An interesting article-interview with Vic Hayes the Dutch engineer who is graced with inventing the standards that make Wi-Fi (802.11b) among others, such as the new 802.11g (Airport Extreme) a reality.
The article comments on bandwidth, broadcast range, adoption, industrial-product design, future visions, limited spectrum, wireless wrist watches and limits of the 802.11x standards.
The business-legal step by iTunes
Everywhere I look there seems to be an article, blog post or review of the new Apple iTunes version and the Music Store. Here is an interesting article, which looked more at the current legal situation with MP3’s, music and video and comments on the business and legal benefits Apple is making by launching iTunes 4.0 on April 28.
The interesting aspect of the article is that it comments on “Changing the Culture” of online music by making people more aware of their legal responsibilities.
Alias-Wavefront ships Maya 5
The Academy winning software by Alias Wavefront has now reached a new level with the release of Maya 5. The new version of the software which is used by a multide of film, video artists, computer game developers and design professionals to create engaging digital imagery, animation and visual effects is available once again in 3 versions – Unlimited, Complete and Personal Learning Edition (version 4.5 free via download).
How to achieve web standards and quality on the Web?
The W3C (the Web governing body) have posted an interesting and useful article on making a website standards compliant. The article covers good and useful techniques to adopt, the types of DOC-TYPES available, CSS validation and Accessbility.
GRAPHITE 2003 Conference Screening
There will be a screening of the GRAPHITE Electronic Theatre Festival and presentations of the events/conference tomorrow night at the Australian Film TV and Radio School, Main Theatre – Tuesday 6th May 6:30pm.
Peter Giles, Head of Digital Media for the Australian Film Television and Radio School forwarded the invitation, with more details found at the Siggraph Sydney website.
GRAPHITE 2003 was an International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques for Australasia and South East Asia held on 11-14 February 2003.
What is a Web Beacon?
I came across the proper definition for a term/process I had used in the past and knew existed, but didn’t know its name until just then. Here is a definition from Webopedia for Web Beacon. It is also called a Web bug or a clear GIF.
IPPA opens nominations for DesignerOne Awards
The IPPA (Internet Professional Publisher Association) has opened the submission and nomination process for the DesignerONE Awards for 2002-2003. The submission is open to anyone with a portfolio and is working in New Media and website design. More info can be found at the IPPA D1 website. The Deadline for Submission is June 30, 2003.
New Scientist Sydney and Melbourne debates
There are two debates happening in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday 15 May in Sydney and Friday 16 May in Melbourne, as part of the New Scientist Human Nature debates.
The NEW SCIENTIST SCIENCE DEBATES are part of a worldwide debate series on a round up and analysis of the very latest thinking on human nature. A summary of the debates will be published in two special issues which will include special guest writers the Dalai Lama, Dan Dennet, Matt Ridley and Alison Gopnik.
The Googlewacking homepage
A friend of mine Emma mentioned the coined term Googlewhack over dinner the other night. Here is the official website by Gary Stock, who is credited for coining the word.
Phonetically searching Audio
Technology Review posts an interesting article by John Harney titled, The Grammar of Sound which looks at a new software by a company called Fast-Talk Communications that allows a new way of searching through audio files by phonetically spelling out a word and searching the file for matches. Fast-Talk are currently providing a free trial of their software.
How to use Google
Here is a useful article on how to use google by practice. The article also shows some of the keywords and arguments that can be used with the search engine.
Photo of London from the International Space Station
Here is a night photograph of the streetlights in London, England taken by a digital camera from the International Space Station.
E-Travel photos by Tony Costa
Peter Czachorowski from Bluefleet has posted a link to a really great photography website of locations from all around the world. The photos have all been taken by Tony Costa during his journeys to and through various exotic and some not so exotic destinations including, Peru, Argentina, Egypt, Alaska, India, Laos, Tibet among others.
The categories include, Sunrises & Sunsets, Birds, Wildlife, People, Ruins, Temples & Mausoleums, Beaches, Mountains, Waterfalls & Black & White.
New Spencer Tunick Photography
Spencer Tunick has created another creative nude artwork, this time in London, for Selfridges’s Oxford Street store. Mr Tunick is famous throughout the world for photographing nude crowds in urban landscapes. Here is a recent photo taken in Melbourne, Australia
An Ethnographic Quote
While the ethnographer is interested in understanding human behavior as it is reflected in the lifeways of diverse communities of people, the designer is interested in designing artifacts that will support the activites of these communities.
Reference: Blomberg J., Schukler D. ed., Namioka A. ed. (1993) Ethnographic Field Methods and Their Relation to Design. Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. London, Hove. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. p. 123.