04 PM | 28 Mar

Dorkbot Melbourne

>>> people doing strange things with electricity <<< 4pm, Sunday 30th March, 2008 Level 1, 124a Johnston St Fitzroy 3065 (just east of Brunswick St).

Celebrating our first anniversary of reformation, get ready for another action packed Dorkbot Melbourne! Presentations this month range from the recreation of a desert mine field, making your own inter/national/personal telephone system with Asterisk, to DIY live electronic music sequencing with the Nintendo DS. Check out the descriptions below for more info.

Everyone with an interest in doing strange things with electricity is invited to come along and check out the presentations and participate in lively discussion. Please join us, bring your friends, drinks and nibblies of your choice. Doors are open from 4pm, the presentations begin at 4:30 sharp.

::: Evil Jed’s Nintendo DS live MIDI performance sequencer ::: Gerrard ‘Evil Jed’ Jenner

Gerrard Jenner (aka Evil Jed) will be doing strange things with his Nintendo DS and MIDI hardware. Jed will we demonstrate and discuss the DSMIDI serial hack, combined with DStep — his custom built software that turns the Nintendo DS hardware into a live MIDI sequencing and control tool. You can check out DStep in the first two links below. And don’t forget iNPuT – beatsnbleeps.com monthly electronic music jam/workshop sessions at Glitch…

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWTLnG30r3g ] http://www.soundpunk.com/index.php?topic=1340.msg15967;topicseen#msg15967 ] [ http://www.myspace.com/eviljedmusic ] [ http://www.beatsnbleeps.com ]

::: Own your own telephone system with Linux ::: Jesse Stevens (noodlepringle) & Hannah Commodore ~ Cake Communications

Jesse and Hannah from Cake Communications will talk about their ongoing successes with Asterisk – the open source PBX & telephony platform. Asterisk allows people to take back control of the way they communicate using open standards and standard equipment. They’ll be giving an overview of VoIP in general and go deeper into the configuration and installation of Asterisk on a range of devices from standard PCs through to cheap routers and even the tiny Gumstix. Propeller hat optional.

[ http://www.asterisk.org ] [ http://www.cake.net.au ]

::: Recreating a mine-riddled desert at Oxfam Australia Refugee Realities::: Jessica Elphinstone ~ Melbourne-based composer / sound artist Michael Borthwick ~ Convergent media consultant

Jessica and Michael will discuss their extreme technical and creative collaboration to realise a sound installation at Gasworks, Port Melbourne for the Oxfam Australia Refugee Realities project.

The installation consisted of a 5.1 channel immersive recreation of a mine-riddled desert environment. Additional channels of interactively triggered landmine sound effects were controlled by a custom-made Arduino-based MIDI interface connected to an Akai MPC-2000XL Sampler. Discussion will include mixing for 5.1 / multiple channels, creation of the interface box, and collaborative aspects.

[ http://www.oxfam.org.au/refugee/index.php ] [ http://www.myspace.com/jelphinstone ] [ http://www.michaelborthwick.com.au ]

:::

Monthly dorkbot meetings are scheduled for 4pm the last Sunday of every month (except December) so whack it in your diary now.

May the dork be with you.

The Melbourne dorkbot overlords: Javier, Ross, Danielle and Jon

dorkbotmelbourne@dorkbot.org http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotmelbourne/

04 PM | 28 Mar

ACMI explores the impact of urbanisation

The road ahead?

Feature Image Graphic Cities

ACMI explores the impact of urbanisation

It’s perhaps fitting that a cinematic program exploring the rapid rise of urban migration coincides this weekend with a global movement that aims to inspire action on climate change. Featured in a series of British Council Screenings, Graphic Cities is an anthology of moving image works curated by onedotzero – a cross-media organisation – and the British Council that depicts interpretations of the modern cityscape by designers, animators and filmmakers. Poetic, innovative and at times confronting, the compilation explores how artists are both influenced by and can shape urban environments and the quality of life within them. There will also be a panel discussion with British art group D-Fuse and local architects and designers. On the same weekend, we’ll be embracing Earth Hour, the global campaign to promote energy efficiency, by switching off our lighting and various illuminated signage around the complex for one hour on Saturday between 8pm and 9pm. It may not seem like much, but with the huge increase in high-density urban communities around the world – including Melbourne – every little bit helps.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image Federation Square Flinders Street Melbourne Australia

ACMI Box Office Phone +61 3 8663 2583 Ph +61 3 8663 2200 (Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm) website: http://www.acmi.net.au

04 PM | 28 Mar

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is a global climate change initiative that aims to demonstrate that individual action can make a difference. On Saturday 29 March in over 20 cities worldwide, households, communities and businesses will turn their lights off for one hour to reduce electricity demand.

Click here to find out how you can make a difference.

04 PM | 28 Mar

Australia to get its own IT NASDAQ

In late 2008, Australia will have its own specialist exchange for technology companies, similar to NASDAQ in the United States and AIM in the United Kingdom. It will be dubbed the Asia Pacific Technology Exchange (APTEX), with an expected 20 companies to be listed when it opens.

APTEX has been established by a joint venture between NSX Limited, the owner and operator of the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSXA), and Enterprise Pacific Limited – a not-for-profit company formed under the Pacific Technology Corridor Business Plan to establish Australia’s equivalent of the Atlantic Technology Corridor and Silicon Valley.

According to chairman of Enterprise Pacific, Geoff Mullins, APTEX will increase coverage of the small to medium business sector as well as being a springboard for covering Asia Pacific markets.

Mullins told CRN that there is a fundemental problem emerging with technology companies in Australia and that is they don’t have a source of financial backing from venture capital organisations, which Mullins believes is nothing like true venture capitals in the US.

More …

 

04 PM | 28 Mar

LinuxChix speak out

Typically, technical conferences have small numbers of women attending and an even smaller number speaking. This is often found to be because the organisers didn’t know of any women they could invite to submit a talk.

Brenda Wallace of LinuxChix NZ has started a worldwide website where women available to speak on technical subjects can list themselves: http://www.geekspeakr.com/