DAT206: Group project using Kinect

In our group project, we are using the Kinect with OpenKinect, which is an open community-driven API that is used to access the Kinect's sensors and camera, and also allows Processing to control the tilt. The Kinect was only just released last year, so for the first time in IDAT, we will be using the many capabilities that have never before been exploited in a project.

Originally meant as an interactive peripheral for the Xbox 360, in response to Sony's PlayStation Move and the incumbent Wiimote, many opportunities became true after Spanish hacker Héctor Martín Cantero managed to create the first open-source driver for the device in response to an Adafruit competition bounty. The OpenKinect project was founded after Héctor posted the hack on Github, and is available in various programming languages; the version we're using is the Processing variant, which includes the necessary libraries in order to access the API. OpenKinect is in continuous development, and many more programming languages are being added as development progresses.

Our game will be themed on zombie survival, and the goal of the game is to survive the whole duration of the game without getting touched by zombies, and defend yourself against them. We are going to try and fuse two Kinect devices to create a 3D world, and use the tracking features in the OpenKinect API to detect the player's movement and interactions against the zombies, and to detect collisions that would result in the player's heath being subtracted. We are also going to use an object to act as the gun, which the player uses against the zombies. The Kinect will detect the player's interaction with the object, and whenever the player pulls the trigger, it fires the gun, and if the gun is aimed well at the zombies, the zombie then gets killed.

DAT201: Research Theme: Hacktivism and Tactical Media

For my readme (which is a communication of ideas for the artefact), I am researching the themes of Hacktivism and Tactical Media. Hacktivism and Tactical Media is, to an extent, a form of guerrilla communication, and has developed from previous forms, but takes it to a whole new level. The real definition of Hacktivism and Tactical Media varies according to source, but the many examples I've found from at least 3 sources included "media activism using traditional political work with technology" (A Virtual World is Possible. From Tactical Media to Digital Multitudes), "a method of engagement using re-engineering as creativity" (Digital Media and Technology), and a "critical form of interventionism" (Tactical Media).

Recently, many examples of hacktivist interventions have occurred. During the WikiLeaks saga, activists have taken to the digital platform to vent their anger against organisations that have severed ties with WikiLeaks following the publishing of sensitive US Government data. They used what is known as DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks, which uses deliberated connections to cause bandwidth overloads, which then drives the website offline. These types of interventions tend to have mostly democratic goals, to vent anger at governments, to send out a very strong message of disapproval, and to promote better democracy as well.

The term 'tactical media' was coined as recently as 1997, to describe a form of digital interventionism that, as the name suggests, uses tactics to deliver the message. Last year, in IDAT108, we was shown one example of 'tactical media' in a lecture, which came in the form of a manifesto/documentary film about the 'remix' culture, which involves recycling copyrighted media in a world where corporations are heavily fighting for tight control, and where copyright needs to be updated for the 21st century. The 2008 documentary RiP!: A Remix Manifsto explains the whole subject about the problems of copyright and how it has impacted on remix artists, as well as promoting the concept of open source, even going as far as promoting itself as being the 'world's first open source documentary'.

There is a link to both Hacktivism and Tactical Media. One hacktivist, Jaromil, pioneered the idea of linking the two. Jaromil, famous for one of the world's most elegant form of UNIX shell fork bomb, which consists of just 13 characters, created dyne.org, a website dedicated to promoting the freedom of expression using free software.

Sources:

• A Virtual World is Possible. From Tactical Media to Digital Multitudes - http://www.uoc.edu/artnodes/espai/eng/art/lovink_schneider0603/lovink_schneider0603.pdf - Lovink & Schneider (2003) 
• Tactical Media - http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0IyN2OKQzgQC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Hacktivism+and+Tactical+Media&ots=sVi2LcrnNF&sig=-MNyUDC4dAmDKax1Il2SU7FoFlU#v=onepage&q=Hacktivism%20and%20Tactical%20Media&f=false - Raley (2009) 
• The New Digital Media and Activist Networking within Anti–Corporate Globalization Movements - http://ann.sagepub.com/content/597/1/189.short - Juris (2005)
• Tactical Media and Hacktivism - http://jchasef.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/tactical-media-and-hacktivism/ - Digital Media and Technology - jchasef (2008) 
• RiP!: A Remix Manifsto - http://www.ripremix.com/- Gaylor (2008) 
• Dyne.org - http://jaromil.dyne.org/ - Jaromil 

DAT204: breaking the Web Core Fonts mould with HTML5

Today, I delivered a demonstration of the advanced typography features in the HTML5 platform. Before the advent of the HTML5 platform, web designers are limited to a selection of fonts which are available on the client's computer, or using images for header banners and text content, which can be very labourious for both the browser and the internet connection to handle.

Even though with the advent of faster broadband internet connectivity, it is a lot faster to load them as actual text rather than images, but even with that, there is little that can be done when your range of typefaces are severely limited as not every computer would have them installed, and Web Core Fonts were designed to provide a standard range of fonts for all platforms that are installed by default. With HTML5, it broadens the range of fonts you can use on a web page, and most of all, they are accessible via the server side, so the only requirement would be for the browser to support the font-face rule of CSS3 (as well as obviously, HTML5) and for the font to be placed in the web page's root directory, saving the need to install a font on the client's computer, and for the use of the rather limited Web Core Fonts.

Although font-face has existed since CSS2, it hasn't really been promoted as a feature until CSS3, when it addressed the initial problems regarding the need to use a proprietary format rather than the more widespread .ttf and .otf formats.

In addition, there are much more possibilities that are contained within the whole platform, and this includes varying the CSS from a HTML5 form and using semantics to define the attributes and properties, as well as many other graphical features to name, but a few.

The example I used for the demonstration is Apple's HTML5 showcase: http://www.apple.com/html5/showcase/typography/ (requires Safari, as it uses Apple's interpretation of HTML5, although the whole platform is a draft at the moment. It may change as soon as Gecko and other browsers increase support). Another good example of HTML5 typography is at: http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/canvas/texteffects/, which also, conveniently, explains the graphical capabilities of typography in <canvas>, which will be touched upon in Term 2.

Apple: remembering my first Mac, and the long legacy the Mac started

When I first saw the Macintosh, I've seen how simple and easy it was to use, despite being born to a family that adopted an IBM compatible PC for their home computer. After I first saw the iMac back in primary school in 1998, I then thought to myself: because I got so assimilated into Microsoft, I don't know if there'll ever be a chance that I'll have a Mac. Then, I proved myself wrong, but it took almost 9 years until I then finally got my first Mac (a white mid 2007-revision MacBook from brand new), having got an iPod Nano a few years before then. The tiresome Blue Screens of Death and meaningless errors, as well as a rather confusing infrastructure lured me to the Macintosh platform. Having learnt about the legacy the Mac created, I then realised that it was Apple's magnum opus, the platform that started the whole GUI craze back in the 1980s, well before my time. After my first Apple product, I then fell in love with Apple and as a result, joined the thousands that became part of a legacy that forever continued, like Steve Jobs when he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during what was year 7 or 8 in secondary school. In terms of competition in the computing market, the Mac was to David what the PC was to Goliath, but then eventually, the differences became blurred when one then became the other, but nonetheless, had it not been for the IBM PC, where would industry standards be now, and had it not been for the Mac, where would the GUI operating system be now, and where would the industries that both created be? It was all thanks to both competing platforms that helped the Mac get to where it is now, but competition from smartphones and tablets are starting to eat into the market, but after all, it was Apple that kickstarted the revolution, and perfected both at the same time. The same rhetoric applies to the founding of Apple; where would Apple be had it not been for Steve Jobs founding the company and then returning to it after he left? Apple did, however, had its dark years when Jobs first departed in 1985, but even so, it still helped an industry long confined to physical media to become part of the whole computing boom, and Adobe's first products were launched on the Mac during his absence. However, the early to mid 90s were a dark era for Apple as consumers were confused about the profusion of Macintosh computers and the confusing specifications they had, and the many flops that came out of Apple's first diversification. Even in the dark ages came innovation: the Newton PDA would then give way to the iPhone about a decade later, and would later provide inspiration for the Palm Pilot. Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1996 brought along with him new ideas from his old company he also founded that would help evolve the Mac OS operating system into something more advanced than the platform that was based on the original from 1984. When he once again became CEO, Jobs simplfied the range of Mac models, then later launched the Mac that started off a whole new revolution in design, the iMac, in 1998. My current Mac was based on the successor to the PowerBook series that revolutionised laptop computers forever, but my current Mac is one of the last to be seen under his power before he left for good in August 2011, and his subsequent death later. 

Had it not been for the Mac, where would my career choice be? How would I have continued under the same platform I lived under since 1994? And how simple would my life be? Thanks to the Mac, I am now where I am, and my dreams shall forever be pursued after falsely believing that I'll never have a Mac, but it's all down to personal preference. No matter if you're a Mac or a PC, both has had their finest hours, and still will do, but most of all, it was Apple that perfected the idea of the GUI from Xerox, and then later provided inspiration, despite the many legal battles that were fought against them. All I can say to you is thank you Apple, for getting me to where I am now, and thank you to Steve Jobs, who started it all. Rest in peace, the dear leader of a technological revolution that perfected many technologies, started off new competition and most of, inspired me greatly, with ideology and motivation.

Apple: RIP Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Today has been the saddest day in the world of technology and IDAT. We have lost someone who revolutionised the technology world, paved way for innovation and established a fraternity that many dedicated enthusiasts like me have become part of. Without him, where would Apple be now? Where would IDAT be? Where would the creative industries be? Apple has created some of the world's best products that changed the world forever, most of all, it all started with the Macintosh in 1984. It changed desktop computing forever, because it brought the GUI to the fore, and established a role model that many competitors would later build upon. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he introduced the computer that would change computers forever like what the Macintosh did in 1984, but this time, with features that were never seen before on existing computers that were on the market. In 1998, the iMac was born. The following year introduced the iBook, then subsequent years saw both iMac and iBook evolve, and then the PowerBook got the same design treatment afterwards. As the 21st century came, so did more products that changed the world. In 2001, the iPod forever changed the digital player market, and became the benchmark for other MP3 players, and in 2007, the iPhone was introduced. This then paved way for smartphones to become more mainstream, and brought capacitive touchscreen technology to the fore. Then in 2010, the iPad started off a new revolution that also lead to touchscreen tablets becoming more mainstream. Had it not been for Steve Jobs, Apple would have not existed to this present day, and Michael Dell's comment about shutting it down and 'returning money to investors' would have become true. Nonetheless, even competitors, especially Microsoft and Samsung, who Apple are fighting against in legal battles, are remembering the legacy that Steve Jobs left. In addition, the animation company he helped found also felt his legacy, and Disney, who owns Pixar, and who also featured Jobs in their board of directors, has remembered him very fondly. In their films, there would often be indirect references to Apple and their products, and most notable, the film Wall-E featured references to Apple in the form of the startup sound and the design of Eve, which was designed by Apple's Industrial Design leader, Jonathan Ive.

He will be forever remembered for many products, ideas and inspiration that defined a generation, and most of all, every generation will remember him the most for being one of the founders that founded one of the best companies in the world, Apple Inc. Shall he rest in peace, and shall his legacy continue eternally.

General: I'm back

After a rather eventful (or not) Summer, I'm back like Mark Morrison, and so far, it has gone off to a rather good start. The biggest highlight so far is the introduction of HTML5, which has been long in the making, but finally, it is being realised in Y2. On the same subject of HTML5, I will be making a dedicated blog for this purpose, so please, do watch this space...

General: end of year 1

Well, it has been a long time that I've been posting stuff in this blog, but rest assured that everything in year one has now been done and dusted with! It has been a very good first year, and there had been very interesting assignments and lectures over the past 8 months. I will be in the process of improving my website (www.elnormo91.co.uk) and I'll possibly be migrating my blog to there in a dedicated section so then everything will be on my website, which saves having to find everything all over the place. I am now relaxing since the hardest part, the exam of SOFT131, has now been done-and-dusted with and I think I did pretty well with that one. Only the results can tell if I lived up to the expectations.

Also, I'll soon be home as I've nearly managed to get next year's accommodation sorted out (it is just around the corner from where I am now, which is very convenient as I then won't have to make 15 minute round trips all the time!). As I re-iterate, it has been a very good 8 months, and hopefully I'll have the same for the next 8 months in September, or even better than that. We'll see when the next chapter opens up...