Program 2009

In the last few years computer games tend to excelling mostly by superior graphics, instead of interesting story or innovative game play features. Because of this, games often fail to be fun anymore. But this is a change that occurred in the past two decades. Today we know that high-end graphics do not always mean high-end fun, often it is the very opposite. Old games are often more fun to play, because of their simplicity and the story they tell. But quite a lot of these long forgotten treasures are not even known by today’s players anymore.

[img_assist|nid=327|desc=|link=node|align=none|width=400|height=300]
Participants will take part in building a Pufi from scratch. Doing so they get familiar with Arduino microcontrolers, light- and other sensors, mini-radio modems, usb audio devices and some other hardware, that provides to the pufis their sensors and media to communicate one with teh others and as well to communicate with us. Additionally the participants will learn how to programm the Arduino hardware and cutting and creating sounds with audacity.

Some questions Iʼd like to explore:

•Does one have to attend a formal institution to become an Artist or Technologist?

•How important is a sense of community (mentors, teachers and peers) to a learning experience?

•How important is it for learners to hack and remix their knowledge?
•How can “free” learning work alongside formal institutions such as art schools and universities?
• What elements of the FLOSS movement are most relevant to the idea of DIY / self-organised / “free” learning communities?
• What are the most valuable experiences we take from formal learning?

Open Space, BoF (Birds of a Feather)

Multichannel sound projection/installation of composition for 6 prerecorded Flutes (bass x2, C x2 and piccolo x2) + live electronics composed and notatated using FLOSS tools (pure-data, perl, lilypond) a copy of the music score (10m long A3 scroll) will also be projected as a scrolling png → video.

Interactive realtime video installation

[img_assist|nid=383|title=Zeichner|desc=|link=node|align=none|width=350|height=263]
'Zeichner' is an interactive installation reflecting on the idea that
simplicity emerges from complexity. Complexity, here, is no more than
computer's simple (and noisy) interpretation of high-contrast contours
found in a video image, accumulated over a period of time. Thus
aggregated, features of the original image are there for human to see in
their original simplicity.

[img_assist|nid=385|title=Pufination|desc=|link=node|align=none|width=350|height=234]

Pufis represent microorganisms living in an open ecosystem, while the collection of objects functions as a sensitive sensory network. The visitor is subsumed into the artificially produced »biosphere« through active sensor-based interaction. Pufination is incomplete without interaction. There's no leading role, we're all just cohabiting.

[img_assist|nid=255|title=|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=250|height=192]
Der Robomoji ist ein Mikroprozessor gesteuerter, cocktailmixender Roboter, der völlig automatisch den köstlichen Mojito-Cocktail mixen kann. Metall, Druckluft und Elektronik geben dem Roboter genug Kraft für einen langen, elektrifizierenden Cocktailabend.

This workshop will introduce participants to the world of VGA signals. Using microcontrollers it is possible to generate such signals with the very simple and cheap PIC microchip.

The microcontroller will be programmed using PIC assembly language, however, assembly coding skills are not required, as pre-programmed chips will be available. However, participants do need some soldering skills. The more adventorous can even use the prepared microcontroller to hook it up to an arduino or I2C chip, so that the VGA signal can be modified using a more powerful computer.

Participants will gain practice in using PD as a Vjing / Videostreaming tool unsing the MAEstream patch created by Ricardo Palmieri.

The content of the workshop could cover following topics:
(depending on time and participants)

* Historical view of streaming GPL tools and techniques

* Creation of Giss channels for audio or video

* Use of simple programs ( Gstreamer, TSS, IDJC ) from the live cd Sa'habuntu for starting a stream in 5 minutes.

* Complex streams with Pure Data

* Introduction to the Distributed Multi-Media Database : publication of videos made easy.

* Technical in-depths about G.I.S.S. infrastructure and how to set-up your own sound and video server.

Required things :

You have an old PDA, Handheld or iPod that you want to repurpose into a hackable music machine? Want to learn what you can do with Open Source software on embedded devices? This workshop is a place to get exposed to the possibilities.

WORKSHOP
This workshop is open to any person interested in the net and its virtual, digital population.

Note: The participation of artists and creators of digital files is encouraged.
Familiarity with command line is a preferred but not exclusive requirement.

Structure:
- brief introduction to the main concepts at the base of the project
- software installation
- creation of Souls
– playing with Entities
- discussion, feed-back and future perspectives
System requirements: *nix.

DURATION
1 hour and 30 minutes.

During the break the Infoladen Treibsand will serve good food at fair prices.

Are you addicted to or at least fascinated by maps, in print or online? I am, but for a long time I never thought it possible to create my own map. But since the dramatic growth of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project and the associated software tools, this opened up a whole world of possibilities. There is already some variety of different general and thematic maps available on the web, and some of these will be shortly introduced here. Then, several techniques, data sources and software tools useful for creation of similar maps are presented.

At http://vektordb.lafkon.net you can browse and download a collection of vector-based1 images. The database first was intended as an online storage facility for personal use, but also allowed use by third-party persons. During the years the archive got recognized by a bigger audience and a redesign became necessary. This redesign process led to a broader approach towards a Free/Libre/Open Source Software inspired graphics repository. The talk summarizes experiences made.

http://www.forkable.eu/
http://vektordb.lafkon.net

My project reacts to intellectual property laws and economics especially in the field of education. Providing a collection of mostly copyrighted texts on this subject (authorship, intellectual property, plagiarism, Open Source), it uses design tactics for inaccessibility, obfuscation and “fair use” to circumvent intellectual property and propose different legality levels of text display. Accessibility, in other words, is not only a matter of ergonomy, but of social rights.

robotcowboy is a live music performance project using pure data on a wearable computer. It is an attempt to use pure data as the basis of a one-man rock band by combing live input from vocals, guitar, and guitar midi with generative/sequenced musical events all running on an embedded Linux computer. An alternative to playing computer-based music with a laptop, the project aims to present an engaging live presence.

Both make up Gentlejunk and as LNT they do - Live Noise Tupi Sound und AV-Circuitbending Performances.

Example:
http://gentlejunk.net/2008/11/14/new-release-on-gentlejunk-co-netlabel-…
Download:
http://www.archive.org/details/LntSt.JohnTheFrog

In this performance, we'll try to make some industrial, post-noise
music in an unstable context, when the program running and all the system will be progressively erased under your eyes
and there will be no way of restoring it.. corrosive music for abrasive brains.

Links of relevance :
*http://ydegoyon.free.fr/rm-rf.html
http://giss.tv/dmmdb//player.php?ID=713
http://ydegoyon.free.fr

musik for the modern cow, elektronika, gegenbeat, universally transitional

0xA is a band not made out of people, but objects and patches. Snippets of codes that bleeps and blinks are added and modified in the online repository, where it all began. As the repository grew, 0xA evolves with it. Aymeric Mansoux and Chun Lee have been the main contributor to 0xA since 2006, They have performed 0xA across Europe, North America and Asia in places like gallery, clubs and festivals.

Duration: 20min