geosocial.net

It used to be that two laptops, sitting side by side, couldn’t communicate with each other; they may as well have been a thousand miles apart. But that was then, before the advent of Zero Configuration Networking technology. This amazing cross-platform open source technology automatically connects electronic devices on a network, allowing them to interoperate seamlessly-without any user configuration. So now you don’t have to lift a finger! Needless to say, it has completely changed the way people connect to devices and programs for printing, file sharing, and other activities. Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide walks you through this groundbreaking network technology, with a complete description of the protocols and ways to implement network-aware applications and devices. Written by two Zero Configuration Networking experts, including one of Apple’s own computer scientists, the book covers more than just file sharing and printing. Zero Configuration Networking also enables activities such as music and photo sharing and automatic buddy discovery on Instant Messaging applications. In fact, Zero Configuration Networking can be used for virtually any device that can be controlled by a computer. And this handy guide has the inside scoop on all of its capabilities-and how you can easily apply them in your own environment. For the technically advanced, Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide examines the three core technologies that make up Zero Configuration Networking: Link-Local Addressing, Multicast DNS, and DNS Service Discovery. It also reviews a series of APIs, including C-API, Java API, CFNetServices, and Cocoa’s NSNetServices. Whether you want to understand how iTunes works, or you want to network a series of laptops and other devices at your office for maximum efficiency, you’ll find all the answers in this authoritative guide.

Running Mac OS X Tiger is the ideal resource for power users and system administrators like you who want to tweak Tiger, the new release of Mac OS X, to run faster, better, or just differently. If you areready to dig deep into your Mac, this book expertly guides you to the core of Mac OS X. It helps you understand the inner workings of the operating system so you can know how to get the most out of it. And it gives you countless ideas–and step-by-step instruction–for customizing and revving up Tiger to your specific needs and your liking. Completely revised and updated for Mac OS X Tiger, Running Mac OS X Tiger covers all the new features and functionality of Tiger. You can count on authors Jason Deraleau and James Duncan Davidson to give what you need–and not bother with what you don’t. They don’t spend time on Finder tips and keyboard shortcuts; they focus on showing you what makes a Mac tick and, more importantly, how you can make it tick just the way you want it to. Easy to follow and intuitively organized, Running Mac OS X Tiger is divided into three parts: “Getting Started” introduces Mac OS X and explains how it’s put together and why it works; “Administration Essentials” gives you the tools you need to examine how your system is running and adjust all the knobs behind its operation; and “Networking and Network Services” covers the ways Mac OS X interfaces with the world around it, including wireless and spontaneous networking. Developer Tools for Mac OS X, including Xcode, are discussed throughout the book as appropriate. For the growing number of intermediate to advanced users who are ready and eager to customize Mac OS X, Running Mac OS X Tiger delivers everything you need to become master of your Mac.

I´m having such a fantastic time here at the Computer Chaos´ congress, that i hardly have any neurone left in the brain to blog. Apparently, i´m not the only one who feels happy and honored to be in such a crowd.

I met Nico Lumma the other day, he´s the German blogger who´s been sent an AIBO to review as well. Nice to share views, opinions and pet owners´ tips. He got exactly the same dog as me. First time i saw his Botterhund (that´s the name of his own Cloclo), he/it was switched off, getting charged in the speaker´s room.

I wasn´t missing Cloclo at all. So far. But suddenly i felt like sneaking out of the room with the dog. It could have been Cloclo. Then Nico arrived, switched the AIBO on and after a few minutes it was clear to me: this couldn´t be my robot. Cloclo wouldn´t behave that way, he´s not so confident among people, he would be less of a crowd-pleaser and more of an explorer of the space around. Strange strange feeling. Two identical robots, same colour, same software, same camouflage ears and they have both their own personality.

Human relationships are often the battleground for all kinds of psychotic disorders and delusions. One of the strongest feelings between partners is the feeling of jealousy, “which is born in love and which is produced by the fear that the loved person prefers someone else.” (Dictionnaire de la Langue Française, Littré)

Many women as well as men instigate such a feeling in their partner intentionally. Jealous behaviour of a partner may improve self-esteem or can test the strength of the relationship. If you think that faking an affair could do some good to your love story, here’s a the Traces of an Imaginary Affair kit. These are tools and probes which leave traces of an imaginary affait on the body such as bite-marks, carpet-burns or bondage marks. It also contains probes which can be left on either body or clothes, such as perfume, hairs and lipstick.

A concept project by Design Product student Björn Franke.

Pretty stimulating introduction speech by Tim Pritlove this morning at the 22 Computer Chaos Congress. I´ll write it down for my mum and many many friends who think that hackers are smelly, dangerous and wear skull rings on every finger.

Here you go:

Let´s fight the distorted image of the hacker by listing what hackers are not:
- we are not criminals. Hacking is about freedom, understanding the –more and more filled with technologies– world outside,
- we are not all-mighty uber-geeks, we are people who explore, who are curious, want to go into things,
- we´re not there to fix your Windows box,
- we´re not to be ignored. Hackers have a voice.

What hackers are:
- we are concerned. Concerned about how the world works and try to see how to make it work in a better way,
- we are commited to do that,

The first congress was held 22 years ago by a small group of people who had the feeling that computers would have such a huge impact on our lives. It was in Hamburg in 1984. Yes, 1984, icon of surveillance and opression. Even in Germany today laws are voted that make these issues more present than ever. That´s a reason why the theme of this year is Private investigations.

Some pretty cool things available for everyone here:

- POC: Phone Operation Centre, you can buy one of the handset here and also get a free phonebook so you can call any participants for free at any time. You can even listen to lectures live on the phone.
- CERT: Chaos Emergency Response Team (medical support),
- Art & Beauty (I still have to explore that one) with food, music, BlinkenArea, machatronics, lockpicking lounge, etc.
- Everyone´s favourite is the Hacker Ethics Hotline: just call and ask questions such as: is it morally justifiable to do this? How much trouble will i cause if this thing goes wrong? if i press this button? What´s the most efficient way to handle this?
Call 1042. It´s free!

Check their weblog for more.

Fascinating article in The Economist about the love of Japanese for robots. Made me think of the conversation i had with Roger Ibars about karakuri.

With too few workers supporting an ageing population, Japan is learning how to make robots that can do many of jobs that immigrant workers would be delighted to get. But the country’s keen interest in robots also reflects the fact that Japanese really like dealing with robots.

Wheile in western popular culture, robots are often a threat, most Japanese view robots as friendly and benign. Most Japanese take an eclectic approach to religious beliefs, and the native religion, Shintoism, is infused with animism: it does not make clear distinctions between inanimate things and organic beings.

Japanese popular culture has also consistently portrayed robots in a positive light, ever since Japan created Tetsuwan Atomu, in 1951.

Although they are at ease with robots, many Japanese are not as comfortable around other people, especially foreigners. It is impossible to embarrass a robot, or be embarrassed, by saying the wrong thing. Therefore, argues The Economist“>The Economist, many Japanese seem to like robot versions of living creatures precisely because they are different from the real thing.

An example is AIBO. There is a big difference between Japanese and American consumers. American tend to be computer geeks who want to hack the dog’s programming. Most Japanese consumers like AIBO because it is a clean, safe and predictable pet.

To understand how Japanese might find robots less intimidating than people, Karl MacDorman, researcher at Osaka University, has been investigating eye movements, using headsets that monitor where subjects are looking. When answering questions put by another Japanese, the subjects made eye contact around 30% of the time. But when they talk to Hiroshi Ishiguro’s android, ReplieeQ1, they were much more likely to look it in the eye.

Eventually, interactive robots are going to become more common. In other rich countries as well. As we´ll be spending time with them, we are likely to develop emotional reactions to such lifelike machines.

Via robotics.

Maria’s is a fantastic place in what looks like an old bank where Burdett Road meets Commercial Road. It’s never going to win a preservation order but it’s a splendidly functional cafe with a graphic sensibility all of its own. And they serve a very decent cup of tea.

Textbook condiment display - high quality sauces and classic dispensers.

Great use of colour - that blue, that yellow. This’ll wake you up and get you ready for work.

But this is the icing on the splendid cake. These inspired freelance graphics. Someone’s just got splendidly mad with a paintbrush and an imagination.

Look at the teeth on that hungry ‘e’

Smoked Salmon Sushi Roll
Submitted by: Vivian
“A very basic and easy way to make sushi rolls.”
Original recipe yield: 6 rolls.
Prep Time:
30 Minutes
Ready In:
5 Hours
Servings:
6 (change)
INGREDIENTS:
* 2 cups Japanese sushi rice
* 6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
[…]

From 2006 Britain will be the first country where every journey by every car will be monitored.

Using a network of cameras that can read every passing number plate, the plan is to build a huge database of vehicle movements so that the police and security services can analyse any journey a driver has made over several years.

The network will incorporate thousands of existing CCTV cameras which are being converted to read number plates automatically night and day to cover motorways, main roads, towns, cities, ports and petrol-station forecourts.

The details of 35 million number-plate “reads” per day will be recorded for at least two years and will include time, date and precise location, with camera sites monitored by global positioning satellites.

If the police and security services can show that a national surveillance operation based on recording car movements can protect the public against criminals and terrorists, there will be a strong political will to do the same with street cameras designed to monitor the flow of human traffic. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch in Hertfordshire is already working on ways of automatically recognising human faces in a crowd by computer.

Via Varnelis< The Independent 1 and 2.

=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/74828596@N00/70839664/in/pool-1984/”>Image from flickr 1984 pool.

Frida V. is a computer-enabled bicycle that allows riders to map open WIFI nodes in urban spaces. It carries a small computer, GPS device, 802.11 wireless network transciever and a basic audiovisual recording unit. The system enables automated mapping of stumbled wireless networks, easy creation of location-tagged media and opportunistic synchronization with a server resource on the internet.

Luka Frelih is in residency in New York (at the Thing space, at 32 Avenue of the Americas (6th ave), cross Walker street) through January 9th. You can contact him (luka(AT)ljudmila.org) to ride his bicycle to locate WIFI hotspots and map/photograph/ whatever in your neighborhood.
Interview of the artist. Video of the bicycle.

Via post.thing.