mit

MIT to turn sky into dancing-umbrella light show

Forget the Umbrellas of Cherbourg. MIT presents the Umbrellas of Cambridge.

This Sunday evening, participants in a large-scale interactive performance will hoist programmable umbrellas outfitted with LED lights skyward in a shimmering spectacle of red, green, and blue.

The project, called "UP: The Umbrella Project," is part of a collaboration between MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Connecticut-based Pilobolus modern-dance company.

Using hand controllers designed by researchers at CSAIL's Distributed Robotics Lab, hundreds of MIT students, faculty, and staff will be able to independently change the color of their umbrellas, thus spontaneously choreographing a kind of umbrella dance that will then be projected onto a giant screen so everyone can see the aggregate moving image. … Read more

Boston judge limits access to Aaron Swartz court records

A federal judge has rejected attempts by the estate of the late Aaron Swartz to disclose confidential court documents that could have revealed key details about MIT's role in his prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston ruled today that the possibility of violence aimed at MIT officials -- some have reportedly received threats, and the campus was locked down in February after a gunman hoax -- outweighed the public's right to access court records that would have identified which professors, university attorneys, or staff members were involved.

"The estate's interest in disclosing the … Read more

Hunt and gather: News consumption in the 21st century

After the tragic Boston Marathon Bombing, earlier this week, and with the current pursuit of the MIT shooter, law enforcement, news agencies, and the netizens of America rallied together and demonstrated just how interactive the news has become.

Late into the night, I was glued to my computer, with one window showing a live newscast, a Twitter feed of Watertown running in another, and, of course, Reddit. I watched and read with concentrated obsession: there was an emotional whirlwind in my head of concern for my friends in Boston and at MIT, a blend of urgency and excitement as the … Read more

MIT to release redacted documents in Aaron Swartz case

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will release a trove of documents related to the prosecution of Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who committed suicide in January at the age of 26 as he awaited trial on hacking charges.

Critics had faulted MIT's compliance with federal prosecutors planning the case against Swartz, but university President Rafael Reif said in a Tuesday announcement that MIT was "not afraid to reexamine our own actions" and that he was ordering the release in "the spirit of openness, balanced with responsibility."

The documents will be redacted to protect privacy and … Read more

Swartz didn't face prison until feds took over case, report says

State prosecutors who investigated the late Aaron Swartz had planned to let him off with a stern warning, but federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz took over and chose to make an example of the Internet activist, according to a report in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Middlesex County's district attorney had planned no jail time, "with Swartz duly admonished and then returned to civil society to continue his pioneering electronic work in a less legally questionable manner," the report (alternate link) said. "Tragedy intervened when Ortiz's office took over the case to send 'a message.'"

The report … Read more

Ito: Think twice about immortality and the singularity

Ray Kurzweil's vision of the "singularity" -- when nanobots make humans immortal and computer progress is so fast that the future becomes profoundly unknowable -- is a bad idea.

That's the perhaps surprisingly contrary opinion of Joichi Ito, who as a high-tech investor and director of the MIT Media Lab might be expected to be a natural ally. The lab, after all, aims to be at the center of today's technology revolution.

Ito, speaking today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he believes the singularity vision puts the wrong priorities first.

"… Read more

MIT review into Aaron Swartz's death complete in 'a few weeks'

An internal investigation into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's role in the felony prosecution of recently deceased tech activist Aaron Swartz should conclude "in a few weeks," the professor conducting it says.

The statement from Hal Abelson, a respected professor of electrical engineering and computer science, was published today in The Tech, MIT's student newspaper. The paper also published a letter (PDF) from MIT President Rafael Reif dated yesterday asking Abelson to review MIT's "involvement."

Swartz killed himself two years to the day after he was arrested on felony counts relating to connecting … Read more

Step into the world of 3D-printed tech couture

Before too long, techy women may just print out that little black dress instead of buying it at a store.

Don't believe me? Take a look at some of the 3D-printed gems strolling down the catwalk at the Paris Fashion Show this week. Dutch designer Iris van Herpen's haute couture show Voltage tapped the prowess of 3D-printing companies Stratasys and Materialise to create two pieces that look out of this world.… Read more

MIT to conduct internal probe in wake of Aaron Swartz's suicide

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced today it will conduct an internal investigation of the university's role in the circumstances that led to the suicide Friday of Internet activist Aaron Swartz.

Swartz, 26, was arrested in July 2011 and accused of stealing 4 million documents from MIT and Jstor, an archive of scientific journals and academic papers. Authorities claimed he broke into a restricted-access computer wiring closet at MIT and accessed that network without authorization.

A champion of open access to documents on the Internet, Swartz faced $4 million in fines and more than 50 years in prison if … Read more

Uncork ambient music and beats with Sound Bottle

If you wanted to send a message in a bottle, what would you put in it? A letter? A map? How about sound itself?

It doesn't look like this sound generator from Japan would fare well if cast into the Pacific, but it's a neat way to create music from the sounds in your everyday environment.

Created by Jun Fujiwara of Tama Art University, the LED-lit Re: Sound Bottle mixes programmed beats with samples you record.

Simply uncork, capture sounds around you, and it will play them back with a rhythm track. Check it out in the video below. … Read more