breakdown of events. The author has an elegant sense of humor and some related "tidbits" should be amusing to the reader. For example; not many books on Versailles tell you about the "bathroom facilities" or where everyone lived in the Palace if you were not the King or Queen themselves. My most marked response is having a sense of the "personalities" of the actual people of the period. My most delightful response was having a sense of the "personality" of the writer; who seems happy to relate the story and never to be pedantic. I felt I had spent a lovely time with him in a quiet place and shared in his extraordinay knowledge of his subject. I loved this book and hated for it to end. I would purchase anything written by Tony Spawforth. I would love to meet him. When writing is this good you feel uplifted and pleased not to have wasted a single minute of your time.Thomas Lee Randleman20 of 20 people found the following review helpful. Ive Been Waiting For This Book...By Michael B.This is not a "coffee table" picturebook of Versailles. There are plenty of those to be had. Whats been missing from the literature on this subject has been a book that explains the workings of the palace; its social and political context and the routines and rhythms of day-to-day life in what was; essentially; an enormous gilded cage for the French nobility. This book begins to fill that niche. My only complaint would be that the author could have included a few more architectural drawings to illustrate the evolution of the palace and the changing arrangement of rooms over the reigns of the three kings of France who lived in Versailles. These developments are discussed in interesting detail; but the effect is diminished without a visual to assist the reader. Overall; a very good and interesting read.
