Skip to main content

MIT's Backtalk project / art exhibit traces the unseen life of discarded gadgets

Sooner or later, the device you're reading this on will either be sold, donated, recycled or otherwise disposed of; and unless you're particularly nostalgic about old gadgets like us, you likely won't ever give it much more thought. But no matter how you get rid of it, that device doesn't just vanish off the face the Earth. It's that extra life that got the folks from MIT's SENSEable City Lab thinking, and the Backtalk project is what they've come up with. Part research project and part art exhibition (now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York), the effort involved using GPS tracking devices to trace where things like cellphones, batteries and printer cartridges end up after being discarded -- and, in the case of 40 netbook computers, some tracking software and their built-in webcams, which recorded data and images that were sent back to MIT at regular intervals (with the new owners' consent, of course). Some of the results can be seen in the video after the break and the site linked below, but you'll have to check out the exhibit first-hand to see the full scope of their findings.


source by engadget


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

ooma,Free home Phone service information

Ooma :- Type     Private Industry     Communications services Founded     Palo Alto, California, U.S. in 2004 Founder(s)     Andrew Frame Headquarters     Palo Alto, California Key people     Eric Stang, CEO Jamie Buckley, Vice President of Customer Service Dennis Peng, Vice President of Product Management Toby Farrand, Vice President of Engineering Operations Jim Gustke, Vice President of Corporate Marketing Tim Sullivan, Vice President of Sales Products     Voice over IP Owner(s)     Privately Held Ooma charges a monthly fee for federal and state taxes and fees as well as a 911 service fee. This adds up to $3.47 per month. Reports are trickling into to our tipline that Ooma, a popular VOIP service, is currently experiencing major network issues. Currently, Ooma’s phone service seems offline nationwide, and their website and support forums are working sporadi...

deiva thirumagan songs

Image via Wikipedia Deiva Thirumagan with Anushka and Amala Paul as female leads is ready for release. Those who have seen the rushes of this film have been blown away and are swearing that it is Vikram’s finest work. There is massive hype and anticipation surrounding this film, which has been directed by AL Vijay. Amala from Kerala says “Working with Vikram and Director Vijay during the initial days of my career is a great experience. My character is different and very happy to be a part of Deiva Thirumagan. I am going to start the promotions soon and also ready to do films with innovative scripts that come my way”. Deiva Thirumagan, according to music industry sources is currently the hottest audio in the circuit. Director Vijay-GV Prakash is a young combination which has always dished out hit music right from their Kireedam to the recent Madhrasapattinam. The music of Deiva Thirumagan is going to be out in stores from tomorrow. The launch is all set to happen at the Ch...

mSpace Mobile

Bringing you physical, temporal, virtual worlds to the palm of your hand Click on image to see video of mSpace mobile running on a PDA. Alternately, you can also choose a 5 min (23meg) overview video demonstrating mspace mobile, and describing its features. Don't try this at home What Japenese restaurants are near a cinema showing a film i want to see? A regular search engine - even one with maps - will mean you have to manage several separate queries with several separate maps and pages: find cinema listsings; see what's showing at each; try to remember where they are. Then look for restaurants featuring your chosen cuisine; see where they are located; try to bring the maps together to see if they're near each other. Then go look for recommendations or menus about the restaurant. mSpace mobile lets you explore information in more natural ways - exploring context, association, and relations mSpace mobile makes it easy - and keeps everything in view. mSpace...