Can minimalist controller design make even two knobs into a digital instrument? We’ll soon see. The arc, the new controller from monome designer Brian Crabtree, contains just two high-resolution encoders (known to us in everyday usage as “knobs”). It makes no sound; every minute rotation and a push-button action are telegraphed to a computer. Everything […]

Just push a little harder, each of you, and I’m sure this will work out. Photo (CC-BY) Michael Fraley. Three and two browsers / H.264, VP8 / Two sides can’t agree. Video, playing… / My Flash plugin slows, crashes. / Circular debate You could stop reading there, but by way of further explanation: Have you […]

Elliot Woods writes with an extraordinary proof of concept: it couples the depth-sensing capabilities of Microsoft’s Kinect with projection mapping to effectively “scan” a 3D scene. It’s almost Holodeck good, from the looks of the potential here. Kinect hack + projection mapping = augmented reality +hadoukens): Using the kinect camera, we scan a 3D scene […]

Elliot Woods writes with an extraordinary proof of concept: it couples the depth-sensing capabilities of Microsoft’s Kinect with projection mapping to effectively “scan” a 3D scene. It’s almost Holodeck good, from the looks of the potential here. Kinect hack + projection mapping = augmented reality +hadoukens): Using the kinect camera, we scan a 3D scene […]

I’ll open with what I just said to some (perfectly reasonable) questions raised by Øivind Idsø on Twitter: most users make video with proprietary software and watch it in Flash. The idea is to change that. It turns out to be hard. Open video advocates have now gotten some huge gifts from Google; I’m disinclined […]

Going wireless has long been a desire of musicians, but solutions have been slow to catch on. Two new products add wireless capabilities to your existing MIDI gear; I’ve talked to the creators to explain a bit about how their solutions work. AirPower from Starr Labs uses proprietary 2.4GHz communication for wireless MIDI communication. The […]

Free as in beer is a great concept, too. Photo (CC-BY-SA) The Art Gallery of Knoxville. While on the topic of the conflict between the GPL-licensed free VLC video tool (and GPL software in general) and Apple’s App Store, I can’t help but be slightly amused at the common reaction. It goes like this: “hey, […]

Free as in beer is a great concept, too. Photo (CC-BY-SA) The Art Gallery of Knoxville. While on the topic of the conflict between the GPL-licensed free VLC video tool (and GPL software in general) and Apple’s App Store, I can’t help but be slightly amused at the common reaction. It goes like this: “hey, […]

Why did Apple remove the free VLC video player from its iOS store? One developer close to the story who asked not to be named answered that question, simply, “No f**king idea.” And that perhaps sums up the mess, misunderstandings, and resentment now surrounding a mobile port of the video app. The word “open” these […]

Why did Apple remove the free VLC video player from its iOS store? One developer close to the story who asked not to be named answered that question, simply, “No f**king idea.” And that perhaps sums up the mess, misunderstandings, and resentment now surrounding a mobile port of the video app. The word “open” these […]