MetaFilter posts tagged with computing

Radiohead's House of Cards video

hnnrs — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:49:59 -0800

Radiohead's promo for their single House of Cards was "shot" using light and laser-based scanning systems rather than cameras, with data being generated in real-time. Includes video and making of, and you can even play around with a 3D visualization of Thom Yorke's head.

You got your E.coli in my pancakes and it's AWESOME

wendell — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:12:01 -0800

Cool: Scientists have genetically tweaked bacteria to create simple computers. Scary (probably unnecessarily): They're E.coli bacteria. Funny: The bacteria are able to solve the “Burnt Pancake Problem”. Money quote: “It’s kind of like that computer in ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. It’s been working on a problem so long that by the time it comes up with an answer, everybody forgot the question.”

Writer, musician, polymath

PeterMcDermott — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:58:21 -0800

Stan Kelly-Bootle began his career as a member of the earliest wave of computer programmers, who wrote prolifically about a wide range of computing issues. Back in his home town though, he's probably best known for his contributions to a lexicon of local slang, Lern Yerself Scouse, and for his canonical and not-so-canonical contributions to the British folk repertoire. Stan's website

An Efficient Representation for Sparse Sets

orthogonality — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:09:40 -0800

An Efficient Representation for Sparse Sets. Or, Using Uninitialized Memory for Fun and Profit Yes, this may be of interest to only a subset of Mefites, but so are posts about niche bands. And even non-programmers should be able to appreciate how clever this is.

The Algorithm: Idiom of Modern Science

loquacious — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:19:50 -0800

The Algorithm: Idiom of Modern Science - an allegory told with iPods as Universal Machines.

Core Memory

ClanvidHorse — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:38:47 -0800

Photographer Mark Richard's very cool pictures of computing equipment: A visual survey of vintage computers. [via]

of mice and men and women

nickyskye — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 11:22:10 -0800

Nine Ways to Make Your Mouse Roar l elegantly hand painted mouse l visual mouse software l Mouser: Operate your mouse with your keyboard Supercharge Your Mouse How Computer Mice Work MouseSite, a resource for exploring the history of human computer interaction beginning with the pioneering work of Douglas Engelbart and his colleagues at Stanford Research Institute in the 1960s. First mouse (1964)

A Map of the Cat

Poolio — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 11:04:55 -0800

Richard P. Feynman { Information Junkie → PhD → Atomic Bomber → Professor/Lecturer on Physics + Mathematical Artist [DIY] + Nanotech Knowledgist → 33.3% Nobel laureate + QEDynamic Speaker + Tiny Machinist + Challenger of Conclusions + Best-Selling Writer –X– Busted [outside Tuva] → Star Trek TNG Shuttlecraft ↓ Pepsi Black/Blue ↑ U.S. Postage Stamp } ∞

The future is not clean and antiseptic

bad grammar — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 09:04:41 -0800

Slime molds may control our future computers and robots, and fungi may protect us in outer space.

Playing with my Wang (heh heh)

humblepigeon — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:30:32 -0800

The Wang Freestyle (warning: Google Video; part one of video). A curious footnote in the history of computing that took the desktop metaphor to new levels back in 1988. Featured sampled sound, high-res graphics, and the ability to stack documents on top of each other, the last of which is due in a certain big cat operating system later this year. Watch for how slow the system is, and the subsequent magician-like distraction techniques used by the presenter to avoid people noticing.