The UK Soundmap project: mapping Britain's sonic environment
"The SoundMap is a partnership project of the British Library and the Noise Futures Network. It uses widely available mobile technology in a novel way to capture and aggregate research-quality audio samples. Your recordings will be studied by experts from the Noise Futures Network and we shall post an overview of the research results once sufficient data has been collected and analysed.
Britain's sonic environment is ever changing. Urbanisation, transport developments, climate change and even everyday lifestyles all affect our built and natural soundscapes. The sounds around us have an impact on our well being. Some sounds have a positive or calming influence. Others can be intrusive and disturbing or even affect our health. By capturing sounds of today and contributing to the British Library's digital collections you can help build a permanent researchable resource."
(The British Library Board)
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
Pioneering colour photography showing everyday Russian life
"Three young women offer berries to visitors to their izba, a traditional wooden house, in a rural area along the Sheksna River, near the town of Kirillov."
(Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA)
[The photograph was created by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii in 1909 as part of his survey of the Russian Empire. The image was created using an early 3-colour technique and was commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II.]
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
Most video on the web is published using the H.264 format
"Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access 'the full web' because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don't say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web's video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others."
(Steve Jobs, April 2010)
Fig.1 video of iPhone mugging attempt on Steven Levy's phone.
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
UK Film Council axed by the UK coalition government
"The UK Film Council became one of the highest profile quangos to be axed by the coalition government after culture secretary Jeremy Hunt unexpectedly announced its abolition.
In a raft of mergings, streamlinings and closures, Hunt also axed the Museums, Libraries and Archives council (MLA). ...
Film producer Tim Bevan, who chairs the council, said: 'Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation. People will rightly look back on today's announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK's more successful growth industries, deserves better.'
Since it was created by Labour in 2000 the UKFC, with 75 staff, has been responsible for handing out more than £160m of lottery money to over 900 films. Successes range from Bend it Like Beckham to Gosford Park to Fish Tank with the occasional dud - notably Sex Lives of the Potato Men - along the way. Last August the Labour government began consultation on merging the film council with the BFI."
(Mark Brown and Maev Kennedy, 26 July 2010, Guardian News and Media Limited)
Fig.1 'Centurion' is a Pathé Productions presentation in association with the UK Film Council of a Celador Films Production of A Film by Neil Marshall.
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
70 Billion Pixels Budapest: 360 degree panorama image
"The observation tower of János-hegy [the Elizabeth Lookout on János Hill is], the highest vantage point of Budapest with a 360 degree panorama, was an obvious location. It also allowed us to take on previous world records in both the 'highest definition image' and the 'largest spherical panorama' category. When contacted, the Council of District XII informed us on the upcoming anniversary of the tower. We agreed to cooperate in commemorating the September 2010 event by setting up new world records-give them our best shot if you please. ."
(360systems Ltd., 360world.eu)
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
