Online course from O'Reilly on Processing and Arduino

We will be offering Arduino microprocessor boards for interactive sound installation this semester. You can use this with Processing (free) or with Max/MSP via firmata. The following training seems very reasonable considering.

O'Reilly Media (the publisher of MAKE), in partnership with creativeLIVE, 
has just announced a new online course, Processing and Arduino in Tandem:
Creating Your Own Digital Art Tools:

Create your own drawing and animation software-and learn basic programming
and electronics skills at the same time. This engaging 5-week online course
introduces you to two simple tools: Processing, a programming language for
visual thinkers, and Arduino, a hardware platform for working with
electronics. You'll learn how to use these tools together to build something
useful right away.

You don't need programming or electronics experience to get started.
Processing is easy to learn, and you'll get to know Arduino with a starter
kit. You'll also have direct access to the instructor via online Q&A during
the workshop. And here's the best part: the courses are free. It's a fun and
inspiring way for designers, artists, and beginning programmers to learn
basic graphics programming.

The course is free if you watch it live, and the video of the course is
available for purchase ($89 for all five sessions, but the price is reduced
to $49 until September 28, 2010). There is a project kit available for sale
as well.

Schedule: Tuesdays @ 3 p.m. Pacific Time
August 31 - September 28, 2010
Each session is 90-120 minutes

Autumn Semester Results

To find your Autumn semester results, you need to check online at My Student Admin. No results notifications are sent to students: it is your responsibility to check results through the central admin system. 

(I did notify people by UTSOnline for the two subjects I taught but you will need to look it up for Sonology and Interaction-Based Design).

Sydney Dorkbot 27 July

What: “People doing strange things with electricity“

Where: Serial Space, 33 Wellington St Chippendale

When: Tuesday 27th July, 19:00 for a 19:30 “Speakoff”

After a month of crazy parties and performances we’re back with the regular Dorkbot you know and love. This month we bring you two presentations from local Dorks.

FREDERICK RODRIGUES + HEAVY METAL ORCHESTRA

Frederick Rodrigues will be presenting on how to void your warranty and break the end user licence agreement on a whole bunch of stuff at once and end up with a singing leaf-blower, a chainsaw saxophone and a rhythm section that can also renovate your house. This is what happens when you listen to Weird Al’s hardware store song too much.

LEIGH RUSSELL

Once in a while I find myself completing a couple of projects out of the many ones that are slowly doing nothing but accumulating mess in my studio. These completed projects along with a couple in various stages of completion will feature in my presentation. First up is a glass tube filled with polystyrene balls and a subwoofer speaker at each end facing each other through the tube, as you might imagine this results in some very interesting patterns produced in the foam balls when modulated with an oscillator. Since I am presenting this I thought it would be fitting to also demonstrate the crazy antics of non-Newtonian fluid on a speaker. If you are unfamiliar with this trick then think alien tentacles spawned by sound. Then I will demonstrate the latest build of my Electrolyzer cell. This apparatus uses electricity to split water into two parts Hydrogen and one part Oxygen. I will inflate a balloon and explode it to demonstrating the flammable nature of this gas mix. Also I will try, possibly unsuccessfully to crash a computer from the electromagnetic pulse that happens from the combustion of the exploding gas. If successful we should have an insanely loud explosion and the blue screen of death, and yes I will be supplying earplugs. Lastly I will show some analogue Synth modules that I have built and a 3D skull that I modelled and then had 3D printed. See you there.

SHOW + TELL:

Do you have something you would like to show us? Bring it along! There is an open section at the end of every Dorkbot for the audience to share things they want to.

Come one. Come all!
Email received from Pia van Gelder
+61419164623
Electronic Media Artist | www.piavangelder.com | pia@piavangelder.com
Dorkbot-Syd "Overlord" | www.dorkbot.org/dorkbotsyd | dorkbotsyd@dorkbot.org
Serial Space Director | www.serialspace.org

Best of Electrofringe

Considering that Electrofringe full festival is in Newcastle, here is an easy way to catch up with some of the action.

Best of Electrofringe features four performances specially chosen by Daniel Green, Co-coordinator of the Electrofringe festival, and a pre- performance director talk.

The line-up features:

The Nhomeas, an ensemble of four who use instruments and electronics

Anna Chase on solo guitar and electronics

Kusum Normoyle and Peter Blamey, a duo of vocal improvisation and electronics

Black Math, a collection of devices for divining the musical potential of sacred and diabolical geometries.

Tickets to Best of Electrofringe are $20 for adults and $15 for concession or take advantage of the Electrofringe Rebate where any four people booking full price tickets as a group will receive a $25 discount on the total price. To make a booking or for more information, call the Campbelltown Arts Centre Box Office on 4645 4100 or email artscentre@campbelltown.nsw.gov.au