Wednesday 10 August 2011

The Jezebel JPEG

Our next decade is beginning to be planned and executed in advance. It's in a Power-point presentation somewhere, bullet pointed with all the benefits you'll ever get, laid out. The technology feedback loop which we all live in, will deliver some wonderful benefits and some weird bonuses, to the future of our pr-stressed concrete 5x5 apartments.

In Australia as in other parts of the world, we have started to trail airport body scanners, great at protecting you, plus the aeroplane you’re in. But what it actually means is, we get a step closer to you, your friends, acquaintances and all the people you pass in the stairwell having a lot more fun.
1967 was a year when the future was spread out in front of us. Sunday supplements had already been launched. They’re development foreseen with an enhancement called the Rotogravure printing process, making high-quality, mass-production colour print runs possible. Editors knew we ate with our eyes and we devoured these new glossy Sunday Mags.

Photographers became the cultural interpreters. Whether in Vietnam or Vienna their audience was middle class and hungry for knowledge. The editorials reflected and focussed opinion onto political, social and artistic ideas. It was the world’s first hand held devise before the technology was even conceived. 

The influence they had is still in felt today. Rows of glossy magazines line our shops .But digital technology today has exploded our knowledge of the world through these magazines, web sites and most of all through the digital images. The technology of the net has opened up even more photo editing options. Photo labs have found niche markets in non-celebs, who wish to be pixelatedley touched up like fashion models.They have introduced enhancement services for our holiday snaps, Kodak sells technology that helps in "smoothing the skin surfaces" on photographs. Adobe has launched a free one as have many other software houses, for you to do it yourselves.
All so your holidays look good on Facebook.

Airbrush and CGI technology means we can now watch 3D rendered images on a 3D screen, wearing dodgy glasses, it shows a perfect future for you and your peep holes to grab, but not quite hold.
But the druggy dream of the future with a huge logo on the outside its a bit grubbier in my mind than that. You can fossick about on the internet and find companies who will sell you a graphics cards and software to make your normal camera, a 3D imager for you to amuse your friends. (No glasses needed).

But partly the evolution that you're looking for, is the final lap of this particular form of insanity

3D printers fabricate complex objects by depositing materials, layer by layer. They use an additive process (making objects by systematically depositing a chosen raw material in layers). The most common 3D printing process involves a ‘print head’ that works with any material that can be extruded or squirted through a nozzle.

Maybe the nice latex rubber for making a rubber sex toy, maybe a big sex toy , full size even. It doesn’t take a huge leap to see that in five years, somebody can scan, render, print and Shag YOU all in the safety of their home.

I've seen the future and the future sometimes isn’t pretty but at least the aeroplanes will be safe and you will know why your neighbour has a funny smile.

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