With the recently-announced Korg M1 app and DS-10, the Nintendo DS handheld remains a surprisingly-good choice for handheld music making. A new app could take that further. Nintendo may have struck a blow to homebrew music developers by successfully blocking hardware that allowed it to run. But while it’s not nearly as open to development […]

What should computer graphics look like? How should drawing on a virtual screen work? They’re questions we take for granted now not so much because we’ve found every optimal solution, but because we’ve grown accustomed to certain habits. Nothing against Adobe Creative Suite, but that tool would never have been possible without experimentation in user […]

What should computer graphics look like? How should drawing on a virtual screen work? They’re questions we take for granted now not so much because we’ve found every optimal solution, but because we’ve grown accustomed to certain habits. Nothing against Adobe Creative Suite, but that tool would never have been possible without experimentation in user […]

What’s in your bag? Photo courtesy Nathan at Sonic Terrain. If you want some hope that good things can happen online, look no further than Designing Sound, a blog/online magazine by Miguel Isaza and Jake Riehle. They’ve built a place where pro legends regularly rub shoulders with newcomers eager to learn more. Now, Miguel has […]

Shimon, an adaptive, improvisational, percussion-playing robot, is getting smarter – and more famous, with appearances in places like the Stephen Colbert show. Now, humans have been known to get a big head under such circumstances. Shimon’s head has gotten “more social” – gestural intelligence helps the robot relate to fellow players and nod its head […]

chiral | documentation projection & paper sculpture | MOCA Taipei 2010 from Robert Seidel on Vimeo. Three-dimensional digital imagery is itself a kind of sculpture, albeit in virtual form. Translated to the ephemeral light beamed from projector, the projections themselves become textures in physical space. Artist Robert Seidel uses that quality to exquisite effect in […]

“ping” came before Ping – and it might just outlast it. Photo (CC-BY) Noah Sussman. And yes, when I asked readers about Ping, a number of people referred me to this one. Before diving into the litany of gripes from artists regarding Apple’s Ping social service, it’s worth saying: some critics say they expected better. […]

Softlab are at it again, with a spectacular, generated architectural volume. I was part of a group show with them last year; then, they worked entirely with the lasercutter. In the spring, they did a small work that switched media, making each piece of the installation with an inkjet printer to apply color. (Hey, it’s […]

Jon Hopkins performs live at the ICA. Photo (CC-BY-SA) Matt Biddulph. Classically trained as a pianist, musician and producer Jon Hopkins has one of the richest resumes in electronic music. He’s a frequent collaborator with Brian Eno, wand has worked with artists like Coldplay (who featured his music on their last album), Tunng, David Holmes, […]

Pocket Piano from Critter and Guitari on Vimeo. Apologies to the immense powers of lumbering studio gear, but a new lifestyle may be forming around unique, mobile, small, simple synths. The latest entry comes from none other than Critter and Gitari, some of our favorite electronics designers, based in Philadelphia. This time, they’re touting a […]