Consumption, Media and Personal Computers—The Development of PC Magazines and Discursive Formation of PC Power, Taiwan 1980-2000

• Main Authors: Ming-che Lee, 李明哲
• Other Authors: Lucie Cheng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/01810975525036930722

博士 === 世新大學 === 傳播研究所(含博士班) === 95 === With the full arrival of compatible IBM PCs，Taiwan plays an important role in the PC industry. The supply position not only bring huge wealth to Taiwan’s society, but also create essential material condition for Taiwan to reach into ‘information society’. However, it is critical to know that the distribution of PCs to every corner of Taiwan’s society works under the market economy system of capitalism. That means PCs show themselves as commodities to the society, and without consumption the flowing of PCs would come to an end. It is the aim of this paper to explain what kinds of discourses about computing technologies developed from 1970s to 1980s for Taiwan’s society to embrace this ‘revolutionary technology’ of 20th century. Following every historical break-though of PC technologies, from IC, CPU to PC, this paper would demonstrate that with every emergence of new technologies different patterns of the discursive formations about computing technologies flourished to pave the way for the acceptance of new computing technologies by ordinary people in the society. PC magazines published in Taiwan were used as main sources for discussion. The writer paid more attention on the content of PC magazines with ‘step-by-step’. Of the help of step-by-step, readers could not only acquire computer knowledge containing in the content, but also could practice skills to manage personal computers. It is meant that in the situation of ‘practicing’, the disciplines of PC power would be allowed to have free access to enter into the bodies of readers. With the widespread of step-by-step, the universal access to the whole society would be available, therefore materializing the information society and shaping morals of computers.