I’ve posted my first two videos for the Vixid@CDM Minisite. These cover both the ridiculously basic – how to get started with the VJX – and the reasonably advanced – using cameras, midi and Ableton Live to create a seamless-scrolling effect across two projectors: Vixid 101 – The Basics: Inputs, Outputs, Routing, Blend Modes, Compositing […]

The clever musical gems for the Nintendo DS just keep coming. Nintendo’s handheld game console, in my mind, wins hands-down among mobile platforms in terms of sheer choice, even though the homebrew development is entirely unsanctioned by Nintendo. The latest entry: glitchDS, a clever sequencer that uses a cellular automaton (a simple, grid-based model of […]

Apple has made its Mac OS X 10.5.3 update available. Among the bug fixes: “Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices.” Also interesting, given that some issues may have been related to wireless issues: “Improves 802.1X behavior and reliability.” About the Mac OS X 10.5.3 Update [Knowledge Base HT1141 […]

You may have seen the Video Critter video synth hardware kit generating visuals using cellular automata algorithms. (Think cell-based models a la the Game of Life.) But you haven’t seen it quite like this. Univac has combined the Critter kit with a VTECH LessonOne educational toy (boring toy, beautiful case), quite a lot of circuit […]

If you need an injection of samples into your new project and haven’t got any cash, here are a few ideas from the CDM inbox: Drum machines, from Ace Tone to Yamaha: The site KB6.de has an obscenely large collection of drum sets from most of the popular drum machines over the years. They’re raw […]

If you’re local to the New York or Boston area and want to show off your latest musical / visualist work, we’d love to host you. We’ve got some fun events coming up with Make Magazine, Etsy, and the HOPE hacker conference, plus an all-visualist event in the works for Boston. The submission form was […]

Want more evidence that tradition in user interfaces has blinded us to the possibilities for making graphics fluid and intuitive? Just look at the first known GUI, Dr. Ivan Sutherland’s Sketchpad. His 1962 PhD thesis at MIT, Sketchpad represents a whole bundle of firsts: the first object-oriented programming project, the first use of a toolbar, […]

Sometimes the kernel pops, sometimes it doesn’t. We’re waiting for a Leopard fix, and have reason to believe we may not have to wait much longer. Photo CC EastBayAnt. Updated: As expected, the Mac OS X 10.5.3 update has been released, and it promises to address USB audio playback issues. That may or may not […]

Generative visuals like these could take massive leaps forward in the near future, as enabling technologies clear the way for new techniques. Photo: Emi Maeda on harp and electronics, Lia on live generative visuals, (CC) by watz. The VJ and live visualist of the future isn’t just about DJ metaphors and what happens in clubs. […]

B&H, my favorite electronics store here in Manhattan, got to talk to Garrett Brown, the man who invented the Steadicam (and contributed some ground-breaking shots to the history of film himself). I love this quote, in terms of encapsulating the importance of movement inside shots: “You have to get the physical ‘corpus’ . . . […]