7 and 9, esp. Concerning the aesthetical approach to the meaning of information technology, cf. In other words, I hold that the design of software is intrinsically a branch of cinema. This is an exact statement about the nature of software and the nature of cinema. Motion pictures are events on a screen that affect the minds and the hearts of the viewer.
Software is events on the screen that affect the mind and heart of the viewer, with interaction.
So the only difference is that interaction is possible, so you have extended cinema in which the user exerts a certain measure of control. Now, virtuality is my term for the most important defining traits of software. Other people say things like interface, and to me the entire issue is one of virtuality. Virtuality is essentially the seeming of something as distinct from its reality, which is the nuts and bolts of the hardware. So, everything has a virtuality, and you either design it explicitly or you do not.