A broad art form that can include combinations of other media. Installation art is generally presented as an environment in which the viewer stands or sits to experience the piece. The distinction between an installation and a series of related artworks in the same space is a little blurry, but it usually isn't necessary to get too strict about such categorizations.

While the critical notion of the installation is unique to the late 20th century, such classical works as Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa and Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel could certainly be classified as installations.

The act of making a software package usable on one computer. Typically this involves copying files from installation media to the computer.

Brief history of software installation in PCs:

Back when hard disks started to get supplied with computers, the software makers made the software so that it could be installed in full to the hard disk - thus, there was no need to use the program from floppies. People thought this was pretty nice, because you no longer needed to swap disks, and programs loaded up much faster, too.

Then came the first problem: The amount of floppies used. Gradually 5.25" floppies were abandoned and programs came on high density 3.5" 1.44MB floppy disks. First, this was good because the 1440kB disks were thought to be really, really huge.

Later on, programs grew and grew. In the time when CD-ROMs became popular as installation media, games grew and grew - a typical game in 1993 was somewhere about 7 floppies, compressed. High compression + relatively slow processors + slow floppy drives = inconvinience. Plus, to be actually used, the whole app had to be copied on hard disk - not really nice, because people had found out that even the hard disks have limits in their sizes!

CD-ROMs came and fixed all this! I think the first Warcraft needed only 2 megabytes of hard disk space and installed fast - clearly an improvement over floppy games!

However, nowadays, CD-ROM drives are faster (still not as fast as hard disks, though) and need to be spin up for long time after long idles. Many game developers think this is the excuse to copy most of the game from CD-ROM to hard disk. Personally, I have a 10-gigabyte disk for Windows, haven't installed too many games to that, and it's almost full... Games on DVD-ROM are unlikely to fix this situation.

In`stal*la"tion (?), n. [F. installation, LL. installatio: cf. It. installazione. See Install.]

1.

The act of installing or giving possession of an office, rank, or order, with the usual rites or ceremonies; as, the installation of an ordained minister in a parish.

On the election, the bishop gives a mandate for his installation. Ayliffe.

2. Mech.

The whole of a system of machines, apparatus, and accessories, when set up and arranged for practical working, as in electric lighting, transmission of power, etc.

 

© Webster 1913.

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