Taking printout of the whole internet?

Kenneth Goldsmith wants to print out the entire Internet, and he needs your help.

Kenneth Goldsmith wants to print out the Internet. And he wantsyou to help him attempt this presumably impossible feat. 

“What you decide to print out is up to you — as long as it exists somewhere online, it’s in,” Goldsmith’s announcement explains. “We just want shitloads of paper. We’re literally looking for folks to print out the entire internet. We have over 500 square meters of space to fill, with ceilings that are over 6 meters high.” This exhibition (if that’s the right word for it) will go on view July 26; when it ends in August, the paper will be recycled.

The project was inspired by, and is dedicated to, Aaron Swartz, the programmer-activist who committed suicide earlier this year, and who had been accused by federal prosecutors of breaking various laws in the course of downloading a giant cache of academic articles from the JSTOR service. Like Swartz, Goldsmith is a believer in information availability.

“The amount of what he liberated was enormous -- we can't begin to understand the magnitude of his action until we begin to materialize and actualize it,” Goldsmith said when reached via email. “This project tries to bring that point home.”

If you’re familiar with Goldsmith, the idea to print out the entire Internet may not be a surprise: Currently serving as the Museum of Modern Art’s first poet laureate, and the founding editor ofUbuWeb, a sprawling online archive of avant garde creativity, Goldsmith is an unusual thinker, to say the least. His books includeDay (which involved retyping an edition of The New York Times);Solilquy (which documentedevery word that he spoke for an entire week); the recent Seven American Deaths and Disasters(transcripts of media reports from 9/11, the day John F. Kennedy was shot, and so on); and Uncreative Writing (which makes the case for repurposing existing texts into new forms of literature).

Still, even by Goldsmith’s standards, this scheme sounds like a doozy. In cooperation with UbuWeb and Labor, a gallery in Mexico City, Goldsmith has issued an open call to everyone everywhere to “print out as much as of the web as you want — be it one sheet or a truckload,” and send the printouts to the gallery.

Not surprisingly, some have reacted to this with eye-rolling, or outrage. “Might be the worst idea for an art project I’ve seen recently.” “ What a pointless waste of paper and money. Is it art for art's sake or just crap?” “ Neat conceptual art piece, the actual realization of which is an unbelievably stupid idea.” And so on.Goldsmith, however, was unfazed by the criticism.

“While we could theorize printing out the internet in its entirety -- something that a conceptual art piece would do -- the sheer bulk and physicality of the act needs to be materialized to be able to understand the sheer magnitude,” he told me via email.

Sure the task seems impossible, he conceded, but even a small portion of the printed Web would “overwhelm any space.”

And that’s what the project is getting at. Interestingly, it also happens to tie directly to Goldsmith’s past work: “quantifying ephemeral material.” In this instance, the goal is to “literally materialize the amount of information around us.” In the Internet era, figuring out what to do with information that exists is more meaningful than generating more information: “The advent of digital culture has turned each one of us into an unwitting archivist,” hoarding endless MP3s and digital pictures and old emails, he continued.

“I think it's fair to say that most of us spend more time organizing and managing our cultural artifacts that we do actually interacting with them. This is a new condition, something that the concept of this show wishes to underscore.”

Amusingly, this gesture toward grappling with endless digital documentation will in fact be documented at printingtheinternet.tumblr.com — where anyone who donates printed Web material will be listed as a contributing artist. But Goldsmith has hopes for the physical hoard avoiding death by recycling in August: “I’d love to see it grow and travel, moving to Biennials, getting larger and larger,” he mused.

And c’mon, aren’t you at least a little bit tempted to be a part of such an unlikely effort? Feel free to print out your favorite Yahoo Tech story and send it to Mexico. The address for all submissions is below.

LABOR

Francisco Ramírez #5

Col. Daniel Garza

Del. Miguel Hidalgo 11830

México D.F.

-YahooNews

Electronic tattoos and password pills: Motorola working on the future

We’ve seen people talk about the upcoming Google Glass and the ever-elusive iWatch. Apple CEO Tim Cook even went on to say that the wrist is where the future lies. Motorola begs to differ. Say hello to electronic tattoos and passwords you can swallow.

Speaking at the D11 Conference by All Things Digital, Regina Dugan, SVP for advanced technology and projects for Motorola showed off what exactly the now Google-owned company thinks the future of wearable computers is. She showed off a prototype electronic tattoo on her own arm at the conference. “Teenagers might not want to wear a watch, but you can be sure they'll wear a tattoo just to piss of their parents,” she said.

If you’re already thinking about an electronic tattoo and going “Whoa, dude!” wait till you read what it can do. A normal tattoo would probably be an identification mark to most people. If you have a tattoo, chances are, your friends and family will be able to identify you based on that skin art alone. The electronic tattoo showed off by Dugan can authenticate a user, replacing the need for passwords. 

The skin patch is being made by a company called MC10 that Motorola is partnering with.

Besides the tattoo, Motorola is working on another prototype, a slightly more serious option than a skin patch – Vitamin authentication. Here’s a pill that can eliminate the need of passwords. Dugan showed off a pill that can be ingested. The pill developed by Proteus Digital Health is powered by the acid in your stomach. Once inside your body it creates 18-bit signals turning your entire body into a password. Creepy, huh? 

Don’t wait on this technology to be available to you soon, though. “This isn’t stuff that is going to ship anytime soon. But it is a sign of the new boldness inside Motorola,” explained Dennis Woodside, head of Motorola. The bottomline is that this technology is that it is all going to be optional. Google won’t be force feeding you these pills like this is some kind of a twisted, science-fiction movie.

-Tech2in

Facebook now verifying pages and profiles

Taking a leaf out of Twitter’s book, Facebook has started to roll out verified status to high-profile accounts of people and businesses to lend them authenticity. Verified pages will now sport a white check mark on a blue background, quite similar to what Twitter does for its verified accounts currently. 

These verified pages will extend to prominent public figures like celebrities, journalists, government officials, popular brands and businesses that have a large number of fans. The blue check mark will show up for verified accounts in search results as well as elsewhere on Facebook.

The social networking giant will also be rolling this update out to profiles shortly. Prominent public figures that use a normal profile and have a large number of subscribers will also stand a chance to get the verified status from Facebook. 

In a Help Centre page, Facebook mentions that it is verifying pages to help users be sure that the page they’re liking belongs to the person the owner claims to be. It also attaches a word of caution to this exercise, “Keep in mind that not all authentic profiles and Pages are verified and that you can't request to have your profile or Page verified.” 

Facebook has not made the process it uses to verify accounts public right now. Twitter, the social networking website that originally introduced the concept of verified accounts, too does not reveal how it goes about verifying accounts. Pages of celebrities and performers like Selena Gomez, Metallica, Amitabh Bachchan and more have already received that blue check mark beside their names on their pages. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and sister Randi Zuckerberg’s profiles now sport check marks as well. 

The move, though a little later than expected, is going to help Facebook separate fan pages from official accounts, making it simpler for users to know who they’re following. It’ll help Facebook fans keep up-to-date with information about public figures they care about. The social networking giant seems to be bridging the gap between fans and public figures now. If you thought you could only feel close to your favourite celebrities by following them on Twitter, think again. Facebook Pages are bound to give Twitter some tough competition.

-Tech2in

August: the beautiful, Yves Behar-designed $199 smart lock

The home automation market is really starting to take off, and surprisingly, it's door locks that are proving to be one of the biggest areas of interest. Established home security companies like Kwikset and mobile carriers (via unnamed OEMs) are working to combine smartphones and deadbolts, while startups like Smart Knob are using offline technology to simplify vacation rentals. August, the brainchild of Yves Behar and Jason Johnson, combines elements of both approaches and does so with Behar's typical flair for stunning design. The primary way of unlocking an August-equipped door is through an app that pairs with the stylish mechanism via Bluetooth. But it skips out on the direct internet connection, which could leave it more vulnerable to hacks.

Instead, it passes all necessary online communications through the paired phone or tablet. In fact, it's capable of operating without an internet connection at all, since it relies on algorithmically generated keys, similar to a secure ID token. Those "keys" are assigned to specific devices, that also have the app installed, which are identified via Bluetooth LE. Each lock is synced up with Augusts' servers and attached to a unique account that you manage through the companion app. And, even if the batteries die, you can still use the old standby: an actual key.

-Engadget

Eye mouse for the physically challenged

MANGALORE: Four final-year electronics and communication engineering students have developed an " Eye Mouse", an input device for people who are unable to move their hands.

Shruthi Shettigar, Prasad Nayak, Vanishri and Sandhya Shet of the Srinivas Institute of Technology (SIT) developed the device under the guidance of associate professor Sathish Kumar K and Bheema Shastry, head of the department of electronics and communication engineering, SIT.

Sathish told TOI the students developed an application and installed it on a webcam-connected computer. The computer is connected to a light-dependent resistor circuit that is fixed to a chair. Once a physically challenged person sits on the chair, the computer turns on and the webcam captures the person's eyeball movements, says Sathish. The recorded video is automatically uploaded to the application developed by the students.

"After this, a physically challenged person can start using the computer without using a mouse," says Sathish. "The user has to just stare closely at the folder or icon, and within few seconds the folder opens."

Through eyeball movements, the cursor can be moved on to any folder.

The students, who spent Rs 5,000 on the innovation, are trying to get a patent for it. "After getting a patent, we will launch this product in the market to help the handicapped," says Sathish.

-TOI

Teen's Invention Could Create 20-Second Phone Charge

Tech manufacturers that boast how fast their devices can juice up might want to listen up: A California teen has developed a super-capacitor that could lead to a 20- to 30-second phone charge.

Super-capacitors are energy-storage devices that have a long cycle life, and have the potential to store a lot of energy per unit volume. Sounds dandy, right? Not quite. The devices have limited use because they store less energy than batteries. But Eesha Khare, 18, of Saratoga, Calif. has made quite an advancement with this technology.

"The super-capacitor I have developed uses a special nanostructure, which allows for a lot greater energy per unit volume," Khare said in a video interview at last week's 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix. The world's largest science fair brought together 1,600 high-school finalists from all over the world, who competed for more than $4 million in awards.

"It can charge very quickly, and it can last for 10,000 cycles, compared to batteries which are only like 1,000 cycles," added Khare, a student at Lynbrook High School in San Jose, Calif.

Imagine this: If this sort of technology replaces conventional batteries, our gadgets could someday spend much less time plugged in, as demonstrated by Khare's test with an LED light.

"After charging my super-capacitor for 20 seconds, I was able to light an LED device," she said. "Just seeing that LED light was my signal that I know what I'm doing, and this is truly applicable to the real world."

A phone could be fully charged in 20 to 30 seconds since Khare's tiny device fits inside cell-phone batteries. This sort of advancement in energy storage could also be applied to laptops and electric vehicles, among other devices.

As part of Intel's competition, Khare won a $50,000 Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award (pictured above, far left). After receiving the award, Khare said she wants to "just keep making a lot of scientific advancements."

Khare, who reportedly has already generated interest from Google, will be attending Harvard University this fall, according to San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX.

Other high-school participants in last week's Intel fair that Mashable has featured include Brittany Wenger, who developed a computer algorithm to diagnose leukemia, and Justin Krell, who invented a concussion-detection prototype for car accidents.

-Mashable, Intel

Twitter adds two-step authentication to boost security after hacks

Twitter has become the latest site to add two-step verification to its security system following a number of hackings and attempted hacks.

The optional verification procedure, already available for services such as Google's Gmail and Facebook, follows the usual format of registering a phone number to be used in conjunction with your existing login details.

With the system turned on (select "require a verification code when I sign in" from the account settings) Twitter will send a six-digit code to your phone as an SMS whenever you sign in to twitter.com.

For access from apps and other devices you need to generate a temporary password, done by visiting the applications page, in order the authorise the login.

As the process hinges on Twitter being able to send SMS to your phone, using the security system will depend on whether your phone service provider supports the functionality. We tested ours using GiffGaff -- a phone service provider which utilises the O2 network -- and it worked correctly.

Despite the added protection two-step can provide, Twitter is keen to point out you'll still need to follow good security practice:

"Of course, even with this new security option turned on, it's still important for you to use a strong password and follow the rest of our advice for keeping your account secure."

Said advice can be found on the "Keeping your account secure" page.

-Wired

Goa girl develops touch-free phone technology

PANAJI: The next 'in' feature for your smart phone might very well be gesture-recognition and it is a young Goan who is behind the innovation. The creation is set to make touchscreen technology passe and would allow users to interact with their devices through thin air.

Native of South Goa's Velim, Andrea Colaco, has not only earned a graduate and master's degree, and later earned one of the most-sought after doctorate seats at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT), but has earlier this month won the MIT $100K entrepreneurship competition for her innovation which provides real-time, millimetre accurate 3D gesture sensing on devices like mobile phones.

"What is the next interface for cellphone devices? It is gesture recognition. Every cellphone-device manufacturer is scrambling to bring gesture-recognition into their devices. This is an immediate and unaddressed market," Andrea said.

The innovation was presented at the competition as '3dim' solution, set up by Andrea with co-founder Ahmed Kirmani. It achieves high-quality 3D sensing by employing patented signal processing methods invented at MIT by the co-founders.

"Now with the prize money, 3dim will go full steam. We will develop the technology for customers-smart-device manufacturers-who have already expressed interest in the product," she said.

The Goan's business idea made the most financial sense for the panel of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, scientists and industry professionals judging the eight finalists of the over 3,000 participants.

Andrea's success though had seemed certain from the early years. The student of Margao's Fatima Convent High School had ranked second at the Goa board Class X exams in 2001 and two years later topped the Class XII exams with an impressive 96.17%. Her record of cent percent score in physics, chemistry and biology remains unmatched till date.

"The need for power-hungry, specialized hardware has kept such technology from mobile devices-problem that has now been rectified," Colaco, a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab, said during the winning pitch at the competition to a packed auditorium.

She said her prototype only demands a few milliwatts of additional power from the phone-about one-seventh of the amount used by a standard smartphone camera.

"I am thrilled for Andrea and her recent win in the MIT $100k entrepreneurship competition. I had been talking with her over the past few weeks and knew about the preparation involved. While she said her competitors were strong too, I was confident the final would be hers. She has always been an ambitious person with attention to detail," her mother Antonette, a homemaker, said. Andrea's parents are presently based in Doha, Qata, where her father, Aldavid Silverio, is an assistant finance manager with a French company.

Andrea's older sibling Gresner is an IT engineer and is based in Cincinnati USA.

The youngster's passion also lies in promoting hands-on design and prototyping skills in undergraduate programmes in India and she has organized and taught at two such workshops in India, at Pune and New Delhi.

Andrea is a recipient of the Goa scholars award 2010 and has a masters degree in media technology from MIT in 2010, after completing her undergraduate degree programme in electrical and electronics engineering from BITS, Pilani in 2007.

-TOI

Dubai's Most Luxurious Hotel Is Giving Guests 24-Carat Gold iPads

Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel, arguably the world's most luxurious hotel, just unveiled its newest luxury amenity: 24-carat gold iPads.

When guests check in, they'll be given their own gold iPads, which will serve as a "virtual concierge" that offers information on everything from the hotel's restaurant menus and spa treatments to housekeeping and butler services.

The gold iPads were custom created for the hotel by British brand Gold & Co. 

The hotel already has an iMac in each of its 202 rooms, in addition to other luxury amenities, like walk-in showers and Jacuzzis, large plasma TVs, and private butler service.

This isn't the first time the hotel has introduced iPads in its rooms: In October 2012, the hotel showed off a 24-carat rose gold iPad in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which was engraved with a pink ribbon and the hotel's logo.

Guests will be given the iPads just during the course of their stay at the hotel. If they want to take the luxury gadgets home with them, they'll have to buy it from the hotel's boutique.

The gold iPads may seem like an absurd and unnecessary extravagance, but when you're paying $1,500 per night (the starting rate for a double room), you expect the ultimate in luxury—and Burj Al Arab delivers.

-BusinessInsider

Yahoo to buy Tumblr for $1.1. billion: 11 quick Tumblr facts

New Delhi: Yahoo's board has approved a deal to buy blogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash.

This is new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic Internet company in July 2012.

10 facts about Tumblr:

1. 26-year-old David Karp is Tumblr's founder and CEO.
2. Tubmlr was launched in February 2007.
3. The company has 175 employees.
4. Tumblr is headquartered in New York City.
5. There are 108.4 million blogs on Tumblr.
6. 50.9 billion blog posts have been posted on Tumblr.
7. There are about 82.1 million new posts added to Tumblr every day.
8. Tumblr is available in 12 languages.
9. About 42% of the traffic to Tumblr comes from US.
10. Tumblr says it is is ranked 17th on Quantcast's list of popular websites
11. It is said that a large percentage of Tubmlr blogs serve porn, but actual figures are not available.

-IBN Live

Samsung announces its 5G technology research

Samsung has announced it is working on a 5G mobile communications system with the capacity for transmitting data several hundred times faster than current 4G LTE networks.

4G has only been commercially available for a short time and has yet to achieve anything like full market penetration, but as technology continues to improve and data storage becomes cheaper, the ability to move said data quickly is vital.

"Samsung's new technology will allow users to transmit massive data files including high quality digital movies practically without limitation," said the company on its official blog. "As a result, subscribers will be able to enjoy a wide range of services such as 3D movies and games, real-time streaming of ultra high-definition (UHD) content, and remote medical services."

According to Samsung, the 5G solution it has come up with transmits data at a frequency of 28 GHz and at speeds of up to 1Gbps over a distance of up to two kilometres.

But while the tech company says it has successfully developed the arrays which will form the core of the system, commercialisation is a long way off -- Samsung has put a tentative 2020 date on public availability. So don't ditch your 4G contract just yet.

-WiredMagUk

New apps bring live music into the home

(Reuters) - Music lovers wanting to hear live tunes without going to a concert or club or leaving the comfort of their home can use new computer apps that connect them to events in venues around the world.

Although event-streaming sites like Livestream offer some live concerts, these apps are tailored exclusively for music and try to capture the atmosphere and social aspects of a live show.

"Going to a concert is about the music. But it's also about the shared experience of watching that music with all these other people," said Judy Estrin, the chief executive of Redwood City, California-based company Evntlive.

Evntlive streams concerts of well known and indie artists on its namesake Web app, which was launched last month and is accessible on mobile devices.

Some concerts can be viewed for free. But for others, there is a fee of between $2.99 and $5.99. The company works directly with musicians and venues to stream the shows.

Concert Window, which relaunched its Web app to make it accessible on mobile devices, streams approximately 25 live concerts each week, with fees ranging from free to $5.

The New York City-based company provides equipment such as cameras to artists and controls the broadcast remotely. Two thirds of the profits go to musicians.

Both Evntlive and Concert Window offer social features so music fans can chat with others in real-time, learn more about an artist, or watch related videos about the performer.

"It's about redefining what live performance means online, as opposed to saying it's just a linear experience where all you want to do is capture it and stream it," said Estrin.

Spacebar, a new app for the iPhone, focuses exclusively on streaming audio. Any musician with an iPhone can stream a performance on the app, whether they're in a concert hall or at home. The first five minutes of streaming is free and then it costs 99 cents. Fans can also tip artists.

"We are mainly targeting the artists that headline in the small clubs. Small- to medium-sized clubs that fill 100 to 200 people," said Gregory Miller, co-founder and executive producer of Spacebar, based in San Francisco.

About a dozen live concerts are accessible through the app each week.

Evntlive also has on-demand content from previously recorded concerts. Concert Window plans to launch on-demand content in the near future.

Dan Gurney, the chief executive of Concert Window, said online concerts are the next best thing to being at a live concert.

"There's nothing better than kicking back on your couch after a long day of work and enjoying some live music," he said.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Philip Barbara)

-Reuters

Now, charge your mobile phone with water

WASHINGTON: Researchers in Sweden have developed a new technique where you can charge your devices anywhere without electricity, provided there is a water source nearby. Just add a spoonful and get instant power, anytime anywhere.

Handy for anyone who spends time away from electricity, the small, lightweight PowerTrekk could power critical devices for warfighters and aid workers deployed to remote areas of the world, Fox News reported.

Developed by a team in Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology and made by MyFC, it's the world's first water-activated charging device that powers using fresh or salt water, the developers claimed. It can extend battery life up to 3 watts.

So if you take an iPhone, the charge would be enough for between 25 and 100 per cent of its battery capacity. Any convenient water can be harvested for power, from a kitchen faucet through to a puddle in the jungle.

Solar charging can be affected by the weather and the position of the sun, of course, and not hugely helpful if your urgent power shortage hits at night. Water charging isn't hindered by these external factors. Even in a desert, a spoonful of water from your thermos can give you power.

The new device leverages the team's more than 15 years of research on micro fuel cell technology and small flat Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells at the Department of Applied Electrochemistry at KTH.

To use the PowerTrekk charger, you fill-up water compartment with about one tablespoon, close the lid and connect it to the electronic device with a USB cable. It starts charging automatically as the water inside interacts with a small disposable metal disc causing hydrogen gas to be released.

When the gas combines with oxygen it converts chemical energy into electrical energy. While in many ways fuel cells are similar to batteries, they are different in that electrodes do not become consumed making them finite.

Instead provided water and air is provided to the electrodes, these fuel cells will run. Very green power, water vapor is the only by-product.

Currently, Powertrekk works with devices like cell and smartphones, digital cameras, iPods and GPS. The company is looking into developing their fuel cells to function for larger devices like laptops.

-TOI

Forgotten Facebook password? Call your friends

The Trusted Contacts function allows you to call friends to recover access to a Facebook account.

Facebook has already tested such an option in the past. Now, the social network no longer talks of trusted friends but rather Trusted Contacts. This security function which allows you to access an account has been reworked and improved.

The user can choose between three and five friends who can be contacted if they have difficulty accessing their Facebook account. A typical example is a forgotten password. Friends can be set as Trusted Contacts, with each to receive a special code.

Entering the code from three of these contacts will provide you with access to your account. "You should call your friends and speak to them in person. We want to be sure that no one hijacks your Facebook account and steals your identity (by sending messages to your friends to obtain their secret codes)", states Facebook.

With Trusted Contacts, Facebook puts forward that it isn’t necessary to answer the security questions or complete web forms to prove your identity. "You can recover your password with the help of your friends."

Trusted contacts have been added to the Security Settings, in a dedicated section. Compared to the function launched in late 2011, users have more control over the management of the contacts trusted with the codes, with more information made available.

You have to be sure of the contacts you select to be your trusted contacts. If you don’t have any friends that can be used for this role, it is probably better to remain with the security questions. It is nevertheless funny to see that Facebook has expanded their social relations ideology into security.

-GNT