Bruce Sterling's Blog, page 688

Augmented Reality tattoo

*One has to hope that's an applique.

King of Cheez

*I give this guy some kudos for his canniness about user-generated Favela Chic humor.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/01/mf_cheezking/

*Still, to do that for a living? It must be like sweeping up spilled pepper.

Ten-dollar cardboard gecko roaches

*Do they have fifteen-dollar Vodafones on board?

http://www.citris-uc.org/publications/newsletters/current_newsletter#article-7340

(…)

Paul Birkmeyer, the graduate student who is spearheading DASH's design, was first inspired to develop inexpensive and durable robots that could be dumped by the hundreds onto disaster sites. These could work, even before the adhering gecko feet are perfected, by releasing them at the highest point on the damaged building, and then letting them work their way...

Dead Media Beat: WebWill

*How long before the dead outnumber the living?

Arts, Humanities, Complex Networks

*Liking the "possible subjects" down there:

Arts | Humanities | Complex Networks — a Leonardo satellite symposium

http://artshumanities.netsci2010.net/

We are pleased to invite you to Arts | Humanities | Complex Networks — a Leonardo satellite symposium at NetSci 2010 taking place at BarabásiLab — Center for Complex Network Research, Northeastern University in Boston, MA, on Monday, May 10, 2010.

Abstract:

By means of keynotes, contributed talks and interdisciplinary discussion we will explore ...

Cyberwar, the New Normal

*You may have missed the bulletin here while you were trying to get that PC of yours to stop its strange misbehavior. via SANS

–Cyber Warfare Part of Israeli Defense Arsenal

(February 9, 2010)

Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Israeli
chief of military intelligence Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin noted that "using
computer networks for espionage is as important to warfare today as the
advent of air support was to warfare in the 20th century," giving power
to small countries...

Exquisite Code

*I hope they're not found days later gibbering mad and cooking dead lapdogs on piles of burning telephone books.

/…Exquisite_Code…February 15 - 19th & 20th 2010…10-6pm daily…E:vent Gallery, 96 Teesdale St. London. E2…8 Writers pitched 8 hours a day for 5 days against despotic edit-code…Yield: one book…Print. Launch. Read. Evaluate…/

/…Forget insulation from the cold nagging existential doubt or refuge in stories comforting the General Intellect; a dark Forest of Things is foregrounded in...

Haiti Fatigue

*Some fatigue easier than others.

From: Cameron Sinclair, Architecture for Humanity

"Haiti Fatigue.

"It's a phrase we will begin to hear over the next few weeks. The fact is more people died in Haiti than in the 12 countries affected by the '04 Tsunami. Oh, and rainy season begins in 8 days. So this natural disaster is a big deal and it's going to get rough.

"My organization are not the first responders, we're the last responders (((gotta like that one))) and we're in for the long haul. We're ...

Barbie the Computer Geek

*Oh to have lived to see the day (thanks to MAKEZINE).

http://www.barbiemedia.com/?cat=7

For the first time ever, Barbie® asked the world to help her select her next career. Over the past few months Barbie® did research around the world and also conducted an online voting campaign, calling upon the world to vote for her doll's next career – Barbie® has asked her Twitter followers and fans on Facebook to help her with this important career decision.

But that's not all! Consumers loudly campaigned ...

Augmented Reality: Layar is boasting

*Rolling out the ol' press release. Normally I don't run press releases, but it's a little weird to see these Dutch guys acting like an actual business.

Layar opens for mainstream business

Barcelona, February 15th 2010. Augmented Reality (AR) platform provider Layar announces today the possibility for producers and publishers of AR content to offer their experiences for sale. In addition, Layar reached agreement with one of the top 3 mobile handset manufacturers for a global distribution...