Lexia to Perplexia —
This is definitely a perplexing set of lexia to understand and experience. I don’t quite know where to start trying to describe what it is about. But, from the text and some of the objects and graphics that are in it, it seems as though it is about the computer world, and how it may compare to the real world and humans. The background of the interface is a grid-like pattern that on the foreground has a time-line of sorts on it. A few times text boxes would appear when you clicked on certain objects that were "hot" and those text boxes would have a lot of technical, computer jargon, but also mention things like "humanity." Also, a few of the objects that are "hot" look like eyeballs — a human organ. I think that the parallel trying to be made here is that we as humans are like machines. We are just as complex as a computer and function like one. The word face comes up more than once as well. The comparison reminds me of the site we looked at last week that compared us to machines using DNA as the possible link.
The Bomar Gene —
This site is also a little bit confusing and difficult to get a grasp on the main concept. From the introduction, you know that it is about one single gene which is inside every human being that is only theirs. In other words, everyone has one special gene that is unique to them. The site itself has a scroll bar at the top of the interface that is controlled through your mouse’s movements. By moving your mouse to the left or the right will determine how fast and which way the scroll bar moves. The scroll bar contains many graphics on it that you can click on. Each graphic acts as a link and it takes you to a different place than you were at before. Each place is a different representation of what I think are samples of "everyone’s unique Bomar gene." Each interface, or lexia, is different from the other and has its own "unique" characteristics and properties. I think that the site is comparing the differences in the lexia/examples to the differences in humans. Everybody growing up is told that they are special and unique in their own ways. Each person has something different to offer. This site has many different things to offer as well.
I think that these two sites use multimedia to create their arguments rather well. The Bomar Gene is much more interactive and easier to move around and understand than the Lexia to Perplexia. There are more moving parts in the Bomar Gene which therefore offers more for the user to interact with. The scroll bar is one example of a moving part, but also there seems to be a lot of movie clips that are run on a loop, as well as many rollover buttons and graphics that are clickable. As I’ve said in both, I believe that the two sites are creating a comparison between man and machine. In Lexia to Perplexia, the user interface is such that you have to move your mouse around a lot just to find something to click on. I found myself stuck in a place where I couldn’t find anything to click on. The text is also limited compared to the Bomar Gene and it seems to be a pretty linear presentation for the most part. The Bomar Gene isn’t very linear at all because you can click on any of the links from the practically always moving scroll bar at the top of the screen. You are able to click on any link that you want at anytime and none of the sites given are the same. Because there is no sequence seemingly involved with this one is what makes it non-linear. There is also a lot more text involved with Bomar as well, and more story lines to go along with. Overall, I think that the connection between these types of media and real life is that just like us, technology is always changing.