The Interface Effect
He proposes "an interface is not a thing, an interface is always an effect. It is always a process or a translation" (p. 33). It is unlike a window or doorway separating the space (edge and centre), but a ‘zone of indecision’ between the inside and outside (thresholds) (p. 40). After reading his examination of Rockwell's Triple Self-Portrait and Williams' Mad Art, it actually reminds me Ben Heine’s “Pencil Vs Camera” (2010) and also some of his other works, which I keep thinking what’s an edge and what’s a centre. Following Galloway’s idea that considering image as a process rather than a set of discrete and immutable items, it seems there are more and more layers (e.g. the incorporation of photography) and the interface is just getting more dynamic and complicated.
Alos, he discusses while new media is often celebrated for its openness, such as the open source which seems to oppose to the proprietary software, the former nonetheless still follows the principle of source concealment (p. 68). It is not so about the good or bad practice, but the ability to make it as the medium itself (ibid.). Although he argues “code is machinic first and linguistic second” and mainly focuses on the former, I actually think the linguistic aspect is interesting too.
I am not familiar with programming language (even the most common ones), but it seems most of the widely-used coding language linguistically are designed in English (even the developers are not from English-speaking countries, some of them still use it to attract larger audiences). This may somehow also link to the possible ideological construction of this hidden electronic kingdom (p. 54) and also its relation to the real social and technical apparatuses (no matter which comes first, in my opinion ideological apparatuses and the “real world” apparatuses seem to form a cycle and it looks like a tricky chicken-and-egg conundrum). Through understanding the very historical context of coding languages, and more broadly the computer science development (and probably economic significance) in the real world, it seems to me as another form of “ruthless rule of code” (p. 76) and the possibly ideological construction.