Reading 5 - Michael Jennings

In Cory Arcangel's article, "On Compression," he explains how files, specifically JPEGs, are compressed. This compression is a lossy compression which causes images to appear blurry when transferred from one place to another, usually the Internet.

Because of lossy compression, finding a good image to use from the internet can be tricky, especially for a project that requires high attention to detail. Although most changes to images are minor, losing information about an image, a song, or a video can prove annoying to people trying to work with these files at a microscopic level.

I have taken graphic design classes in the past, and when trying to find an image for a project involving a  car, I had to search for a highly specific image. I wanted to find a photo of a 2002 Mazda Protege. I could not find one of high enough quality for a long time because it was a very specific car that is not necessarily a popular or luxurious car. Everyone else in the class chose crazy expensive cars such as  Audi R8's, Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, etc. High quality images of these cars are easy to find, but mine was not.

I'm not sure if lossy image compression is to blame for this or just simply the size of files. Images of nice cars are usually higher resolution images to be used for computer backgrounds and other things, but the 2002 Mazda Protege only has low quality, low resolution images from used car dealerships.

This reminded me of the point Arcangel made about slow transportation of full quality images. Because luxury cars are more expensive and more relevant than the Mazda Protege, people are more willing to transport high quality images of an Audi R8 or a Bentley.