David Caputo is an absolute delight.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Kate Hartman, an artist, teacher and member of the Interactive Telecommunications Program at Tisch School of the Arts. Kate works in a variety of mediums from simple analog wearable projects that explore how we communicate with ourselves to Arduino powered devices that let our plants Twitter their needs. What most draws me to Kate’s work is the way it combines practicality with playfulness and whimsy. Botanicalls, for instance, is a boon to those of us who regularly murder the most robust houseplants due to lack of attention. Kate’s device enables our usually stoic and inanimate green friends to reach out to us when they need help (I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!). Her Muttering Hat project instantly reminded me of a garment that might be worn by a little Hoo from Hooville. But it also serves as a wearable illustration; a garment that gives us an opportunity to get some distance from thoughts that may be immediately overwhelming and even assist us in sharing those thoughts with others.

Check out more of Kate’s work at: www.katehartman.com

Kate Hartman creates new tools for expression through innovative and playful applications of technology. Her individual and collaborative projects span the fields of telephony, electronics, fashion, and art. She holds a B.A. from Bard College in Film and Electronic Media and a Masters from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Last week I got a chance to talk with two cofounders of NYC Resistor, Eric Skiff and Bre Pettis. NYC Resistor, located in Downtown Brooklyn, is a hacker space that is home to 30 artists, designers and technologists who bring a mixed bag of skills and interests to this eclectic space. The vision according to their wiki is to “Build a group of hackers who work on projects together to increase awesomeness.” Aside from serving as their studio, the group also opens the space up to the public for Craft nights that happen every Thursday. Various technology classes are also offered and are taught by members and visiting specialists.

Website: http://www.nycresistor.com/

The DIY revolution is taking on a new shape as rapid prototyping technology becomes more accessible to the general population. This service has been available since the late 1980’s but is notoriously expensive and generally only used by companies and professionals. Today there are groups of individuals who are looking to lower the $20,000 entry fee and producing an open source 3D printer for approximately $500. There are several types of different machines capable of taking a design from hard disk to object. I hope to illustrate a few of these technologies and show how they are being made to serve the individual rather than the corporation.

First I’d like to touch on the Laser Cutter. These are machines starting around $8,000 for basic models that are capable of cutting some light thin sheet materials. The more expensive models can cut a larger variety of materials and thicknesses but can also begin costing $20,000 and up. There is a lot you can do with one of these machines but you need to remember that it only cut’s sheet materials so making a 3D object requires some kind of construction technique or layering. (more…)

“Print is dead” is becoming more of a business strategy than a turn of phrase these days. It seems that whenever there is a hiccup, or in this case an epileptic fit, in the economy the publishing industry usually takes a fair bit of damage. It’s a very precarious business and new technology is not only shaking the tightrope, it’s also cutting away the safety net. Of course there are a lot of good reasons that people will continue buying books over their electronic counterparts. The most common one that I hear is that “I just like having the book.”, and I agree. There is something about owning the physical object that nourishes you a bit more than those bland bits and bytes. I love the smell, the design, the weight. However, I am also running out of room in my apartment for people and I find myself buying less books because of it.Enter e-ink. The main points that make e-ink so fantastic is that its actually ink. An e-ink screen is actually made up of little capsules that can represent black or white. By using positive and negative charges to activate the ink you can represent any black and white image. Color e-ink is available also but has it’s draw backs which I will address in a moment.The physical ink property allow these screens to have a fantastic contrast ratio while consuming very little power. The battery on the Kindle is said to last weeks. The draw back of color screens is that they consume more power and I believe that at this point in their development take up more space so that the devices lose their slim profiles.Personally I don’t see myself owning a kindle. I already lug around a bag full of gadgets for recording, reading and communicating. Usually I carry a small book on me or simply use the free Stanza app in my iPhone to read material from Project Gutenberg. Something like the Touch Book that I wrote about previously seems like a device that I could really get behind. This goes double now that Amazon has released the Kindle application for other devices. Still though, if I am shelling out the cash, I really want the paper.

What can I say, I am in love. When I was going to buy a netbook 2 months ago this is the idea that kept me from making a purchase. I have been dreaming of this gadget since I got my iPhone. Touch screen + Tablet Size + Long Battery Life = Perfect Device. This device from the company Always Inovating boasts 10 - 15 hours of battery life with an 8.9″ screen and the device is always on. The longer battery life can be attributed to the fact that there is a battery in the keyboard section and in the screen section. Huh?

I guess I didn’t mention that the screen detaches from the keyboard completely. It even has magnets on the back so that it can be affixed to the refrigerator. Just keep it away from those external hard drives and iPods. The device can supposedly run just about any mobile OS incuding Googles Android.

I would rather drop the change on this device than a Kindle and with a $299 price tag I think I just might. The release date for the Touch is scheduled for May or June of 2009. I am hoping to see a lot more of these devices coming out in the near future. It is a new form factor for an industry that previously was focused on the 3 inch screen size of mobile products and the larger 12 - 17 inch screen size of netbooks and laptops. I think the key players now, especially after the iPhone and G1 are going to be low power to give longer battery life and a bit more screen realestate for your fingers to dance over.  Fingers crossed.

I finally made it out to IgniteNYC, I had missed the previous two and was excited to get a taste of this popular NYC tech event. I have to say though that it was a bit of a let down and I was not the only one. After starting extremely late the evening opened with a game show called “Know your Meme: The Game Show! Pwn, Win, or Fail!”. There was a lot of inside jokes flying around that still got a few chuckles despite losing a most of the crowd. I had my own interpreter there to clue me on on the bashing of one of the contestants, Rex Sorgatz, by the opposing team made up of Michelle DeForest (Next New Networks), Bre Pettis (NYC Resistor), Caroline McCarthy (CNET), Irene Polnyi (Internetfamo.us), and Tim Shey (Next New Networks).Team Sorgatz(Bre Pettis, Caroline McCarthy etc.) ended up winning, or should have, it was all very confusing. With a convincing team performance of Souja Boy and Bre Pettis giving the crowd a mouthful as he reenacted Christian Bales rant they quickly established themselves as Experts in “All Things Internets”.

I did not end up staying for the talks because they were running very late but I did enjoy what I saw and I am looking forward to the next one.Here are some photos from the event that I took and some more from Brian Van Nieuwenhoven.