PING by Kate Armstrong (2003)

Fluid Nexus is an application for Android phones and desktop computers enabling exchange of messages without the need for centralized mobile networks. Messages are transferred by short-range networking technologies like bluetooth and through the movement of people from one location to another.

In the second decade of the twenty-first century, networks continue to be defined by their stable topology represented in an image or graph. Peer-to-peer technologies promised new arrangements absent centralized control, but they still rely on stationary devices. Mobile phones remain wedded to conventional network providers. Continue reading

Föhnseher (Seer of Warm Winds) by Julian Oliver — Modified Sanyo television, software, hardware (2011):

Föhnseher rises from the scrap heap of analog TV. Unlike other televisions, Föhnseher captures and displays images downloaded by people on surrounding local wireless networks.

Other people’s phones, laptops and tablet computers all become broadcast stations for this device, replacing the forgotten television towers of old.

The name föhnseher derives from fernseher, the German word for television, and the föhn, a strange warm wind known to the south of Germany. The words have a very similar pronunciation. Continue reading

Newstweek is a device for manipulating news read by other people on wireless hotspots. Built into a small and innocuous wall plug it appears part of the local infrastructure, allowing writers to remotely edit news read on wireless devices without the awareness of their users. Now, HOWTO allows others to make Newstweek devices for under €50.00.

REMOTE NEWS ALTERATION: By using our new registration-free online service, a Newstweek device plugged into a wall at a cafe, library, school or elsewhere can now be controlled remotely using a simple browser interface. Any number of devices can be controlled in this manner. Continue reading

Immaterials: Light painting WiFi from Timo on Vimeo.

Newstweek disrupts the news accessed via wireless hotspots such as cafes, libraries, and airports. Continue reading

City as Studio: EXB 10.03 presents Ghumakkad Baaja — An open collaboration between Prayas Abhinav, Hemant Babu, Ram Bhatt and Nishant Sharma :: June 26, 2010; 6:30 pm :: Sarai-CSDS, 29, Rajpur Road, Civil Lines, Delhi, India.

Ghumakkad Baaja is a demonstration of an open and unregulated way of doing audio transmissions along with discussions about transmissions, public networks and “selling air”.

* Can we be active broadcasters and not just passive consumers? * Can we create and share audio/video content in a widely accessible way? * Could there be a platform much like satellite T.V, but in an on-the-move outdoor friendly format without needing a multi-crore license? Continue reading

Satellite/Border/Footprint — Workshop with Lisa Parks (UCSB, Santa Barbara) :: July 31–August 2, 2010 :: Phoenix Halle, Dortmund, Germany :: Call for Participation — Deadline: June 20, 2010.

The workshop aims to discover and unveil the non-static and invisible border lines in a productive and critical manner. Workshop participants are (media) artists, but also concerned citizen from the Ruhr area, invited through an open call. In addition public lectures on Saturday July 30th from 4pm to 8pm by artists and researchers my provide substantial insight into current developments. To address the dynamics of the current situation, the workshops’ outcome will be published later on in a software based project. Continue reading

Produced by Year Zero One (YZO) and curated by Michelle Kasprzak, In-Site Toronto is a series of newly commissioned work presented on the portal pages of several wireless internet hotspots in the Wireless Toronto network. Artists Dave Dyment, Swintak, Jeremy Bailey, Fedora Romita, Willy Le Maitre and Brian Joseph Davis have created works that will be automatically displayed when users log in to their Wireless Toronto user account at designated hotspots.

Artwork Locations:

• Jeremy Bailey: Artwork appears when you attempt to recover your Wireless Toronto account password
• Brian Joseph Davis: The Burger Bar, Harbourfront Centre, Alternative Grounds, Woody’s, Cafe Taste Continue reading
  
  

Autonet is a project to create a wireless, global internet that can provide more reliability than corporate phone companies by being community based and freely licensed.

The cutting off access to The Pirate Bay by BT in the UK is just another sign of the beginning of the end. The fact that the Great Firewall of China exists signals that the internet is already obsolete and that the Great Firewall of the US is just around the corner. While moves against net neutrality began years ago and have been fought, nasty laws such as HR4437 and the Total Information Awareness program have a way of coming into existence later in the future, slightly modified, under different names. Continue reading