PUBLIC MARKS from sbrothier with tags hardware & software

James is an artist using code to critically engage with emerging technology.

The RGBDToolkit invites you to imagine the future of filmmaking. Repurposing the depth sensing camera from the Microsoft Kinect or Asus Xtion Pro as an accessory to your HD DSLR camera, the open source hardware and software captures and visualizes the world as mesmerizing wireframe forms. A CGI and video hybrid, the data can be rephotographed from any angle in post.

The bublcam is a 360º camera and software technology that shares everything around you through spherical photos and videos.

In February 2009, Jim McKelvey wasn’t able to sell a piece of his glass art because he couldn’t accept a credit card as payment. Even though a majority of payments has moved to plastic cards, accepting payments from cards is still difficult, requiring long applications, expensive hardware, and an overly complex experience. Square was born a few days later right next to the old San Francisco US Mint. Today the Square team is focused on bringing immediacy, transparency, and approachability to the world of payments: an inherently social interaction each of us participates in daily. We’re starting with a limited beta and rolling out to everyone in early 2010.

For the Michael Jackson Memorial piece I worked on, we decided before I left for L.A. that we would use the Canon 5D Mark II to try and push the look of the piece, and to try something new. The first thing I did, is call up a freelancer, Patrick Burke, to run sound. Patrick used to be an AC (Assistant Camera) in L.A. so he came with all the right tools, including a film slate that we used to sync audio from a Marantz PMD660 to the video footage of the 5D.

Interactive video has a long way to go, but Netherlands based yellowBird and their 360 degree offering might help move it along. We, as a species, watch a lot of vids. Buckets full, really. And for the most part, we're comfortable pressing play and being spoon-fed the story. This, at least in part, explains the lukewarm reception - commercially speaking - of interactive films. Most of the 'interactivity' centers on controlling the story.

Pacemaker.net is a meeting place, a hotspot, a centrifuge and melting pot for music inspiration. By sharing our music taste with each other, we hope to bring us all closer to the music we love and closer to the music we don’t yet know we can’t live without. Let’s hear it, let’s mix!

For one reason or another, a lot of freelancers use Macs. It may be the raw power, the stability or they may just look rather - cool? Well, both of us know why that really is. It’s the apps! The software that makes the hardware bling, and it’s not necessarily thanks to Apple. Aperture and iCal may be nice, but often we rely on the smaller, even more useful applications. Here’s a list of great little applications that the Mac-powered freelancer should consider.

ARTURIA is a company which specializes in the development of innovative music software. Located in Grenoble, France, ARTURIA was founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers.