I Fight Dragons

Remember all those old video games you used to play on your NES and your Gameboy? Do you remember any of the controllers? You might recognize a few:

This video really says it all.

Chicago-based NES-Rock band (the first and so-far only of its kind) I Fight Dragons plays video game controllers as instruments. The controllers are hooked up to computers, and the buttons correspond to certain sounds, which are controlled by the computers. Other items include the standalone Original Gameboy, which is equipped with a Little Sound DJ Cartrige, which lets you program entire songs and play them back.

This is yet another example of technology not being used how it was intended, but in a completely new and interesting way. I Fight Dragons is truly innovative, and truly "nerdy" to be able to come up with this idea. They are an incredibly fun band, frequently drawing references to their favorite old videogames and dreaming about a sci-fi future.

IFD takes advantage of the Free Economy idea, giving out all of their songs to members of their mailing list. This helps them raise a fan-base. Apparently this was a good idea, because Imogen Heap found out about them and collaborated on a song with them.

Feeling nostalgic about your old games? Don't worry. IFD has a fun little game at the top of their myspace page where you, too, can fight dragons. It's simple, just like the old games.

Ettubrute / Flickr Videos / Uses of Technology

A little bit ago, Flickr began to allow videos to be posted. While many people have taken this as an alternative to YouTube, others take it as a furthrance of photography. 

 

Glowing Cities Under a Nighttime Sky

User Ettubrute has taken lots of still photos of the window-view of a plane ride and put them all together in smooth stop-motion. A similar effect could have been done if he had taken footage of the entire trip and sped it up. But it is more interesting that he did this with a camera, because this is not how still cameras are usually used.

There are two conflicting theories about the nature of technology usage. One is that technology will always be used how it is intended to be used, and the other is that the users of technology will use it however they want and possibly create new ways of using it. I side with the second theory.

People like Ettubrute like to redefine things, and as technology advances, the old things get redefined very quickly. Ettubrute could have used a video camera, but he used a still camera instead, and it shows his manipulation of the medium in a much more thoughtful way. I think that the subtle pauses between photos really add to the effect of the video. Combined with the piecey music, the style of photography gives the video an ethereal feel. If Ettubrute had used a video camera, this would not have been the case.

Ettubrute uses this style for many videos. The following is also enhanced by the fact that it is done with a still camera instead of a video camera.

Lawnchairs between Fall and Winter

CNN's Hologram

Last January, CNN brought two live guests into their studio by hologram. Yes, that's right. By hologram. Live. This incredible technology, which has been dreamed of for so many years (think back to Star Wars and Star Trek), is finally coming about.

This is how holograms work.

This technology is still very new and is still very much being developed, but the fact that it works and was available for CNN to use incredible.
It seems like there has been almost a race to get holograms out. It is something that people have been trying to achieve since it was first imagined. It's taken a long time, but we finally have the capability.

Of course, it's nowhere near ready for commercial use. Live holograms take too much equipment and too much space to create. Although the technology is stunning, there is not much we can do with it right now.

But in a few years, it will be much better. These scientists will keep working to develop hologram capability that can be bought for a high price by small number of consumers. Then, they will keep working, Capitalistic competition will kick in, and holograms will improve and be ready for the general consumer.

It's incredible to see how quickly the future is arriving. I remember so well wishing holograms were real when I was a kid. Now, they are real, and I'm still pretty much a kid.

WiTricity

I don't know about you, but I've got a lot of cords that get tangled pretty often. I'm always arbitrating fights between my tangled cords, trying to pull them apart from each other. They just never seem to be able to get along.

So maybe I'll just get rid of them, because now I can.
Scientists from MIT have developed a way to charge computers, phones, controllers, and so much more without ever plugging them in. It's called WiTricity, and it works using a magnetic field to create energy flow. Ordinarily, magnets are harmful to computers and such things, but this magnetic field is not.
Not only is this an ingenious invention, but it also happens to have a very sleek design, which makes it highly market-ready.
WiTricity was named by Technology Review in 2008 as one of the "10 Emerging Technologies" which are most likely to change the way we live. I really believe that it will. In a few years, wires will be outdated.