Shoot! Camera excised from back of prof's head
Professor Wafaa bilai hasn't been feeling so well lately. And it's no wonder. His body entirely accomodating of the camera he had implanted in the back of hios head to take photos of what's going on behind his back. So for now at least he's had part of it surgically removed.
The 3rd headcam, the iraqi born professor says in an artist's statement, "arises from a need to objectively capture my past as it slips behind me from a non confidential point of view." He says he is left with only ephemeral memories of his journey from iraq to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the U.S and wishes he could have better recorded his experience.
This isn't Bilai's first provocative fusion of technology and the arts, however. In 2007, he mounted a video installation called "Domestic Tention" that invited the public to log on to WafaaBilai.com to splatter the artist with paint usinh arrow icons to maneuver a remote-control paintgun. The iraqi-born artist said he viewed the constant assault as a metaphor for the danger and confinement his faamily and other face back home.
That might be a relief to those who found themselves walking behind him the NYU arts professor/cyborg and staring disconcerted at a strange round contraption jutting out from his skull. Bilai had the shooter installed last year as a part of a project called "3rdI" for the past couple of months, it ha s spontaniously captured images at a rate of one per minute, wirelessly transmitting them via laptop to a website for public viewing, as well as to monitors in an installation at Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar.
But according to the chronicle of Higher Education,Bilai's body rejected a part of the camera's apparatus, one of three posts between his skin and skukll that held the digital camera in place. Antibiotics and steroids didn't ease the disccomfort, the chronicle reported, so last week Bilai had to resort to surgery to remove part of the system that had been put in place by a Los Angeles body modification artists.
He does not, however, view the lens-ectomy as the end of the 3rd i project, which he describes as an attempt to objectively document his life. Once his wound heals, he may try implanting a diffrent, more skill-friendly cam, but for now, he'll just tie the camera to the back of his neck.
The 3rd headcam, the iraqi born professor says in an artist's statement, "arises from a need to objectively capture my past as it slips behind me from a non confidential point of view." He says he is left with only ephemeral memories of his journey from iraq to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the U.S and wishes he could have better recorded his experience.
This isn't Bilai's first provocative fusion of technology and the arts, however. In 2007, he mounted a video installation called "Domestic Tention" that invited the public to log on to WafaaBilai.com to splatter the artist with paint usinh arrow icons to maneuver a remote-control paintgun. The iraqi-born artist said he viewed the constant assault as a metaphor for the danger and confinement his faamily and other face back home.
Apple making cheaper iPhone to fight Google
Apple is reportedly working on a new line of iPhones, specifically tailored to take on cheaper phones using Google's Android. Citing a source who has seen the prototype, Bloomberg reports that one iPhone model would be "cheaper and smaller than the most recent iPhone." The new model is described as being one-third smaller than the current models.
The phone is not the only thing getting smaller- Apple is looking to drop the price and customer commitment too. Bloomberg says that Apple wants to sell the new model for $200 without requiring the user sign a contract. Typically, wireless carriers require customers sign a two-year or some time a three-year contract in order to get a discount on a phone.
Reiterating rumors that have been around for some time, the report also says that Apple is working on a dual-mode iPhone that would work with GSM and CDMA networks.
Verizion wireless began selling the iPhone 4 today. Anylysts are predicting that the carrier could sell about 8 million iPhones in 2011.
HP to pit 'TouchPad' against Apple's iPad, Google
Hewlett-Packard Co unveiled its entrant in the tablet race, betting its "TochPad" summer release will keep it in the running in a booming market dominated by Apple Inc's iPad and devices running Google Inc software.
The 9.7-inch tablet running off palm's well-regarded webOS operating system is HP's gamble that there remains room for yet another mobile software platform -- a risk underscored by news that Nokia may abandon its own software in favor of microsoft corp's or googlle's.
Hp's 1.5-pound tablet features a fast dual -core Qualcomm inc chip,supports video calling , and Adobe system's Flash software.HP said the Touchpad will be priced competitively aginst the ipad,which
starts at $499.It will launch with a
WIFI-only model , fallowed by a
3G-compatible version later in the
year.
The world's largest technology company by revenue also announced new smartphones on Wednesday,the veer and the Pre3,both also based on the webOS software that HP acquired last summer in its $1.2 billion purchase of handheld device pioneer palm.
HP declined to provide details on wireless carrier agreements for any of its new devices.But the company outlined a number of parterships it has forged to bring content to wenOS devices.Amazon.com will offer a free kindle e-reader app , while Time Warner Inc's Time Inc publishing arm will sell subsritions to magazines such as Sports illustrated and People.
while talking up the promise of the mobile inernet , executive also stressed that webOS was a platform they wanted to bring to multiple devices , including personal computers , later this. We're thinking beyond today . We have a commitment to extend the webOS footprint even further as the year progresses,"PC division chief Todd Bradley said.
Verizon iPhone hits store shelves, end AT&T's lock
(Reuters)- verizon wireless began selling Apples iPhone at long last, ending AT&T' Inc's more than three-year strangehold on the device in the united states.
Small crowds of iPhone fans braved a frigid newyork dawn to line up outside verizion stores on the first day of sales on thursday. "I have the AT&T iPhone 4 but i've really had it with the service," said jim liu, 25, who was sixth in line an hour before doors opened at 7 a.m at the verizion wireless store in Bryant park, New York. liu joined eight others on a line that started at 3 a.m.
Verizion, the no 1 U.S, carrier has seen strong interest in Apple's smartphone ahead of the launch, after years of pent-up demand from its customers. Analyst say verizion could sell 12 million iPhones or more this year.
Verizion began accepting orders for the device a week ago, but cut off sales on the first day after inventory it had set aside for existing customers ran out. The phone company beat its previous launch-day phone sales record in a mere two hours. Verizion wireless, a venture of verizion Communications Inc and Vodafone Group
Plc, will charge $199.99 for the 16-gigabyte iPhone,
with a two-year wireless plan.
The iPhone, launched in 2007, set the standard in the smart phone market, transforming Apple into one of the largest mobile phone makers on the planet. Apple sold 16.2 million iPhones in its most recent quarter, generating more than $10 billion in sales The smart phone is available in 90 countries on 185 carriers.
The iPhone had untill Thursday been exclusively available in the U.S on the network of AT&T, the no 2 phone company, But many customers complained about the quality of its network, citing dropped calls and slow dowmload speeds. Analysts expect some AT&T customers, like liu, to leave for due to AT&T's patchy reputation, particularly in cities like New York and San Fransisco.
Early reviews of the verizion iPhone found the larger company's voice service worked better than AT&T iPhone service.
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