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Technology

Wired93: the idea

Art, Print, Technology by
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I recently had the happy surprise of stumbling upon a September/October 1993 (pictured, too, in the Wikipedia entry) issue of Wired magazine – with William Gibson on the cover, no less.

Since I owe a very large part of who I am to reading this publication religiously from an evening in detention in 2000 until today, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at what was going on during the innaugural year of Wired. It could be said that little is accomplished in the world of technology by way of nostalgia, but I think that there is something to be gained from a bit of reflection just the same as in the art writing.

Besides, there will be lots to laugh at as we trek through technology from 18 years ago.

So, after only the first few pages (it’s late), what have I uncovered?

  • “I can record on a disc!” MiniDisc ad from Sony
  • classified style ad for Microsoft looking for a Visual Interface Designer and listing an actual postal address complete with Attn: instructions for submitting a résumé
  • “I want to discuss another dinosaur, one that may be on the road to extinction. I am referring to the American media…” (Not bad, not bad.)
  • Global Village fax/modem two page spread

If the next 101 pages keep up the pace set by the first 19, we are in for some real treats.

My windows, my choice

Cars, Technology by
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As much as I hate to imagine children touching the windows of my car, this concept from Toyota called “Window to the World” is pretty darned cool.  Really reminds me of the recent-ish Corning future of glass video.  The YouTube commenter on that one earns another point in my book with his suggestion of buying stock in Windex.

The Singularity will be tweeted

Internet, Technology by
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The power of elites, based on money and nominal authority, will be complemented and balanced by people representing new forms of power and influence. Individuals and groups will self-organize into power blocs of an unexpected nature, and wield influence.

Wired put up a great guest column by Craig Newmark that’s got my brain all twitchy.  I write about it now having not fully digested it, so this post is both an encouragement for others to go read what Newmark has to say – and a reminder for me to re-read it thoroughly.  However, it plays out fast and likens Ben Franklin to DARPA and caffeine consumption to social networking with quite a bit in between.  Could we have already stumbled into the dreams of Ray Kurzweil?

Wear this

Art, Fashion, Technology by
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Parts are cheaper, knowledge and sharing are happening more than ever, and it’s easy to find people who have the skills you may need to work with. Even 3D printing is becoming more common. When you combine all this, I think we might just be entering a wearable electronics era.

Phillip Torrone provides an exhaustive (if exhausting) rundown of his experiments and the experiments of other within the realm of wearable technology. Notable mentions include the iCufflinks and Project Runway‘s Diana Eng.

(io9)

Ready, aim, fire

Internet, Technology by
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Well, this ought to be entertaining:

Salutations Lulz Lizards,

As we’re aware, the government and whitehat security terrorists across the world continue to dominate and control our Internet ocean. Sitting pretty on cargo bays full of corrupt booty, they think it’s acceptable to condition and enslave all vessels in sight. Our Lulz Lizard battle fleet is now declaring immediate and unremitting war on the freedom-snatching moderators of 2011.

Welcome to Operation Anti-Security (#AntiSec) – we encourage any vessel, large or small, to open fire on any government or agency that crosses their path. We fully endorse the flaunting of the word “AntiSec” on any government website defacement or physical graffiti art. We encourage you to spread the word of AntiSec far and wide, for it will be remembered. To increase efforts, we are now teaming up with the Anonymous collective and all affiliated battleships.

Whether you’re sailing with us or against us, whether you hold past grudges or a burning desire to sink our lone ship, we invite you to join the rebellion. Together we can defend ourselves so that our privacy is not overrun by profiteering gluttons. Your hat can be white, gray or black, your skin and race are not important. If you’re aware of the corruption, expose it now, in the name of Anti-Security.

Top priority is to steal and leak any classified government information, including email spools and documentation. Prime targets are banks and other high-ranking establishments. If they try to censor our progress, we will obliterate the censor with cannonfire anointed with lizard blood.

It’s now or never. Come aboard, we’re expecting you…

History begins today.

Lulz Security,
http://LulzSecurity.com/

I’ll be keeping an eye out for all manner of juicy leaked documents.  If governments thought WikiLeaks was a nuisance…

New Björk

Art, Internet, Music, Technology by
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Björk

I really needn’t say too much more than that.

I will, though. I’ll start with this quote from The Guardian:

“The Modern Things” […] playfully posits the theory that technology has always existed, waiting in mountains for humans to catch up. In fact, Björk has always seemed like an artist who’s been waiting for technology to catch up with her. Finally, it seems to have done so.”

(1. I love “The Modern Things“, one of my all-time favorites.) The new album, Biophilia will be taking the form of a collection of iPad mini-apps, one for each track. (2. Yes, Björk is releasing her album on the iPad.) Not content to just put out a static package of music, Björk will also be releasing evolving content during the lifespan of the album – and every single track can be remixed and reconfigured via games and other creative means. (3. Not just an iPad gimmick but a project that takes advantage of the iPad’s living nature.) The new release will even be toured with iPads in the band, as they are used to mix the songs on stage – when we aren’t too busy playing the “gameleste”, an instrument Björk commissioned from an Icelandic artist. (4. See 2 and, also, holy shit.)

björk: road to crystalline from Björk on Vimeo.

Because who doesn’t want to listen to Björk’s new album on a road trip…with Björk?

I know I can’t wait. There will even be a video directed by Gondry to kick things off, we’ve been told.

A.A. (Artificial Artistry)

Art, Internet, Technology, Unexplained by
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If you’ve ever found something strange – or strangely unexpected – on Google’s Street View, then 9-eyes.com is for you.  Its curator, Jon Rafman, collects some of the most arresting images that that the overmind of G has captured accidentally as it roves the land.  You could easily lose hours on this blog, so be warned.

(Autoblog)

Designing the future

Technology by
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[…] innovation is not the product of one person’s great idea, but rather many people’s trial and error, ragpicking from the past. […] it takes 20 years for a new idea to become a mature product category

The Altantic takes a wide-eyed look at Microsoft scientist, Bill Buxton’s fascinating gadget collection in a recent piece on the evolution of today’s most inspired technologies.  While I had seen some of the mid-20th century inspirations for Apple’s designs, I hadn’t necessarily seen many of the devices that Buxton has amassed.  Really cool stuff, especially for charting tech progress!