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Projection mapping has officially become an essential skill for any audiovisual artist. The technique, which involves the projection of 3D motion graphics onto the surface of a three-dimensional form, can transform static objects using only light. The result is stunning-the exterior of the form appears alive with the projected animation, transforming it into a dynamic object. Because of the possibilities it opens up for interactive experiences, this technique is rapidly gaining popularity with visual artists and musicians like Lumpens and Amon Tobin. In his short documentary, Augmented Reality, Belgian filmmaker Dane Luttik provides an overview of projection mapping. Featuring works by Creator AntiVJ and Jean-Michel Verbeeck, the film offers insight on the process of projection mapping and its significance to art, music, and technology.

The aim of the report is to promote the sharing of best practices adopted by PPP broadband projects, whether they have been used to provide broadband access nationally, regionally, or in rural areas. The purpose of the document is not to focus on the approach followed by any single PPP broadband project, or to promote any one project, but to provide an overall view of the best practices implemented among all the projects. These best practices have been identified as beneficial for future PPP broadband projects, and which, if followed, should deliver successful outcomes.

Project management tool is the process of managing a project through its life cycle, including planning, organizing and managing resources. It can help you to achieve individuals goals, or groups of individuals collaborate and share knowledge for the accomplishment of specific project goals and objectives. Read more about project management tools

Almost 50,000 projects have sought financing on Kickstarter since the site began on April 28, 2009. About half successfully reached their fund-raising goals. Each dot represents how much a project raised by its deadline. Active projects are shown as of 5:30 p.m. Friday. 

he dramatic advancements in technology over the last 5 years have created an environment that could support learning that surpasses anything we would have seen, experienced or imagined before. While new technologies offer considerable opportunities for improved learning, their use however has remained as a plug-on to traditional teaching methods. In this article, we discuss the impact of reinvigorating two courses where the use of Mobile Web 2.0 (MW2.0) tools was embedded within the learning process with an aim of enabling learner-generated content and context. Students and staff in this collaborative project, from two different courses, were equipped with iPhone 4s and iPad 2s for the duration of the course (n= 36, 16-week semester). A participatory action research method was used to evaluate the project and to scaffold the staff into learning and teaching in the twenty-first century. The pedagogical approach underpinning this project and the design for use of MW2.0 tools are discussed. Examples of artefacts created by the students in the project are outlined and provide an overview of the different contexts students interacted in.

"Open public space in cities doesn't have to sit unused; just take a look at San Francisco's Pavement to Parks project, which turns wasted space in streets into "parklets" where people can sit and relax. A group of San Francisco organizations have teamed up to enliven public spaces with Urban Prototyping: San Francisco--a project that aims to spawn a number of small-scale, replicable projects for public areas that can improve cities in some way."

"The 2012 CIO 100 Awards honor 100 companies that exemplify the strategic partnership of IT and business. How to Use This Chart Learn about the 2012 CIO 100 Award winners and their winning projects, and find the companies that interest you the most, with this interactive chart. Click on the tabs to sort the data according to location, industry or revenue as well as project type (the main technology used for the project), the primary business function it benefits and its impact. Click on the company name to get more details, including a description of the winning project and more about the technologies used."

"A recent set of studies published by McKinsey Quarterly provides further evidence that the bigger they are the harder they fall.  Given that the McKinsey Quarterly's audience is predominantly business executives rather than IT professionals, it's important that CIOs are aware of the findings and have a reasonable response. Large projects not only fail more often they deliver less.  According to the McKinsey/Oxford study half of IT projects with budgets of over $15 million dollars run 45% over budget, are 7% behind schedule and deliver 56% less functionality than predicted.  That means that:"

This week's visualization comes from Interactive Things, a design and technology studio based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company has been working on a project called "Ville Vivante" - the living city. Here's how the coordinators describe the project: "Based on the premise that the mobile phone has become the center of our everyday communication and main source of information, the City of Geneva, in cooperation with the Lift conference, decided to take the challenge to visualize the digital traces created by our mobile phones ... the goal of the project was to visualize the urban flow of everyday life and make it visible to passersby at the local train station."

Crowdfunding has become increasingly popular lately. That is, those who are looking for funding for their various projects can now turn to the community at large, which makes small contributions that are pooled resources into some pretty sizable chunks of change. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have been able to boast some phenomenal success stories recently - the $3 million raised for the Double Fine Adventure video game being a case in point. Of course, not everyone who tries to raise money via Kickstarter is successful (actually less than half are.) But by bypassing traditional fundraising channels - investors or banks or grants, for example - crowdfunding sites have supported a flood of new creative projects. In many cases, these are projects that would not have ordinarily received funding.

The Internet of Things should be its own category on Kickstarter, since there's yet another project on the site that hopes to connect your physical and digital worlds. But its real promise may be in providing context to computers that will evolve into new user interfaces. Guess what! There's another Kickstarter project that pushes the Internet of Things forward in a fun way. For as little as $10 you could pledge money to SmartThings, which wants to develop sensors and an application environment that lets people who may not be comfortable programming an Arduino board tie the physical world to their virtual one.

"Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) aims to provide high-speed Internet broadband access to all Australians and transform Australia into one of the world's top five digital economies by 2020. The NBN's model of universal and equal access to information flows supported by a nationwide infrastructure network stands out from the dominant scenario of profit-driven, tiered models of communication infrastructure networks. This paper analyses the economic and social value of information as a basic utility in contemporary society and argues that the NBN is an essential component in a nationwide project of digital citizenship, while highlighting the need for strong and effective policies to support it. The policies underlying the NBN and the technical aspects of its infrastructure network are compared with the Coalition's alternative plan and public and private initiatives from other countries. It is argued that, in order to realise the full potential of the NBN, its future strategies must take into account the current networked practices of Australian citizens and be supported by an equally universal project of digital literacy. Finally, examples of current practices and future benefits of the implementation of high-speed broadband access are presented."

Kickstarter can be a blessing to artists and entrepreneurs-sometimes too much of a blessing. Earlier this year, a slew of crowd-funded projects received money that was an order of magnitude more than requested. Such windfalls can turn a dream into a nightmare: They often bury ill-prepared creators and lead to manufacturing delays, lawsuits, defective products, and irate backers. Here are a few projects that got slammed with excess success.

"9 Français sur 10 se disent satisfaits de l'offre numérique du cinéma, selon une étude Médiamétrie. Pour eux, c'est l'occasion de prolonger la séance, avant et après la projection, et de se sentir ainsi « davantage dans le film ».  Le cinéma continue sa transformation numérique. En France, 4.400 salles sont déjà numérisées, de l'écran à la cabine de projection. Cela représente 80% du parc. La totalité le sera d'ici la fin de l'année. Près de 40% des spectateurs constatent que cette modernisation a amélioré la qualité de l'image et du son, tandis que 90% s'en disent satisfaits, souligne Médiamétrie."

"BT is investing £2.5bn to roll-out superfast broadband to two-thirds of UK consumer and business premises by the end of 2014. Regeneris Consulting was commissioned to assess the potential economic benefits of BT's investment in superfast broadband for businesses and focussed on four case study areas: A rural area in the UK: Norfolk and Suffolk A UK town: Caerphilly A UK city: Sunderland The capital city: London The report and its observations builds on Regeneris' experience in the production of number of studies assessing the economic impact of broadband investments throughout the UK. Their work has informed business planning and bid development, including a number of the current crop of BDUK projects and projects to help secure investment from European funding sources. The 'Key Facts regarding BT's investment in Broadband' and the 'Summary of key observations' from the report are below. "

This document sets out best practice examples in planning an investment of public funds in broadband projects. The guidance provided is targeted at all Managing Authorities  in the  European Union (EU). The guide has been prepared by Analysys Mason on behalf of the European Commission (EC), and details the issues associated with investment planning and procurement that must be considered by any Managing Authority that is aiming to implement an EU-funded broadband project. 

The European Commission is preparing a review of the present Broadband Guidelines by September 2012. This early revision reflects the fact that at the time of passing the Guidelines there was only limited experience at the European Commission regarding State aid notifications dealing with NGA networks. Moreover the revision has to take into account a number of specific questions related to technology which came up with the decision making in the context of public funding of NGA networks. The core objective of the present study is to support the revision process by drawing lessons from the implementation of past decisions and by clarifying a given set of technological issues.  Against this background the purpose of the study is twofold.   According to the Terms of Reference the study should   * assess the functioning of the existing framework by assessing the implementation of a selected sample of projects in the broadband sector. Such projects should include both European and non-European ventures, when the latter can provide useful insights due to their possible more advanced stage of implementation. The assessment should focus on an analysis of the potential difficulties experienced with the implementation of the conditions set out in the European Commission authorisation decision as well as on potential implications for the review of the Broadband Guidelines.  * give advice to the European Commission services regarding a limited number of technical issues which are relevant for the implementation of the Broadband Guidelines. The main issues to be addressed are:   (a) Technological solutions for NGA networks;   (b) Granting wholesale access to competitors on the subsidized networks  and different "open access" products;   (c) Separation.   The two objectives of the study are intertwined, and at the end lead to consistent recommendations for the upcoming revision of the Broadband Guidelines.

The MIT Media Lab is broken down into 26 different research groups. From "Macro Connections" to "Camera Culture," each team is focused on an innovative end goal. Throughout this past year, one group, "Viral Spaces," has focused on proximal networking, hoping to facilitate discourse between real people in real places. From Junkyard Jumbotron's large digital displays to Peddl's brand-new balanced marketplace, here's a look at 11 of the projects aimed at changing the way we communicate.

"Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures" is a three-year collaborative project funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Carried out by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley, the digital youth project explores how kids use digital media in their everyday lives. Read more

Head-mounted wearable computers present a bit of an interface problem. Voice-based head-mounted systems impart the impression that a person is murmuring to him or herself, and accelerometer-based systems that rely on head movement make users look like they have a nervous tic. One solution to the head-mounted-computer user interface conundrum involves hand gestures. Enter a new Google patent that seems to be the search giant's answer to controlling its Project Glass augmented reality system. Titled, "wearable marker for passive interaction," the patented system, which just went public Tuesday, would use a reflective infrared identifier placed on a user's hand to track and identify the user's gestures.