Inspired by the Jacquard Loom, the first computer to use punch cards, artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese are looking to “marry traditional hand-woven crafts with information technologies” with their new project: Fiber Optic Tapestry.

The tapestry is set to be a nine panel work of art, woven by fiber optic threads (instead of traditional woolen threads) connected to RGB LEDs.  These LEDs are in turn connected to a computer which can control their outputs to create a wonderful array of patterns and colours.

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It seems only yesterday that we were getting annoyed with the vuvuzelas in the opening game as “Bufana, Bufana” announced the first African World Cup, but as we now approach the 2010 World Cup final we have become accustomed to the noise.  Hearing that buzz reach my ears stimulates excitement, the association that two of the best teams in the world are about to play out 90 minutes.

Alas, we are but days away from this event coming to a close, four long years away from the next.  Of course there will be replays and archived footage shown for months to come, the Blackstars’ dancing celebrations, Frank Lampard’s goal that never was, and of course Van Bronckhorst’s screamer against Uruguay.  But if you want a real lasting memory of the 2010 World Cup you should get yourself over to eBay and bid on one of these absolutely incredible pieces.

Oh, and did I mention all the proceeds go the Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Foundation? – a charitable organisation that aims to build a better world for everyone.  This campaign is a series of ‘Live Quest’ paintings.

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Whether you are an IT professional or a computer novice, choosing the right backup system to use at work or home is a difficult, and frankly uninspiring use of time, and one which almost always results in making undesirable compromises. There always seem to be far too many options and the good solutions come with a price tag that almost matches the cost of the system they were designed to support. A good backup system should satisfy, at least, the following requirements:

• It should be affordable.
• Operation should be reasonably well automated.
• It should be easy to restore to one of several points in time.
• There should be some redundancy.
• It should be simple to store some backups offsite.
• Media should be encrypted for security.

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Peter from Peopleoftheday.co.uk dropped us an email to ask if we can help publicise their range of celebrity caricature books and prints in time for Christmas. Normally we ignore these types of marketing emails but Peters request stood out when he explained it was an initiative that supported Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Personally I have never explained CF personally, nor through any family members but through reading up on the subject it’s a life-threatening inherited disease which affects over 8,000 people in the UK.

Around 1 in 25 people in the UK carry the faulty gene, that’s over two million people.

Each week five babies are born with CF and three young lives are lost to CF.

CF affects a number of internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with thick sticky mucus resulting in infections and inflammation making it hard to breathe and digest food.

There is currently no cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

A perfect gift

Whether it’s for dad for Christmas or your Grandad for his birthday, these books and limited edition prints make a fantastic gift. You’ll also be supporting Cystic Fibrosis.

People of the day, £8.99
Buy online at Amazon →

People of the day 2, £8.99
Buy online at Amazon →

People of the day 3, £7.99
Buy online at Amazon →

People of the day 4, £7.99
Buy online at Amazon →

Limited Edition prints

View the gallery of over 200 celebrity caricatures and buy the limited edition prints.

Buy online at Peopleoftheday.co.uk →

Also, any referral fees we collect will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis charity fund.

CableDrop is a must buy product for every gadget freak! These clever little cable holders can be stuck on any surface, the side of your iMac, the side of your desk, anywhere where you want to casually grasp those loose digital camera wires or your iPod earphones. They look great and come in a variety of colours.

Buy online