14-03-2012 05:51 Journalism is not restricted to just writing or blogging. It has become an integral part of our existence. But sometimes information on the media get out of control and that's when governments try to shut it down.
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The Faisal Qureshi Show - Pakistan mein media ka kirdaar - Video
One of the biggest modular synthesizers on the planet lurks in the halls of MIT.
Photo: Brian Mayton
Now, anyone can play one of the biggest modular synthesizers in the world, thanks to a new project, code-named PatchWerk. With PatchWerks simple web interface, users around the world can control the colossal rig in real time, from its current home at the MIT Museum.
This is the Paradiso Synthesizer, named for its creator, Joe Paradiso an associate professor at the MIT Media Lab, who built and fine-tuned the synth over the course of nearly four decades. The massive analog synth, which contains nearly 200 homemade modules, looks like something out of a vintage sci-fi film. Custom-built cabinets encase dozens of custom-designed circuits; a riot of red and blue patch cables conceals row upon row of mysterious knobs, switches, and buttons.
The synth might look intimidating, but the sounds that come out of it can be positively peaceful. Listeners can follow the synth on Twitter for poetic updates on its latest sounds, which make reference to legendary composer Terry Riley, Japanese bliss-rockers Boredoms, and 70s French band Heldon. The synthesizer burbles with new music 24 hours a day (you can listen to the synth at any time, day or night.)
By manipulating various toggles on the web interface, users around the world can turn on a sweeping oscillator sound, activate the chaotic sequencer, turn on drum machines and a growling speech synthesizer sound, control frequency and tempo, and much more. Letting anyone play the synth in real time could potentially lead to chaos, but the current design of PatchWerk which has a small group of users experiment with sounds while other users wait a queue is meant to help control for that. I tend to think about the synth as running in its own space, where I adjust everything meticulously to give the effect and balance that I want, said Paradiso in an e-mail exchange with Wired. All of the previous patches that I have posted off the site are of this ilk. My students Gershon Dublon, Brian Mayton, and Nick Joliat, the designers of the PatchWerk module, convinced me to try letting people over the net interact.
In the era of glossy iPad apps and slick soft synths, there is something strangely romantic about being able to work remotely with a hulking mass of analog hardware, which weighs hundreds of pounds and fills up an entire room. People have been finding some beautiful spots in it, and also many garish ones but its never boring now, because theres always somebody somewhere in the world trying something different on it, said Paradiso.
With PatchWerk named, of course, in homage to Kraftwerk everyone can fulfill the dream that Paradiso had as an undergraduate at Tufts University in the 1970s. I always wanted [a synthesizer] as long as I can remember and they were too expensive, so I needed to build one, said Paradiso. As a kid motivated by electronics, science, and music growing up in the 60s and early 70s, the modular synths had a strong allure. They still do.
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Control a Giant Modular Synthesizer From the Comfort of Your Home
Law enforcement agencies are looking for ways to mine social media to look for threats, but those speaking at a conference on Wednesday suggested that an equally important issue might be trying to control authorities who are causing problems by their use of Twitter, Facebook and other such applications.
Those public safety groups that have started trying to tap social media to do their jobs haven't yet figured out how to sift through the massive amounts of data they collect, said speakers at the Microsoft Public Safety Symposium, held at the software giant's Redmond, Washington, headquarters.
For instance, in preparation for the Rugby World Cup, New Zealand police set up a system that scrapes YouTube, Twitter and Flickr, plotting the message, photo and video uploads on a map. Hovering over an icon with a mouse let an officer see the tweet, photo or still image from the video.
Officers could filter results to look for items posted from homes of known "folks who want to take out your mum," said Neil Macrae, senior sergeant with the New Zealand Police.
The system offered time stamps for when the tweets were made with a high granularity for where they were issued, he said. YouTube had the least accurate location information, he said.
But over the six weeks of the World Cup, the system collected 20 million tweets. "You need to start with a target. With 20 million tweets, it's pretty hard to scroll through," he said.
One person the authorities appeared to target was an "ambassador from a prominent country" who was tweeting his location after a match. Macrae didn't say which country the ambassador was from but implied the U.S. by noting that the game happened to occur on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York. "It was a bit of a security risk that he was doing that. His security detail was a bit apprehensive when we alerted them," Macrae said.
Matching location with social media information can be both a blessing and a curse. There is an acceptance that geolocation can be a positive aspect of social media, but for people in mission-critical roles, it can backfire, said Tim Pippard, director of defense, security and risk consulting for IHS Consulting.
For instance, in 2007 soldiers in Iraq took photos of a new fleet of Apache helicopters that just arrived. Adversaries in Iraq found the photos online and were able to discover the location. A month later, the base, which had been at a secret location, was bombed, he said.
Just last week the U.S. Army released a directive warning personnel about the potential danger in geotagging photos.
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Public safety sees opportunity, pitfalls in social media
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
QuickPlay Media, Inc., the leading provider of managed solutions for the distribution of premium video to IP-connected devices, today announced that CEO Wayne Purboo will present a session detailing how mobile and TV service providers can compete with Over-The-Top (OTT) offerings at the third annual Over-The-Top TV Conference (OTTCON) being held March 20-21, 2012 in Santa Clara, CA.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 Over-the-Top-TV Conference
OTTCON 2012, Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA
Meeting Room 3
For more information on the event, visit: http://www.QuickPlay.com/ottcon2012
About QuickPlay Media
QuickPlay Media is the leading provider of managed solutions for the distribution of premium video to IP-connected devices. Successfully used by the worlds largest communications and media companies, QuickPlays OpenVideo platform provides the most scalable and secure way for companies to deliver engaging multiscreen entertainment experiences. For more information, please follow QuickPlay Media on Twitter at @quickplaymedia. Interested parties can also follow QuickPlay on Facebook at facebook.com/quickplaymedia.
Argentina is facing new accusations it reached a new low trying to control the media and suppress dissenting voices.
Published: March. 15, 2012 at 9:47 AM
BUENOS AIRES, March 15 (UPI) -- Argentina is facing new accusations it reached a low in trying to control the media and suppress dissenting voices.
Spanish journalist Alberto Padilla, a former CNN reporter, says an Argentine television channel received government orders to suspend a program minutes before he was to go on air for a live interview.
An order to stop the program came directly from Argentine Federal Planning and Public Investment Julio Miguel de Vido, Padilla said in comments widely published and broadcast in the non-government media.
The broadcast suspension order Tuesday apparently had more to do with what preceded the planned interview on the C5N channel than with Padilla himself, the reports indicated.
Channel presenter Marco Longobardi was interviewing former government minister Alberto Fernandez, a critic of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, when the transmission was interrupted in the middle of a follow-up question.
"It was a brutal act of censorship, I have 15 years in this trade and have never seen anything like it," Padilla said.
The Mexican-born journalist is a recognized media figure in Latin America and worked previously at the CNN.
The following morning broadcaster Infobae Group, owner of the channel, issued an apology for what it called "excess of formalism." The channel previously explained it suspended the broadcast because Longobardi's program had exceeded the allotted time.