After learning about archives, understanding them as the artifacts that make them up, and the process of collecting and constructing an archive, we considered the perspectives in which archives may be perceived and analyzed and the voices they do or do not represent. From this understanding, our ideas for going about reading our archive include
- taking a first-person perspective by making note of our own interactions and user experiences with given Apple computer models, keeping in mind the progression of efficiency, visual appeal, and ease of use,
- analyzing the diverse user experiences of other users by examining their criticisms and reviews of different computers and attempting to “inhabit” the users and understand the thought processes and intended approach behind each review,
- and picturing how Apple values user experience as part of software and hardware development, such as looking at who Apple considers “a part of” their audience and what lifestyle(s) Apple caters to or most supports, as well as how they address the needs and expectations of all their intended users.
In employing these techniques and viewpoints throughout our analysis, we hope to construct well-rounded comparisons founded on the idea of technological progress with respect to time and consider how these observations can be applied to or be seen in society today.