Depending on the software I am using, the “properties” of a media object can change dramatically. Exactly the same file with the same contents can take on a varirty of identities depending on the software being used.
What does this finding means in relation to the persisting primacy of the term “digital” in understanding new media? Let me answer this as clear and direct as I can. There is no such thing as “digital media.” There is only software – as applied to media data (or “content”.)
Download full article (1500 words):
There is Only Software (PDF).
FILE 2011 Catalog by onlinetexts
Article published in the Electronic Language International Festival (FILE) in 2011, page (272). Translated into Portuguese by Cicero Inacio da Silva.
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Reference:
Lev Manovich. "There is Only Software." 2011 version. Available at www.softwarestudies.com
