Atlas of Cyberspaces 25
davepeck writes "The Atlas Of Cyberspaces is an interesting site containing a number of beautiful Internet and WWW visualizations, as well as links to the projects that generated them. " We've mentioned similiar pages in the past, but this one interests me because it does technical visualizations (like xtraceroute and similiar apps) as well as artistic ones (where it shows things like Tron and The Matrix).
are these visualizations valid? (Score:1)
tron: visualized the connective part of the internet... the infrastructure. wires and cables and machines. programs were "black boxes" pictured as our heroes and tanks and whatnot. they were contained within cells (protected areas of memory?) on machines that managed the travel of these programs on the infrastructure. this sounds more like an os kernel than the internet.
the matrix: visualized a virtual reality. had very little to do with intranetworking except that a bunch of human brains were all connected to a very fast wan.
i still believe that if visualizing the internet is a goal, neal stephenson's "snow crash" book is the best. actual online world, different areas linked around, searching through the garbage to find a worthwhile bit of info, etc. just like the old school bookstacks in a library.
-voltaic@thcnet.net
Fascinating! (Score:1)
I, too, find it difficult to really grasp the immensity of this thing we call the internet. For me, graphical representation is the clearest form of instruction, and many of these images present a view of the 'net that I've been longing to see for years now. The historical footnotes and graphics are of particular interest, too, since I like to dabble in that subject.
Re:/.'ed (Score:1)
Do we really need people to point out that the link is
Now what IS useful is when people say, "It's
Re: Re:/.'ed (Score:1)
My main point is that people don't need to post comments announcing that a site is slashdotted. It's obvious and redundant.
/.ed already (Score:1)
Re:So much for the distinction (Score:1)
Techies may have problems generating something like Constable's The Haywain, but I doubt Constable could come up with something as cool as the formula e^i*pi=-1, which to me is artistic as pretty much anything.
Let's tie some stories together here... (Score:1)
If any Virginians wanna go toe to toe with me on this one, I'd be glad to make you see my Point.
Re:Partial repeat. (Score:1)
Akk if Gould saw your comment he would freak! His point (if you manage to make it through one of his books) seems to be that 1)graphical represntation of anything can be very misleading, and 2)many human created things tend to take on bio-like apperences becouse the way we create thing is like evoution (not realy, but his point is that it is close enough so that, becouse of 1., the corse simalrity ends up looking realy close).
That said, I think its realy cool but should be looked at as art, and not much more.
Destroying the black box (Score:1)
As much as I hate analogies between computers and cars, I'll use one. A non-mechanic does not throw his/her hands up in the air when their car suddenly dies in the middle of a traffic jam. S/He may not know much about the car, but you can bet (or at least hope) that one of the first things they'll check is their gas gauge. If they fail to find the real cause, they may still feel frustrated, but not so much as if they had absolutely no clue why the vehicle stopped. That tiny first bit of awareness is critically empowering; without it, they are a slave to their own ignorance.
Visualizations of the Internet won't lead the non-techie to run down to the local electronics shop to buy a breakout box for analyzing network failures, but they can break the shackles of misguided and unhelpful notions of "magic black boxes." So do your Mom, neighbor, child's teacher, etc. a favor and share these and similar visualizations with them!
Journey to Yandol [drizzle.com] (science fiction short story)
So much for the distinction (Score:2)
My feeling has always been that visualization is an indispensible part of technology. How can you understand load balancing without having a feel for the way the net looks? How can you understand a select or a try instruction without picturing a cascade of logic? Is it possible to understand the TCP/IP protocol without one of those helpful flow charts?
Hey folks, maybe awe and love for technology is a lot more "right-brained" than it appears at first glance. Could just be that we are well rounded individuals, after all.
-konstant
Re:So much for the distinction (Score:1)
Some other people prefer it other ways
Partial repeat. (Score:3)
a little old (Score:1)
But - lots of it looks to be a little old. Kinda like they are abandoned projects and what not. Granted, many were PhD projects. Too bad they were kept up. Very interesting.
the visual bandwidth is very helpful. Look at any of the latest and greatet network management packages - VitalSuite, Enterprise Pro, Concord etc.. they all give slick visual reps of what is happening inside of the router, what is flowing on the wire.
W/o the visual, numbers next to your vital router stats are hard to see and understand
I have to know (Score:2)
Thanks.
hmmm (Score:1)
look a lot like "unix" in jurassic park?
damn you rob! (Score:1)
RE: Re:/.'ed (Score:1)
For well run sites, the
In answer to YOUR comment, oh, Toasty, Kenly One: mirroring a
/. is a test for SysAdmin skills. These guys failed.
Car analogies (Score:1)
Re:I have to know (Score:1)
my
Re:hmmm (Score:1)
Yes, it does. Remarkably so, execpt that the programmer in the movie hadn't taken much time to assign specific icons to each of his files.
I remeber laughing out loud at that part in the theater. It was already pretty quiet (sorta suspensful) but it got REAL quiet there, at least for a few seconds.
Re: Maps in organic fashion (Score:1)
We could imagine each small cluster / network of computers as a tree. Each of these clusters can be sub-divided into their core components (the branches, roots, leaves), smaller and smaller until their base particles are attained (morons and electrns
Likewise, we can expand our conceptual view - a large network (wan) of smaller sub-networks would be as a grove of trees. Through forests, and entire vegetal zones, crossing our imaginary "borders", and expanding across the earth.
The parallel between organic life and network "life" is amazing, n'est pas?
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Super duper cool beowolf cluster (Score:1)