Melanson.ca

Google Wallet: one year later

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:38:00 -0400

A brief look back at Google Wallet’s first year and the state of mobile payments, for Engadget.

istayinlove: My two favorite pages from the new Engadget...

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:44:35 -0400

My two favorite pages from the new Engadget Distro
Cover Illustration: I Love Dust / Creative Direction: Greg Grabowy
Eyes-On Photo: Will Lipman / Design: Eve Binder

"Cyberpunk today is mainly like a Pantone chip in the Pantone culture-wheel. “Those pants are sort of..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:44:29 -0400

“Cyberpunk today is mainly like a Pantone chip in the Pantone culture-wheel. “Those pants are sort of cyberpunk.” “That video has a sort of retro-cyberpunk feel.” We know what that means. If someone says “her attitude is very cyberpunk”, I don’t think we’re as certain of what’s meant. I’m not sure what this means, but I do think it indicates something. In a cyberworld, there’s no need for the suffix, and ours is a cyberworld. In a cyberworld, cyberpunk is punk. But it’s not punk if you call it “cyberpunk”.”

- William Gibson On MONDO 2000 & 90s Cyberculture (MONDO 2000 History Project Entry #16)

How to be classy in three easy steps:

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:19:31 -0400

I recommend Toronto Standard’s tweak on this.

the-vashta-nerada:

Open this tab.

Open this tab.

Open this tab.

One sample from an amazing Tumblr site with hundreds of photos...

Sun, 13 May 2012 20:51:27 -0400

One sample from an amazing Tumblr site with hundreds of photos taken by local photographer A.C. Cormier, going back to the 1920s.

accormier:

S’il y avait à Bathurst un lieu mythique au début du 20^e siècle c’était bien le grand saule à la Pointe-aux-Pères. On disait que c’était sur cette pointe que Nicolas Denys (1603-1686) avait érigé son premier poste de traite au 17^e siècle et que les Père Récollets avaient fait leur premier ministère auprès des Premières Nations. La tradition voulait que quelques Pères soient ensevelis au pied de cet arbre. Étais-ce cet arbre? Que de plus naturel pour un jeune homme que de poser avec sa nouvelle voiture devant un arbre plus que centenaire? [s.d.]

If there was in Bathurst a mythical place at the beginning of the 20^th century it was the large willow tree at Ferguson Point (Pointe aux Pères) at Youghall. It was said that this was the place where Nicolas Denys (1603-1686) erected his first trading post in the 17^th century and that the Récollet Fathers had introduced Christianity to the First Nations. Tradition had it that some of the Fathers were buried at the foot of a large willow tree. Is this the one? It would have been most fitting for a young man to pose with his new car next to this mythical willow. [n.d.]

P214_354

Media Lab Conversations Series: Howard Rheingold

Sun, 13 May 2012 20:23:00 -0400

Media Lab Conversations Series: Howard Rheingold

prostheticknowledge: Children of Men - every shot 45 seconds or...

Mon, 07 May 2012 20:46:17 -0400

prostheticknowledge:

Children of Men - every shot 45 seconds or longer

Visual compilation from Refocused Media of the famed long-shots featured in the film. Don’t watch the video above if you haven’t seen the film already (highly recommended, one of the best films of the last ten years).

It was recently revealed that Alfonso Cuaron’s upcoming film, “Gravity”, will not only have a 17+ minute opening long take, but also an ASL (average shot length) of 45 seconds. Having been a fan of his previous films, I revisited my favorite one to see just what that type of shot looked and felt like.

I had seen the film a few times before, and couldn’t recall more than handful of shots that I thought would work. I was shocked to find there were 16 of them — heck, there are 6 longer than 90 seconds! They are used in a variety of situations, and to great effect. It was easy to see how I could forget there were so many, as each one simply pulled you further into the story. It made me so excited for ‘Gravity’ that I felt I just had to share with anyone else who would be interested.

More info here

gamecontroller: Atari Mindlink, 1984

Sun, 06 May 2012 17:30:30 -0400

gamecontroller:

Atari Mindlink, 1984

istayinlove: Special Atari Edition Distro / Issue 39 / Animate...

Sat, 05 May 2012 13:45:08 -0400

istayinlove:

Special Atari Edition Distro / Issue 39 / Animate GIF

The amazing Robby Müller.

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:17:28 -0400

The amazing Robby Müller.

criterioncollection: Harry Dean Stanton, Wim Wenders, and Dean...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:14:23 -0400

criterioncollection:

Harry Dean Stanton, Wim Wenders, and Dean Stockwell during the production of PARIS, TEXAS.

A classic from the NFB. Universe, directed by Roman Kroitor...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:36:00 -0400

A classic from the NFB. Universe, directed by Roman Kroitor & Colin Low. 1960.

Another new Prometheus trailer. Still looking amazing. /via...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:47:16 -0400

Another new Prometheus trailer. Still looking amazing.

/via Tor.com

Cherry Vanilla interviews David Bowie in 1973. Never released...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:08:00 -0400

Cherry Vanilla interviews David Bowie in 1973. Never released until this week.

TEDxEverywhere

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:03:32 -0400

TED Radio Hour on NPR starts April 27th.

Computer Games

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:41:21 -0400

Computer Games:

Some great stuff here.

tetw:

A Tetw reading list

Spacewar by Stewart Brand - How one of the first video games was instrumental in the development of computer technology.

Video Games: The Addiction by Tom Bissell - A classic personal essay about the irresistible lure of the joypad.

Working for the Man by Steven Poole - Are video games really a leisure activity? Or are we working for our consoles?

Master of Play by Nick Paumgarten - A reporter travels to Japan to meet the creative force behind Nintendo, the man who’s shaped imaginary worlds that are explored by millions.

The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer by Julian Dibbell - What happens when the computer game economy spills over into reality?

"We live in the physical world, and for a long time there was no digital world. Today we have some..."

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:44:33 -0400

“We live in the physical world, and for a long time there was no digital world. Today we have some connections between the two worlds, but when we can truly blend them together, we get something completely new, something we are only now beginning to understand. This is why this is the most exciting time in my career since the first time I used a computer 41 years ago.”

- From the Distro interview with Microsoft Principal Researcher Bill Buxton, now also on Engadget if you missed it in the magazine.

The new issue of Distro is out featuring an interview I did with...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:27:00 -0400

The new issue of Distro is out featuring an interview I did with Microsoft Principal Researcher Bill Buxton. He offers his take on the post-PC era, and talks about the state of design at Microsoft and the future of natural user interaces — not to mention his collection of vintage gadgets and his interest (or lack thereof) in science fiction.

Really great work from the design team on this one.

Really impressive teaser for “True Skin,” apparently...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:12:30 -0400

Really impressive teaser for “True Skin,” apparently a short film coming this summer.

USRobotics PalmPilot Personal

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:53:47 -0400

USRobotics PalmPilot Personal