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MIT's Backtalk project / art exhibit traces the unseen life of discarded gadgets
Sooner or later, the device you're reading this on will either be sold, donated, recycled or otherwise disposed of; and unless you're particularly nostalgic about old gadgets like us, you likely won't ever give it much more thought. But no matter how you get rid of it, that device doesn't just vanish off the face the Earth. It's that extra life that got the folks from MIT's SENSEable City Lab thinking, and the Backtalk project is what they've come up with. Part research project and part art exhibition (now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York), the effort involved using GPS tracking devices to trace where things like cellphones, batteries and printer cartridges end up after being discarded -- and, in the case of 40 netbook computers, some tracking software and their built-in webcams, which recorded data and images that were sent back to MIT at regular intervals (with the new owners' consent, of course). Some of the results can be seen in the video after the break and the site linked below, but you'll have to check out the exhibit first-hand to see the full scope of their findings.
The Death Stories Project
The Death Stories Project is a research progress focusing on how players experience death in MMO's. The project is currently seeking contributions from players of various MMO's who are interested in describing their in-game experiences with death and share screenshots. There are no results or findings posted yet, but the project looks to be an interesting one. So take a look, and if you have time, fill out the survey. [Via WarCry]
