geosocial.net

This show, organized within a series of exhibitions curated by Command-N, an activity-based art collective directed by artist Masato Nakamura, highlights the newest activities of artist Hideki Nakazawa, focused on the actual patents he has obtained during the past recent years. His main patent deals with the very simple idea of a “3D bitmap”: if you know what a “pixel” (= abbreviation of pictures + element) is, you just need to think of a pixel in 3 dimensions. This 3D pixel is called “Voxel” (= combination of “volumetric” and “pixel”) and it is Nakazawa who owns the patent for deploying any 3D bitmap art form. He claims that the purest artistic form of expression does not lie in the use of a medium, but rather in the act of creating the medium itself, just like Leonardo Da Vinci who spent a considerable amount of time just in preparing his ideal pigment. With this hypothesis, Nakazawa claims that the artistic quality of his work only resides in the following table:

Left, you see the actual sketch by the artist (in Japanese).

In the exhibition, you can take a look at the actual patent certificates that the artist obtained both in Japan and the US, along with a showcase of the 3D Bitmap editing software he directed and published in 1996.

I was invited to one of his talk shows. As someone who researches the digital copyright licensing system, my initial interest vis-à-vis Nakazawa’s project was inevitably focused on his use of the patent, a right managing system parallel to the copyright system.

Although Nakazawa’s interest to the law was only secondary, I found the way he sells his ‘art patent’ most interesting above all: you can spend ¥150,000 to become one of the stake-holder of the patent, so that you can get capital bonus when the patent receives licensing fees. Even if Nakazawa’s ‘invention’ has nothing new technically, his concept of creation of the medium reveals itself very stimulating to the informational age we are living in.

Via TABlog EN

The best way to liven up a bland room is with color. And while you’ll hear again and again that an easy way to bring in color is with simple accessories like pillows and vases, this is a fix that people can recognize, and it looks like what it is: timid. If you really like bright or saturated colors,…

Here’s a nice looking 2-family limestone in the outer reaches of Greenpoint. And when we say outer, we mean outer. Apollo Street is on the eastern edge of the polish/hipster nabe a couple of blocks from the BQE. The location, combined with the lack of interior photos on the site (though that may be explained by the fact that there is no selling broker), makes us a little skeptical about the $799,000 asking price for what is really just a two-story house, attractive exterior notwithstanding. What can people tell us about this immediate area and transportation alternatives? There was an open house a couple of weekends ago. Anyone go?
Apollo Street House [Pepe Real Estate] GMAP

Via brownstoner

(Guest post by Tad)

There is a new bilingual design magazine here in Germany. We already have at least four design magazines (depending on what you deem design), but ROGER matches or surpasses most of them. And ROGER is certainly the only German design magazine the rest of the world should care about, because it is the only one that cares.

While reading design magazines and design news sources online I am often appalled by the lack of social responsibility, critical reflection, and political wisdom. People hail works of designers even if the client earns his money from, say, exploitation in the global south, undemocratic regimes, or the arms trade — as long as the aesthetic value of the design work is somewhat recognizable. Not being a designer myself, but often in need of design services, I have met and worked with many designers who share the same impression. I love well designed websites or magazines — indeed I collect them. And there is a new item in my collection: the third issue of ROGER with “International Angst” as the main topic. It combines both design and responsibility.

ROGER tackles design related questions with a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. It closes the gap between your usual design magazine and political types like Adbusters and Consumerevolution. It is the closest yet to a “social design magazine.”

The current issue focuses on the “culture of fear” discussing its effects on society and on designers developing products to match customer demands in a market driven by irrational necessities. The issue features a range of articles addressing the premise from different angles. Whether it is a report from the International Design Action Day (IDAD) or a background article on the reasons for setting up Esuvee.com, a site warning about the dangers of Sports Utility Vehicles, or an interview with the curator of MoMA’s SAFE exhibition, it is always clear that the topic is more than just design. ROGER shows design can be more than aesthetics or selling products. True design is about shaping, shaping our society or future ones. No wonder a feature article on Buckminster Fuller introduces the idea of design science. The magazine itself sounds a little like a scientific project too, to prove that designers can indeed take responsibility.

ROGER is published by the KISD Club, an association of students from the Köln International School of Design. Because the magazine is bilingual, in both English and German, some articles are a little short and the pages, a little crowded. ROGER’s motto “Design People Questions” is also more ambitious than it appears at first. So much more that the magazine sometimes fails to meet its own ambitions. The article about a Chinese design fair called TIC 100 doesn’t even mention that it takes place under a bloody regime that does not hesitate to jail reporters or kill students.

Still, the Editorial of the second issue, which is partly available online, expresses more than I can paraphrase:

“Design tends to be misunderstood and the self-presentations of the primadonnas contribute to this…. It would be better to reorganize those living and consuming circumstances that have become completely absurd and yet serve as a desirable example everywhere…. Luckily, some designers are already conscious of their responsibility.”

Find out more at http://roger.kisd.de/

Via O’Reilly Network Safari Bookshelf

Think you can stop stuffing your face with burgers and fries long enough to check out the Sharp Papyrus PW-9920? This intuitive portable device is on hand to be your personal dietitian and health adviser, feeding you all kinds of info concerning what you may be putting into your mouth. Comes with a 320×240 dot-matrix LCD that displays 18 lines of text, runs on two LR 03 batteries, and has menu customization, search and list functions and an English/Japanese dictionary. Though for $360, you may just want to hire yourself a good trainer. Or stop eating fried foods. Whatever works.

Sharp Papyrus PW-9920 [Mobilewhack]

Thought you couldn’t afford that phone covered with crystals? Well, if you’re into the DIY approach, you can make your own. This kit from Smooth Talk International is called Bling, and each packet contains 300 individual, different-colored stick-on crystals and stones that you can use to create your own shiny piece of gadgetry. Looks basically like those body jewels things except with a stronger glue. You can get them in pre-set designs or use them to customize to your heart’s content. Starts at $15 and goes up from there.

Blingstyles [Bling]

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The January•February 2006 issue of TechNet Magazine is now available online at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2006/01/default.aspx.

A downloadable CHM file of the entire issue is available from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/htmlhelp.aspx.

An RSS feed is also available from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/rss/recent.xml.

Qualified IT Pros in the US can sign up for a FREE print subscription at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/subscribe.aspx.

Interesting in contributing to TechNet Magazine?  Drop the editors a note at tnsubmit@microsoft.com.

Questions? Comments?  Feedback?  Send mail to tnmag@microsoft.com.

Enjoy!

Joshua Hoffman
Technical Editor
TechNet Magazine

We’re looking for a talented web developer!  If you’re interested, see the following post from the Microsoft.com Careers site to submit your resume:

http://members.microsoft.com/careers/search/details.aspx?JobID=E57CDB82-C8E2-4C15-A66E-6AE01344719E&start=1&interval=10

Looking for a challenge? Want to own the responsibility for communicating with over 500,000 developers and IT pros every month via two award winning Microsoft web sites? If you are passionate about Microsoft’s developer and IT pro audiences and are interested in making a real difference in their perception of Microsoft, this job may be for you. The MSDN & TechNet Product Group - MTPG - is looking for an experienced Web Developer/Site Manager for the MSDN and TechNet Magazine sites. We are seeking a technically savvy, results-driven individual to own, manage, maintain, and improve the two magazine sites. The ideal candidate has lots of passion and web site management experience and is interested in working for Microsoft in New York City, where the Magazine team is based.

As Web Developer/Site Manager you will be responsible for:
–Owning, managing and maintaining the two magazine web sites:
-MSDN Magazine
-TechNet Magazine

– Owning, compiling and reporting monthly usage/metrics for both sites
– Developing and maintaining tools needed to operate the sites
– Act as web liaison to Microsoft Corp in Redmond
– Produce annual CD compilations for both magazines

To qualify for the position, you should have the following experience:
–4 to 6 years of web site management
–Tool expertise with: HTML, XML, ASP.NET, C#, javascript, SQL Server, IIS, Photoshop, InDesign, Excel, and Visual Basic
–Education: BA, preferably in computer science or a related discipline

The position reports to the Senior Director of the Magazine team and plays a pivotal role as the web guru for the magazine editorial staff.

Come join our team!

-Josh

Joshua Hoffman
Technical & Acquisitions Editor
TechNet Magazine

Post number 5 - see all the previous postings here:  All My Thoughts on AJAX/ATLAS.

In Post #2, I left off with the idea that AJAX itself wasn’t the silver bullet for web apps.  Simply put, web applications have really exploded around a single primary benefit (ease of distribution) while living with a single primary weakness (poor UI).  AJAX, as an approach for building web apps, really slots itself in the middle of that primary benefit and that primary weakness.  In specific, it really addresses the weakness (poor UI) without comprimising the benefit (ease of distribution).  However, in doing so AJAX has introduced a second primary weakness - that being, the strength of the environment that is available to write AJAX-styled applications for the web.

The environment for writing applications really comes down to three things:

1. What tools exists for developers to write and debug the actual code?
2. What framework exists for developers to leverage in doing server-side development?
3. What framework exists for developers to leverage in doing client-side development?

AJAX is “Asynchronous Javascript and XML”, so at it’s roots as an approach is the idea of improving the UI by using Javascript.  Javascript, as a framework for building applications, is way way behind the two dominant application platforms out there today (those being .Net and Java/J2EE).  So, in terms of the development environment, there really isn’t anything out there for building AJAX-styled applications that even touches the state of the art for building .Net apps (Visual Studio) or Java apps (Eclipse). 

In terms of a server-side framework (this is item two in the list above) AJAX as an approach prescribes nothing - your server-side framework need only be capable of being called from client-side Javascript.   In terms of a client-side framework (item 3 above), there are a bunch of initiatives out there for building out the client-side javascript framework required for writing AJAX-sytled apps.

So, this is really the strenth of the ATLAS offering - that is, Microsoft will provide the “environment” for building AJAX-styled applications.  But unlike most (or all) other initiatives out there, Microsoft will not stop at just building a client-side framework.  They’re busy building out the full environment for writing AJAX apps - that includes integrating AJAX support right into Visual Studio (they already have an awesome ability to debug client-side Javascript that nearly noboday knows about), they’ll build server-side support right into the .Net framework and and they’ll provide the client-side framework required.

Do not underestimate this tri-fecta => there are very few companies in the world that can provide the full environment besides Microsoft.  I suspect, that in mid-2006 (when ATLAS is released and no guarantees that this is the actual date) we’ll see that the best platform for building AJAX apps is indeed Microsoft ATLAS.

Next up - gadgets & www.live.com.  Stay tuned.

/s.

Lightbulb explores and blends two phenomena: the stabilization of unstable systems using feedback, and wireless power transmission. Feedback systems can levitate objects, stabilize inverted pendulums, etc. Wireless power transmission has been around since Tesla’s invention a century ago, although it is still not widely utilized.

Magnets and circuitry are hidden inside the bulb. “Using a magnetic hall effect sensor, an electromagnet, and a [modified] PD feedback system, it floats a lightbulb stably in the air, while power is transmitted wirelessly from the base of the sculpture into the bulb. LEDs in the bulb rectify this power and convert it to light. The power transfer functions very similarly to how radio station tuning works.”

By Jeff Lieberman.