Democratizing Creative Tech: Julià Carboneras, OFFF (English + Espanol)

Gijs Gieskes setting up, as I look on (bottom left). Photo courtesy OFFF Festival. What does it mean to truly democratize technology? When is DIY more than just the creation of an object? That’s the question asked by our friend Julià Carboneras, who curated the new Nerdeferences feature of the OFFF digital design conference in […]

Playing Bananas, Potted Plants, and a Workshop on Microorganism-made Music

NK Berlin is a planetary hub for wild experiments made with music, technology, and electronics. When you can’t be in Berlin soaking it up in person, you can explore the oddities assembled on their MySpace page. A recent workshop by Andrey Smirnov and Guy Van Belle on Theremins led to these unusual videos, playing a […]

Euphonix EuControl Software Patched, Fixes 10.5.7 Support and More

That was quick! The folks at Euphonix are already out with a patch that resolves an issue with the just-released update Mac OS X 10.5.7. From the description: Software update for both MC Control and MC Mix that fixes compatibility issues with Mac OS 10.5.7. Includes recent MC Control touch-screen response optimization, as well as […]

Images from OFFF: When Designers Make MacBook Graffiti, and Other Pictures from Portugal

The OFFF Festival, held last week in Lisbon, Portugal, has to be one of the most visually stimulating places I’ve ever been. Herds of bright-faced, young, handsome European artist boys and girls pack by the thousands into an old steel mill. In a cavernous, resonant concrete bunker, the echo of excited chatter never really stops. […]

MGFest in Austin, Texas – Motion + Sound + Code; Open Collaboration Summit

MGFest in Chicago. Photo courtesy Psymbolic. "MGFest (Motion Graphics Festival) continues its tour of the US, opening tonight in Austin, Texas. The conference is still $7 total for all the live events and the conference itself. For the workshops, you add $240 a day (bulk discounts available) – but that means that, if you’re low […]

MGFest in Austin, Texas – Motion + Sound + Code; Open Collaboration Summit

MGFest in Chicago. Photo courtesy Psymbolic. "MGFest (Motion Graphics Festival) continues its tour of the US, opening tonight in Austin, Texas. The conference is still $7 total for all the live events and the conference itself. For the workshops, you add $240 a day (bulk discounts available) – but that means that, if you’re low […]

Mac Users: Might Want to Hold Off on 10.5.7; Breaks Euphonix EuCon Control Surface

It appears that network changes in Mac OS 10.5.7 could adversely impact some hardware, specifically the Euphonix EuCon line of controllers. Here is information sent to customers today – thanks to reader Oliver Lucas for spotting this. Please note that the new Mac OS update released yesterday, Version 10.5.7, breaks support for the feature in […]

Mac OS 10.5.7 Reports Wanted: Improved Performance, But Video Output Issues?

Apple has rolled out its 10.5.7 OS update. First, the good news: it may enhance video support. Apple’s tech document claims the update “Improves performance of video playback and cursor movements for recent Macs with NVIDIA graphics.” The (potentially) bad news is that it could cause issues with video output and external monitor resolution. There’s […]

VBS Video: Curtis Roads on the Birth of Granular, Composing in Microsound

Sometimes, looking back at pioneers can be nostalgic. “Back in my day,” goes the story, “electronic composers were real electronic composers.” But then you hear from someone like Curtis Roads, and his mind-blowing ideas are coupled with a belief that we’re only now reaching the Golden Age of electronic sounds. Rory Ahearn writes to share […]

PBS Open Content: Remix That Documentary, Creative Commons-Style

Stock footage has long been a VJ cliché, and remixes in and of themselves aren’t always meaningful. But in the right hands – just as in audio sampling – sampled content can take on new life. It might even find an unrecognizable form. And with publicly-funded documentaries, why not give the actual content back to […]