Graphics
Graphics refers to use of a computer to show visual information.
History of perspective computer graphics[edit]
History of perspective computer graphics in chronological order:
- Evans and Sutherland
- Ikonas
- Silicon Graphics
- 3dfx
History[edit]
Humans spent millions of years evolving a brain that is incredible at tracking a spear through the air or a predator in the brush. But for the first 30 years of computing, humans completely ignored those parts of the brain and largely communicated through strings of text. 2D graphics are a step up. An operating system where the primary input device and display are 3D is another step up from that.
A major push in consumer hardware was Steve Jobs' push at Apple to get the technology to portray a 2D spatial map and basic memory functions from the concepts at Xerox PARC, for the Macintosh.
Comparison of 2D and 3D[edit]
- A 2D list of files is better than a 3D pile of icons, but a well-designed 3D environment (like a physical library) uses human spatial memory, which is significantly more powerful than the ability to memorize a flat list of text.
2D information technology relies on Rote/List Memory and 2D parietal processing. 3D perspective computer graphics no a 2D screen utilize the parietal lobe to a small extent, but are generally limited by a keyboard and mouse, which are 2D.
Early computers were constrained to an extremely low-dimensional representational space. A command line is essentially a 1D sequential symbolic stream, temporally ordered. Very little spatial state is persistent or navigable.
2D graphics increase the dimensionality of the interaction space, so cognition shifts from pure sequence processing toward spatial mapping. Some of the earliest computer programs written for computers were programs that pushed the limits of the spatial capabilities of basic 1D terminals, such as BASIC hangman, chess, and a terminal rocket launch program.
History[edit]
The first perspective color graphics were rendered in 1968.