05-04-09

Go Trek Yourself

Yes, we’ve had the original Simpsonize Me and countless other ones, but Trek Yourself passed the ‘Will it work with a cat wearing goggles?’ test. Nice work, if a little bit scary looking.

EDIT – I’ve removed the video as it auto-loaded and was getting on my you-know-whats.

06-18-08

We’ve come a long way, Baby

Technology moves super quick and over the past few decades we’ve come on leaps and bounds and pretty much take it for granted that we can broadcast live from our mobile phones. Every so often it’s nice to be reminded of that and I had one of those moments this morning.

Here is a link to what’s thought to be the oldest known recordings of computer generated music – in this case “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “In the Mood” – released ahead of the 60th anniversary of ‘Baby” – the forerunner of all modern computers. (Shame on you BBC for not allowing me to embed the player!) And here is a link to a great video explaining more about more the Manchester-based magical computer behind the music.

And, carrying on with the anniversary theme, here’s a guy retracing the very room in which the internet was born at UCLA (more details here on the forthcoming 40th anniversary of the birth of the internet).

Finding ARPANET: The First (Physical) Site of the Internet from Brad Fidler on Vimeo.

And to finish thing’s off – blending music and computers and the web – here’s a cracking rendition of Radiohead’s Nude, with the following band members (!):

Sinclair ZX Spectrum – Guitars (rhythm & lead)
Epson LX-81 Dot Matrix Printer – Drums
HP Scanjet 3c – Bass Guitar
Hard Drive array – Act as a collection of bad speakers – Vocals & FX

Big Ideas (don’t get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

middledigit_

If technology doesn't seem like magic, it's probably obsolete . . .

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