ArtRage painting software

ArtRage is getting good reviews. It works on MacOS and Windows, and it has a free downloadable trial version. It's optimized to work with tablets, but you don't have to have a tablet.

Tablets are the way to go though if you're doing graphic design or digital painting. The good news there is that the Wacom Bamboo finally brings the price down to something comparable with new sneakers.

Roadside electronic sign hacking

We've all wondered how it's done, and now we know.

via BoingBoing

NIN - Seattle show 2008

I saw Nine Inch Nails on this tour, and no recording technology of today could do the show justice. I sincerely hope NIN tried to capture it for us to see later on DVD anyway. So this youtube vid is just to give you a tiny little taste of the mind boggling things that concertgoers experienced. It was stunningly good and used technology I've not seen before, such as something that looked a lot like a mesh LCD screen (stage size) and some, well, interactive 3D visualization topographical mapping software merging recorded and live ... well have a look.

Thanks to Joker for digging up the video link.

Here's Wired's technical explanation and more photos of the hardware.

Official NIN site and tour info.

Digital spray can for the Wii

Cool looking prototype. Painting with your fiends online sounds like fun.

Another article about graffiti innovations

Breakthroughs? You be the judge. Some cool stuff in there for sure, but plenty to get riled about as well. As a commenter put it, graffiti is usually associated with "a certain demographic" but apparently when people of other demographics do it, it's cool. Can you smell the racism there?

Graffiti Research Lab - Interview and upcoming event in Mpls

If you've been watching GRL and thinking WTF? This is your article.

Josh: Sculptures of Rust

I love remixed hardware art.

One Laptop Per Child - give one get one [extended]

For the next 15 days (or until they run out) Until the end of 2007 you can spend $400 and get 2 laptops designed especially for children. One will be sent to a child in a developing country and the other will be sent to you for the child of your choice.

This amazing program allows you to have a $200 charitable contribution while you help 2 kids. Right now only people in the USA and Canada can participate in the give one get one program. See their site for where the donated laptops go. If you work for a big company they might also match your contribution, so ask at work to see if you can double the goodness.

Wacom Cintiq 12WX: LCD Drawing Tablet

I hope this one will finally be reasonable enough to buy ... but if not, I can recommend the Wacoms without the screen on the tablets. I liked mine a lot and miss it every single time I have to draw a line with a mouse. Has been a while though, and I wouldn't buy the cheapest model these days.

Maywa Denki

The link goes to more info and pictures about this interesting musical group, called "the first to use a true robotic vocalist." I like everything about this, but I'm especially fond of the guitar-replacement instruments.

via BoingBoing

Design a Mimoco Vimobot

USB flash fun.

Make Internet TV

Useful tutorial on do it yourself internet video equipment and processes.

via BoingBoing.net

Graffiti-printing bike misplaced by NYPD, rider arrested to prevent protest

It turns out that in the land of the free and the home of the brave, you can get arrested *before* you participate in a political protest. I feel safer already!

His bike's worth a look too. He converted it to use spray paint chalk to make dot-matrix lettering on the pavement.

The bike and the arrest are old news, but the extent to which the gov will go to prevent protesting is a story the media seems ready to start telling, finally. Too bad we can't seem to get a better gov instead, one we don't need to protest against all the time.

Until then, though, it's important to keep legal protests legal no matter where you live, because it's the governments you can't protest against that do the most damage. You'd think a unionized police force would already know that.

Cintiq by Wacom

Drawing tablets that display the drawing as you work on it, with pressure sensitivity too. Ahh, heaven. Santa please.

Nabaztag - the USB Robot Rabbit

So silly and yet so useful.

The synthesizer you've always wanted

(Qucktime MOV) Noiz-bot

From BoingBoing.net:
"Thingamagoop is $100 synthesizer that looks like a little robot with a lightstalk growing out of its noggin."

Oh, but it's more fun than that. Check the movie out (above).
It's made by bleeplabs

50 Fun Things to do with your iPod