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Author Archives: leo
glocal blogs
ethan zuckerman and rebecca mackinnon founded globalvoices, a web site that aggregates and translates news from the parts of the world we never hear from. they tackle the immense task through old-fashioned manual labor: volunteer translators and regional editors filter and organize the content, which originates in local-language blogs. it seeks to call attention to […]
Posted in blogogracy, conviviality, universal design
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pre-medialab
the risupia children’s museum at the panasonic center is a beautifully designed experience that explores math and science concepts through innovative social interfaces. my favorite are ‘big tangram’ and ‘prime number air hockey.’ in the first, children try to match a projected tangram by arranging foam shapes on the ground – which takes a lot […]
Posted in children, soft/glowing, tangible, visualization
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carpet tag
Construction is immaculate in Japan – every thing is perfectly cut, fitted, joined. It is so perfect that the builders are willing to be associated with their work. Every carpeted room (I saw) features a little tag, the size of a postage stamp, screwed into the corner of the carpeting. The tag bears the name […]
Posted in fabrication, futurecraft, marketing, materials
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race warcraft
at this year’s alt.chi conference, tyler pace will be presenting Can an Orc Catch a Cab in Stormwind? (doc download) an insight into the roles of race in the massive multiplayer on-line game World of Warcraft. he proposes that the character selection process itself imposes racial (and gender-based) constructs on the game inspired by the […]
Posted in blogogracy, livingbreathing, visualization
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sinister streetlight
i left out something about the solar and wind-powered streetlights at the panasonic center in tokyo: the company sells a modified version that contains a security camera, with the aim of tracking children on their way to and from school. the ‘Neighborhood Security Sensor Network System‘ detects children carrying an active RFID tag and takes […]
Posted in children, energy, environment, possessed products, product design, surveillance
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machine sculpture
florian claar’s fragment no. 5 – ‘caverna lunaris’ – is displayed in the sculpture garden of tokyo midtown, the most beautiful mall in the world. the enormous sculpture is manufactured to incredible tolerances out of bolted pieces of machined aluminum, an enormous fragment of a toroidal form rugged and ribbed on the inside but soft […]
Posted in 3d, art, customization, fabrication, futurecraft
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touch map
this is another example of a universal design map in the tokyo subway to reveal not only names in braille but also the complex three-dimensional arrangement of platforms with a delicatly raised relief in this bronze plaque.
Posted in 3d, architecture, tangible, universal design, visualization
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