Navigating the vision science Internet.

Software for visual psychophysics: an overview version 6.5, http://www.hans.strasburger.de/psy_soft.html Hans Strasburger Vision scientists seek to understand visual perception and its underlying mechanisms. To do so, we primarily use computer and electronic technologies to construct images, display them to observers, and record measures of visual function. This capacity to reproduce images of desired properties as part of a controlled, reliable, reproducible, and innovative experiment requires overcoming many technological and methodological challenges. Hans Strasburger's “Software for visual psychophysics: an overview” (version 6.5, http://www.hans.strasburger.de/psy_soft.html) is a compendium of Internet resources relevant to the vision scientist seeking to overcome such challenges. The website aggregates links to external sites containing specific information regarding software, hardware, and related concepts of interest to the vision scientist. The bulk of the website is devoted to listing software and hardware useful for presenting visual images in the context of investigating visual perception. This list is categorised into areas such as software for visual image generation and display, data analysis, clinical applications, general experiment control, software from related fields (neurophysiology, virtual reality, audition, eye movements), and general hardware concerns. The website also includes links and discussion of relevant topics such as monitors and timing, teaching materials, societies, discussion lists, and museums related to visual perception. As this summary suggests, the website is comprehensive in its scope and treatment of software, vision, and psychophysics. “Software for visual psychophysics” first went online in 1995. For some context, that same year saw the publication of “The Internet? Bah!” (by Clifford Stoll, http://www.newsweek.com/id/106554)—a newspaper column now infamous for its lack of prophecy on the Internet's future. Yet alongside the column's regrettable predictions (“we'll soon buy books and newspapers straight over the Internet. Uh, sure.”), it describes an Internet that was difficult to navigate and full of content of dubious quality—a “wasteland of unfiltered data”. Strasburger's website must have been invaluable in such an environment, but does it retain its relevance in the modern Internet of reasonably accurate searching and comprehensive publicly-curated encyclopedias? The brief descriptions and contextual information accompanying the website's links and their clustering into useful categories provides information difficult to gain from simple searching. Although the advantages over public encyclopedias—which could, potentially, provide similar capabilities—are less clear, I suspect that, in this instance, the consistency and knowledge provided by a single experienced voice may trump the benefits of public curation. Minor aspects of the current website may limit its utility and usability, however. First, the number of invalid links (around 10%, as assessed in June, 2012, with LinkChecker 7.8; http://linkchecker.sourceforge.net/) can make for a frustrating visit. Second, it can be difficult to discern the resources that are popular and active from those of more historical interest. Third, it is unclear on what criteria the resources within each category are ordered—leading to the possibility that visitors may assume an implied ranking of resource quality. Finally, the rather utilitarian website design—a single page of text with minimal formatting and graphical niceties—may give the misleading impression of inactive maintenance. Despite such quibbles, “Software for psychophysics” is an excellent resource for those seeking to navigate the Internet relevant to vision science and its practice. Visitors are also encouraged to consider the introductory section and its useful background, opinions, and guidance regarding vision science's computing and technology ecosystem. In it, Strasburger states his motivation for the site's development as centred around the question “how should we best do psychophysical experimenting?”. Although the question has no straightforward answers, “Software for visual psychophysics” offers a valuable overview of the Internet resources available for the vision scientist seeking to develop their own perspective on this fundamental issue. Damien J. Mannion, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota e-mail: ude.nmu@noinnamd