issue # 2 - summer 2013 - Technology

www.thefeed.com.au ISSN 2202-3275

ROBOTS &REALISM

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fashion ofthe future

VIDeO GAMeREVOLUTION

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T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

Technology giveth and technology taketh away. Think, for instance, the

idea that print as a medium is dying, while the internet, video and even radio (which is somewhat outdated) continue to flourish and thrive.

While technology has given us new ways to communicate and the ability for almost anyone with a keypad to write and be published, the world of professional print journalism is, sadly, diminishing.

Although, if you ask me, print is far from dead.

While websites regurgitate hundreds of the same articles written hundreds of times by hundreds of websites for bitesized consumption, print magazines like the one in your hand (unless you are reading this online) hark back to a golden age of Journalism.

A time when getting an article published took skill, determination and practice, unlike now when every Tom, Dick and Larry can write an article and call themselves a journalist (Yes, you can tell I’m a little more than jaded about this).

Yet such is the way of technology, a monolithic “machine” whose effect on anything it touches can be revolutionary or destructive, or both.

However, journalists are not alone in this era of change.

In the past ten years the human race has advanced itself more than it has since the dawn of mankind and with this advancement comes obsoletism.

We are on the cusp of not only reinventing the wheel, but eliminating a need for it all together.

We’ve managed to create microchips the size of your fingernail capable of holding millions of bytes of information, and hard drive disks which can hold 48 times more information than the human brain (Nerd Note: the human brain is popularly believed in the scientific community to be able to hold 2.4 Petabytes or 2,400 Terabytes worth of information, dwarfed when compared to the 120 Petabyte hard drive created by IBM this year).

Astronauts have broken the confines of our world and escaped this planet

we call Earth, all while its citizens sit on solid ground exploring the depths of the metaphysical cyberspace we call the Internet.

So what next? Humanity as a collective is full of dreamers and creators. Whether we dream of living on Mars, flying cars and underwater houses, we are constantly pushing the envelope.

For years scientists, cartoonists and futurists believed that by now we’d be eating moon pie on the moon and hanging with our interstellar (or robotic) buddies, so why aren’t we?

Is there a point in the past 20 years where our technological priorities diverged? Could it be, that with wars draining global economies and a post-9/11 world full of fear, our governments are focussing more on finding new ways to kill eachother, rather than to further the human race, which is what they should be doing?

It’s weird to think that films like Bladerunner and Back to the Future Part 2, two films which epitomise entirely different visions of our “future”, were set in the mid-to-late twenty tens. Obviously we aren’t quite there yet, but it’s strange to think that with such huge aspirations for what we wanted the future to look like back in the 80s, we haven’t yet seen it through.

In this issue of The Feed Magazine we look forward not only to the near future but to the distant to find out where we are headed.

Jump to “Rehash” on p.g. 3 for three quick reviews of our fav albums for the summer as well as a look at some of the best up coming events. Then, turn the page as Joshua Manning chats to Australian music moguls, Astral People, about the steady rise of the electronic music scene.

Colin Holmes gets critical of cinema’s past use of new technology and asks whether gimmicks like 3-D and High-Frame Rate progress the medium of film or degrade it.

I have a Q&A with Roboticist Mari Velonaki to find out where we are at with android/robot tech, and then I uncover the phenomena of 3-D printing and its effect on the fashion industry as well as asking

Australian fashion designer and Alexander McQueen trainee, Natasha Fagg, to comment on the future of fashion. Could it kill the industry as we know it, or unlock its full potential?

Be sure to check out our ‘Some Like It Hot!’ fashion shoot on p.g. 13 styled by our Fashion Editor and owner of The Sense Styling, Kate Burgess, and photographed by Tawfik Elgazzar. Mixing cutting edge fashion from Australian brands, labels and stores like Cara & Co., Nique, Saxony and Jack London with digital art by Sarah Howell and Paola Talbertt, it is truly out of this world.

But wait, there’s more! It’s that time again when gamers need to decide: Sony or Microsoft? Playstation 4 or Xbox One? Before you take a side in the console war, why not learn a bit about the companies who make them first?

Then we are off to New York City with a guide to the Big Apple via photo essay made up entirely of Instagram photos - filters and all.

Katie Moore takes on the world’s hunger crisis and asks “If the world’s population is constantly expanding, what happens when we run out of food?” Here’s a hint, none of them include Soylent Green...

Closing the magazine come two opposing opinion pieces on how technology has changed our lives, for better or worse.

A big thank you to all of our writers, contributors, our many supporters and to you, the reader! Oh, and before I forget: To infinity, and beyond! (Sorry, couldn’t help myself!)

INTO THE FUTURE...

Jesse Matheson Founding editor & publisher

ON THE COVER: Her: Top and Shorts by Watson X Watson, Shoes by Jeffrey Cambell from Zomp, Cuff by Kate McCoy Him: Shirt by Nique, Pants by Saxony

EdITOR's LETTER

T E C H N o L o G Y

FAceBOOK.cOM/THeFeeDMeDIA twitter.com/thefeedmedia

The Feed Magazine (ISSN: 2202-3275) is published quarterly by Revesby Press. No part of the magazine may be produced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher (The Feeding Media). Opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers. Unsolicited editorial or photographic material is welcome but will not be returned unless appropriate postage is supplied. Submissions of text, photographs or any other material will be taken as consent to publish said material.

REHASHp.g 3

EMERGING ELECTRONICA: AN INTERVIEW WITH ASTRAL PEOPLEp.g 5

THE EVOLUTION OF CINEMA (FOR BETTER OR WORSE)p.g 7

DO ROBOTICISTS DREAM OF ELECTRIC PEOPLE?p.g 9

FUTURISTIC FASHION & ‘SOME LIKE IT HOT’ SPREADp.g 11

CONSOLE WARS: WHO DO YOU PLAY FOR?p.g 21

NEW YORK CITY: AN INSTAGRAM PHOTO ESSAYp.g 25

IN MY HONEST OPINION (IMHO)p.g 29

IN THIS ISSUE...

the feed team

FOUNDING eDITOR & publisher JESSE MATHESON

Jesse .Matheson@TheFeed.com.au

SUB-eDITOR GEORGIA LEAKER

Georgia .Leaker@TheFeed.com.au

FASHION eDITOR & STYlIST KATE BURGESS

Kate .Burgess@thefeed.com.au

eNTeRTA INMeNT eDITOR COLIN HOLMES

Colin .Holmes@thefeed.com.au

MUSIc eDITOR jOSHUA mANNING

joshua.manning@thefeed.com.au

illustrations Sarah howell , paola tALBERT

Photography tawfik elgazzar

cONTRIBUTORS MARTIN BORG, kATIE MOORE , yusuf hassan, Dean hood

Website WWW.THEFEED.COM.AU

contr ibute Contribute@thefeed.com.au

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REHASHT H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

I Hope My City Loves Me Still doesn’t stray far from the musical stylings of Guinea Fowl’s previous Hello Anxiety. Rather, it appears Guinea Fowl’s time-out from the scene has been spent polishing, rather than revolutionising, his sound.

Opener ‘Little Death (Make It Rain)’ is superbly effective in linking new Guinea Fowl to old although the instrumentation is much richer and more orchestrated than previous work and there’s hints of The Killer’s classic ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ in the sharp synth’s heavy driving bass line..

The title track juxtaposes a stripped back verse with a wall of sound chorus and a really effective use of texture. ‘Heartbreak Highs’ shows a preference of piano driven songs with a booming bass drum and heavy synth bass. Again there are moments of lyrical brilliance.

The EP closes with ’16 Tonnes’, the weakest track on the record, being more along the lines of a middle of the road rock song than an indie epic.

Guinea Fowl has always been a pop artist with indie leanings, there’s never been any doubt about that, and now he’s back doing what he does best, crafting his own brand of indie infused pop-rock.

GUINEA FOWL - I HOPE MY CITY LOVES ME

ARTPOP is unlike anything Gaga has done before. She opens the album with a bang, with the controversial ’Aura’, its beat courtesy of psytrance/electronica Gods, Infected Mushroom, and moving onto ‘Venus’, a track with more hooks than an abattoir, the album’s mix of genres only two songs in is made clear.

‘G.U.Y’ needs a few spins before you begin to enjoy it, while ‘Sexxx Dreams’ is Gaga at her classic dirty, sexual, catchy pop best.

‘Jewels ‘n’ Drugs’ should’ve been cut from the album, while ‘MANiCURE’ channels a Cyndi Lauper-esque girl power rock-pop vibe straight from the 80s.

‘Do What U Want’ gives us an infectious throbbing baseline which is sadly let down by R. Kelly’s trivial and shallow lyrics.

The titular track is slow, experimental and weird (love it) where as ‘Swine’ is a no-holds-barred 4/4 beat blast.

‘Donatella’ and ‘Fashion!’ are enjoyable album fodder, while ‘Mary Jane Holland’ is an electro-masterpiece which would make Daft Punk sweat.

‘Dope’ and ‘Gypsy’ are a celebration of her vulnerability and ‘Applause’ is simply Gaga.

Lady Gaga should be applauded for not just dipping her toes into various new genres but rather jumping in headfirst.

LADY GAGA - ARTPOP

7/10 8.5/10

FOUR TET - BEAUTIFUL REWIND

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Previous Four Tet albums were an intellectual journey, however on this latest LP, in honour of the dirtier sounds of the British jungle and break beat movements, he has let himself go.

‘Kool FM’ is driven by frantic break beats and littered with vocal samples. ‘Gong’ is full of high-tempo breaks with an almost anarchic feel to the track.

‘Buchla’ is a piece of classic break beat composition, and ‘Aerial’, although a little more subdued, throbs throughout.

‘Our Navigation’ drifts from the jungle theme, with a return to the kind of soothing female vocal samples Four Tet fans know and love. ‘Parallel Jalebi’ features heavily overlayed loops and a warm bass drum while ‘Crush’ pulls the listener into a collection of truly off-beat loops and arpeggios.

‘Your Body Feels’ combines noise infused beats with pleasing vocal samples and ‘Ba Teaches Yoga’ pushes a gentle intensity on the listener.

However, if there is one track on Beautiful Rewind that announces itself as a masterpiece it is ‘Unicorn’. Immaculately constructed, it’s like having trekked through the tangled vines and crush of the jungle and arriving on a tropical beach.

8/10

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REHASHR E H A S H

IN THE DARK PRESENTS: THE SHAKEDOWN PARTY 2 FT. THE SHAPESHIFTERS (UK) & CRAZIBIZANo rest for the wicked! Party in the new year with a huge line-up of DJ talent, both international and homegrown, with live shows soon to be announced. When: New Years Day 2014, 1st Jan - 11pm till dawn. Where: Home Nightclub, Darling HarbourTickets: $40 - $50, VIP Tickets $99.For more information, visit: InTheDark.com.au

SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014 FT. AMANDA PALMER, SUN RA ARKESTRA & AM ICelebrating one of the best cities in the world with a festival full of art, music and entertainment as diverse as the city itself. Traverse the Spiegeltent with acts like the provocative Amanda Palmer or experience the stunning music and dance collaboration, Am I. With over 80 events there truly is something for everyone. When: 9 - 27 Jan 2014 For more information, visit: sydneyfestival.org.au

ETSY CHRISTMAS POP-UP SHOPBringing the internet’s favourite DIY website to life this Christmas, for 15 days explore a wonderland of jewellery, art, fashion, kidswear, quality vintage items and homewares.When: 28 Nov - 12 Dec 2014, 8am -9pm dailyWhere: 74 Castlereagh Street, SydneyFor more information, visit: etsy.com/christmaspopup

GAME MASTERS: THE EXHIBITIONFeaturing hundreds of playable video games, rare original artwork and large-scale interactive displays, this exhibition will walk you through the many generations of gaming.

Learn about the history of gaming through interviews with pioneering designers like Shigeru Miyamoto (Mario), Toru Iwatani (Pac-Man) and Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft), while listening to the stories of groundbreaking Indie newcomers like Markus Persson (Minecraft) and Rovio (Angry Birds). When: 13 Dec 2013 - 25 May 2014, 10am -3pm dailyWhere: The Powerhouse MuseumTickets: $22 adult, $15 child, $18 concessionFor more information, visit: Ticketek.com.au

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T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

detroit. Chicago. Berlin. Bristol. Paris. These cities share something incredible:

the best underground electronic music scenes in the world.

Deep house, tech house, acid house, trance, techno, hip hop, trip hop, footwork, break-beat, Dub-step, two-step, any range of genres thrive in these electronic havens.

We’re not talking about dance clubs where DJs play remixes of everyone’s favourite pop songs or massive, upmarket venues that wannabe high-rollers and the elite frequent.

We’re talking about the real thing: small rooms, basement clubs, crowded with sweaty bodies busting shapes, completely absorbed in noise.

Australia has sorely been lacking a city, which like those above, embraces this, the underground electronic music scene.

Finally, having been left behind by the rest of the western music world for over a decade, it appears Sydney is stepping up to the

plate as Australia’s underground electronic capital. And there is one name that seems to flow off the tongue, wherever and whenever electronic music aficionados come together. That name is Astral People.

It all started in 2011 when managers of Aussie-Duo Collarbones, Tom Huggett and Lee Danilewitz, were joined at the launch of their Iconography LP by Vic Erdsinghe (pictured above), manager of Dro Carey.

From there, after several meetings at their favourite Crown Street pizza joint, Astral People was born.

When you see their logo on a poster you know you’re guaranteed a great night, no matter who is playing, and given their knack for throwing a great party, it’s no coincidence that the rise of the electronic scene in Sydney took off shortly after Astral People’s formation.

The pre-Astral People scene is summed up perfectly by Vic Erdsinghe when he talks about his previous ventures:

“I was putting on similar parties [to what Astral People do] under the name Generic Collective. I was struggling to get 100 people through the door and losing thousands of dollars. It just wasn’t viable.”

In a masterstroke, Astral People united ten of Australia’s best underground electronic acts under the one name, a move which would benefit the scene no end.

Soon the talent on the bill became irrelevant as electronic music fans flocked to anything stamped with the Astral People brand.

“There were a couple of key events that really announced the beginning of it all. One was a Ben UFO party that Low Motion [FBi Radio host Max Gosford] did and the other was when we brought out Blawan & Pariah. “That still get’s talked about as one of the wildest parties Goodgod [Small Club] has ever seen,” he said.

But for Vic, the moment he realised Astral People’s brand had become bigger than

AsTRAL PEOPLE’s gIgs AT gOOdgOd smALL cLUb ARE sTUFF OF LEgENd, PROPELLINg sydNEy’s bOOmINg UNdERgROUNd Edm scENE FORwARd. wE HAd A cHAT wITH AsTRAL PEOPLE’s VIc ERdsINgHE AbOUT HIs ROLE IN OVERsEEINg THE scENE’s ImmENsE gROwTH.

EMERGING ELECTRONICAAN INTERVIEW WITH:

bY Joshua Manning

M U S I C

the artists they were touring was when Knxwledge, a relatively unknown quantity from L.A., sold out Goodgod.

“He wasn’t a big artist and we ended up having 400 odd people that night. He had less likes on Facebook than most of the artists on our roster. It’s when we realised our brand was actually bigger than the artists themselves, and our brand was selling these tickets.”

With the people’s trust, they’d become the company that hosted the parties to go to, many which took place at Goodgod Small Club, which is now known as the city’s premier electronic music venue.

However, it was only due to circumstance that Goodgod became so integral to the scene and to Astral People.

A couple of weeks after their launch at Tone (now The Soda Factory), the boys saw the venue close its doors, leaving them homeless.

“We knew we had to establish a home for ourselves and I knew Jimmy [of Goodgod] so we went straight to Goodgod where we felt most comfortable with the staff.”

Whilst Astral People’s promotional skills are commendable, it’s definitely their passion for

the music they bring to Sydney that has seen them, and Sydney’s electronic scene, grow rapidly. For them it’s incredibly important to maintain the integrity of their artists, and themselves, by making sure that, especially with their international tours, they run with artists they know and like.

“People in Sydney, they’re up on their music tastes. It’s so see-through when a promoter brings out an artist who they don’t really care or know too much about. We’ve seen other promoters host parties, and I won’t name names, with similar acts to us, and they haven’t done as well because they haven’t done their research into the market.”

The diversity of their roster has grown from only touring emerging international artists and managing ten local acts, to premier acts from an array of genres such as Collarbones, Action Bronson, BadBadNotGood, Jonti (Who has previously worked with Mark Ronson and collaborated with Big Scary) Rainbow Chan and the satirical Black Vanilla.

“We’re really happy with our roster right now. We feel we’ve got the team we really want ranging from techno producers to chill wave beats to R ’n’ B projects,” said Vic.

Having accomplished their initial goals, they’re looking at the future of Sydney’s electronic scene with cautious optimism.

With their new Concept series and planning underway for the continuation of their boutique festival, OutsideIn, as well as establishing a second similar festival to commence in the summer of 2015, they’re looking to build on what is now a thriving electronic environment. In fact, there is surprise when there isn’t a party on at least once a week in Sydney nowadays.

“The other night [Tom] and I were like ‘Fuck, there’s nothing to go to tonight’, because that’s what it’s come to in this town. Week in, week out there are shows to go to. An international underground electronic artist is in town every week.

“A few years ago that never would have flown, but we’ve built ourselves into such a climate that it is now possible.”

Sydney may not be as big as Berlin, Paris, Detroit, or even Tokyo, but the dirty, depraved, brilliant world of underground electronica has definitely made a home for itself here. Hopefully, with the groundwork laid by Astral People and their supporting cast of artists and venues, the underground scene in Sydney can endure.

“PEOPLE IN SYDNEY, THEY’RE UP ON THEIR MUSIC TASTES”

- VIC ERDSINGHE, ASTRAL PEOPLE

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T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

while film revenues are up, there is a constant worry that attendance is

dropping, with films being dumbed down so that they’re easier to sell. Mid-range budget films for adults are increasingly difficult to come by, and the only movies getting made are the super-low budget Indies and the oversized-budget blockbusters.

These blockbusters (and blockbuster wannabes) are padded out with CGI and mass destruction and as consumers we are always being prodded to see it in IMAX or 3-D or, if Peter Jackson and James Cameron have their way, in High-Frame Rate (HFR). The question remains as to whether all these new bells and whistles are real technological steps forward for the artistic medium, or whether they’re just fads to be forgotten about in a decade or two.

More than any other art form, cinema is defined by the technology used to create it.

Motion picture cameras were first invented in the late nineteenth century, yet it wasn’t until the early twentieth century that cinema became the ultimate collaborative art that we know today, incorporating literature, theatre, music and photography into one to tell a story.

Films moved from the silent era to the talkies, to the widespread use of colour as they tried to keep audiences coming to the theatres, while also testing technological boundaries.

Although there have been other advances since the addition of audio and colour, none have been so prominent as 3-D.

At the forefront is James Cameron, who refers to filming in 3-D as “filming in stereo”, and has spent years developing the 3-D technology such as the camera rigs used to shoot the Academy Award-winning Avatar, so as to immerse the viewers in the world he created.

He claims that the depth it creates gives film directors and their crews another plane to utilise when crafting their art. The problem is that Avatar was such a resounding financial success that studios decided nearly every big budget film needed to be released in 3-D, but

THE EVOLUTION OF CINEMA (FOR BETTER

OR WORSE) bY Colin holMes

few wanted to utilise the painstaking process which Cameron created.

Studios decided to post-convert their films instead, a process in which depth is artificially added when the film is being edited.

Where shooting in stereo creates two separate images, one for each eye, post-converting duplicates the same image making the film look more like a pop-up book than a true three-dimensional experience.

It perpetuates the notion that 3-D is simply a cash in, rather than a true evolution of the medium.

Like anything else, a degree of competition existed that pushed the industry to advance the technology and to push the boundaries of the medium.

In the 50s, TV took off, leaving movie moguls worried that audiences wouldn’t bother paying to see a movie in a theatre when they could get it in their own homes. In response, folks like B-movie producer William Castle tried to entice audiences to the theatres with gimmicks like in his 1959 film, The Tingler, which used “Percepto”, meaning certain seats within theatres were rigged with vibrating motors that would buzz and vibrate

in sync with certain scenes. There was also “Emergo”, in which skeletons dropped from the ceiling of the theatre, used famously in The Haunted Mansion and then the most prominent and widely used process: 3-D.

3-D has essentially gone through three big waves in cinema history. There was the “golden age” in the 50s, with films like Creature From the Black Lagoon and Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder. The process eventually petered out, only to experience a minor revival in the 80s with the release of films like Friday the 13th Part III: 3-D and Jaws 3-D, but again the format never really caught on, mostly relegated to horror and exploitation films we’d rather forget about.

After the boom in the 80s, 3-D was mostly used in rides and shows in the various theme parks around the world where its gimmicky appeal, and the idea of three dimensional immersion, feels more natural.

In the 80s, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Jackson teamed up with Disney to create Captain EO, a 20 minute long 3-D attraction starring Michael Jackson and Angelica Huston, and the result was

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

probably the most spectacular 3-D film to date. However, in the mid-90s, Universal Studios

reached out to James Cameron to make a 3-D attraction based on Cameron’s film Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

It was directed by Cameron himself and even featured stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick and Edward Furlong from Terminator 2.

Here the modern age of 3-D was conceived, as it was this film which started Cameron’s love affair with 3-D, which would finally culminate in 2009 with the release of Avatar.

Back in the day people like William Castle were utlising these technologies simply as gimmicks. In comparison, today people like James Cameron and Peter Jackson are determined to tell us that 3-D and HFR are important advances in the medium, ones just as important as the moves to sound and colour.

But it may be because of the diminished reputation of his beloved 3-D that Cameron is also now proposing the use of HFR as the next big thing in cinema.

Since the late 1920s, films have mostly been filmed in 24 frames per second (FPS),

which is another way of saying that for every second of film we are seeing 24 individual images. It’s the frame rate and quality of the film stock which give movies their distinctly “movie” look. The idea behind using a HFR is that our eyes would be able to process more information and thus movies would cease to look like movies, and look more like real life.

Last year Peter Jackson shot and released The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 48 FPS and 3-D. The reaction was mixed. By some accounts the use of HFR was incredibly distracting, and ended up making the film look like a 1970s BBC television series.

Others stated that it made the effects feel more immersive, and it gave them the sense they were actually in Middle Earth.

The common consensus is that by using a HFR, the film didn’t have that “movie” look that most cinemagoers expect when they go to the theatre.

Cameron hopes that eventually all films will be shot in HFR, and he actually wants the frame rate to be increased to 60 FPS. However, the only major film being released this year in HFR is the second part of

Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

This is partly due to the cost of implementing the new technology. In order to screen films in HFR, cinemas will need to upgrade their theatres, which isn’t cheap and considering that many theatres have only just upgraded to 3-D, it may not seem financially viable to upgrade for yet another new format, especially when the response has been so mixed.

By all accounts, the resistance to the upgrading of technology was just as strong in the 1920s and 30s when sound and colour gained prevalence, but it is yet to be seen if 3-D and HFR are truly the future of cinema as an art.

They definitely seem to be the future of theme park attractions, and it sounds like both processes will make for fun rides, but as of this moment they appear to be little more than gimmicks devised to make the theatre going experience unique from the home video experience.

While most films released in 3-D feel like calculated movies by the studios to squeeze every last dollar out of the audience, every once and a while a film like Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity is released and makes all the other junk released in 3-D feel worth it.

Gravity utilises the potential of 3-D allowing us to actually feel like we were lost in the vacuum of space with Sandra Bullock’s character. By taking great care to integrate the 3-D into the way the film was shot, the audience feels more directly part of the action, allowing for the audience to better empathise with the characters. It’s an astounding fusion of technology and art.

It’s very possible that in 20 years we’ll look back at this period of 3-D and HFR like we do for “Percepto”, “Emergo” and “Smell-O-Vision” back in the 1950s, and realise that James Cameron is merely the big budget modern day version of William Castle.

It remains to be seen if other directors will be able to replicate what Cameron and Cuarón have done, or if most 3-D films will simply end up feeling flat, despite the extra dimension.

“PEOPLE LIKE JAMES CAMERON AND PETER JACKSON ARE DETERMINED TO TELL US THAT 3-D AND HIGH-FRAME RATES ARE IMPORTANT ADVANCES IN THE MEDIUM, ONES JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE MOVES TO SOUND AND COLOUR.”

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T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

DO ROBOTICISTS DREAM OF ELECTRIC PEOPLE?Robots and androids are the way of

the future but, contrary to what pop-culture says, and what the overactive minds of science reporters and paranoid robo-conspiracy theorists might have you believe, we won’t be saying goodbye to good ole’ humans for quite some time.

Associate Professor & Director of the Creative Robotics Laboratory at the National Institute for Experimental Arts, Mari Velonaki (MV) sat down with us (TF) to chat about robot souls and to answer just how close we are to the impending robot-human war.

TF:

MV:

Firstly, how long do you think it will be before Artificial Intelligence is an everyday part of our lives?

It is already now... I mean, your phone is quite smart and these sorts of things are becoming more and more implemented into our lives, like in Smart Homes.

TF:

MV:

Touche! In that case, what are you working on at the moment?Geminoid F (pictured right). It’s the fourth android robot created in Japan. She’s also called an “actroid”, as in actress, and the reason for that is that what Geminoid F tries to do is create some sort of physical agency - act as a physical avatar between two people.why was she made?

As a research project. There are questions of acceptability, the research is about how close to humans we would like our robots to look... to answer the question of “are humans more comfortable with robots that look like us or not?” and of course there is fear of the uncanny valley - the closer to the human the android looks, the bigger the disturbance and dissapointment because something that looks so human, we expect it to behave like a human.

TF:MV:

MV:

TF: Interesting, and how have people reacted to her?

Professor Mastumoto [creator of Geminoid F] was telling me that some people in Japan don’t feel very comfortable with human-like robots... but if I may say my personal opinion, which is that within the Japanese society there is more room for acceptance for such technology than in Australian or maybe European society.

How do people from other countries react to androids and robots?

MV: That’s right, yes. There is this kind of immense respect for anything that is created. As a matter of fact, they have a special ceremony in Kyoto that is for old robots. It’s very interesting from a cultural perspective.

TF:

do you think there will ever be a time with living robots, similar to one depicted in films like The Bicentenial Man?

No, I hope not. Not in my lifetime and not in the lifetime of my daughter... I find it a bit disturbing to be honest. I’m somehow not convinced that this would be an ideal future, having a robot like in iRobot that is so human - I just don’t believe in it. I think it’s going to be a nightmare and I see it as a worst case scenario.

TF:

MV:

I see the future as a place where my mum, she’s going to be in a place that if something goes wrong and she’s by herself, that that place has cameras everywhere and gets enough information to network sensors that could call the ambulance and text her daughter, and friends and a series of people to say something is wrong. My future of robotics is small devices that can help people with, say, alzheimers. My future doesn’t have robots that look like humans helping us, it has systems which help us work towards our qualitive attributes of life.

so then what do you hope the future of robotics will be like?

TF:which is interesting because I guess many of us think that scientists are working towards a sci-fi future. Do you think many scientists hold the same view as you?

TF:

MV: It’s been tested in nursing homes and it was really interesting. I don’t believe any robot can replace a human, but what

was interesting was that it [the humans interacting with the robot] was almost like a form of entertainment. I was watching a video of different wheelchair users and different residents of the nursing home, they were very very suspicious of her but then they started interacting with her and by the end of the week the wheelchairs came closer. At the end of the week, for some people that the nurses were saying were more introverted, it was almost like a starting point to talk with humans.

I actually read that some Japanese people believe robots and androids have souls.

TF:

MV:

Writ ten bY Jesse Matheson

Mari Velonaki & Japanese “Actroid” Geminoid F.

T E C H N o L o G Y

Look, Robotics is not such a huge field and the people who do create androids and robots I have a lot of respect for because, for example, people we work with like Professor Matsumoto they have a very interesting agenda... they don’t have an absolute kind of ideology which says “this is the best way to go” or “if we go this way, is it useful?”. So whether they want to have a future like iRobot, I can’t talk on their behalf, but people on my team, the people I work with, I think they are trying to understand robot/human interaction and what is socially acceptable rather than propose something and go with their own fantasy.

MV:

what do you think about the military’s research and creation of combat robots?

TF:

It’s not black and white... A knife in the hands of a murderer is a weapon, a knife in the hands of a surgeon could save someone’s life, so it’s always how we use this technology and for what. If it’s a battlefield against robots, I’d rather have the machines get destroyed than humans, so I think this is why in these discussions we need to have ethicists, sociolicists and people from the humanities. I don’t believe in evil technologies, I believe in humans and hopefully we can learn the mistakes of the past and improve.

MV:

TF: do you believe robots could one day become sentient?

No, I don’t believe it. I actually respect the Japanese religious influences, this very deep cultural belief that everything

has a soul, but for me I can’t believe it. It’s not disrespectful, it’s just a different up bringing.

Last question: If it did happen one day, how do you think people would react?

MV:

TF:

The way that they act now as they think it is almost happening: fascinated. We project so much into these machines as if we are desperate for it to happen. To me, I’ve learnt one thing, we are extremely unpredictable, but we’re also very passionate. You have people who say “this is the future”, they just want to see them to more, and then there is the other group who say “oh, it’s going to take over,”, they can see more evil. You’d be suprised to find out just how many people think this is going to happen...

MV:

Imagine having the ability to design your own wardrobe on your computer and

watch it be printed before your eyes. It may sound like something out of

science-fiction, right up there with flying cars and teleportation devices, but 3-D printing is here and it’s creating new and exciting opportunities in the fashion world.

You can be excused for not knowing what 3-D printing is, the process is still very new, quite technical, and its practical uses are still being discovered.

Using 3-D imaging software, an intricate 3-D design, like the one pictured on the right (which was also worn by Ricki-Lee on the cover of her Fear & Freedom album), can be created and then printed layer-by-layer, usually with a type of plastic or metal alloy.

The process usually only takes anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days, depending on the size and scale of the design.

While the technology is still in its early stages, this hasn’t stopped Australian Fashion Designer, Natasha Fagg, who was introduced to the technology in 2010, from experimenting with the technology and the possibilities.

Natasha said there were four aspects of 3-D printing which drew her to the technology: The ability to customise a particular shape or object to a specific form, the intricacy of detail able to be printed, the ability to use different materials in a single print, and being able to visualise the piece before generating it.

“My graduate collection involved a lot of experimentation and research. Initially I 3-D scanned a fit model and mannequin so that I would have a base form to work upon digitally. From there I began experimenting with various forms and processes for developing the print,” she said.

“During this time I was exploring the possibilities of various materials and their

practical application. Once the design had been finalised, I was able to print the file through 3-D Systems [a 3-D printing company].”

It is interesting to think that this technology would allow you to design a unique pair of heels or a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry from the comfort of your own home.

You could even share your designs with your friends, while pirates could torrent the designs of professionals, similar to what is being done with music and movies.

In this way it is both an exceptional piece of technology, but one which could also be quite dangerous.

What is even more interesting is the effect this concept of “instant-fashion” could have on the fashion industry as a whole.

Blogging allowed almost anyone with a computer to be a writer, could 3-D printing do the same for fashion?

A prospective designer would need to be quite learned in the software needed to create a piece, and 3-D Printers are neither cheap or easy to come by, so for now access to the process is somewhat limited, but its potential is not.

However, If 3-D printing evolved into using other materials such as cloth and cotton to create simple pieces like T-shirts, jeans and pants, there would be almost no need for large scale factories or stores.

Besides a technician to look after the printers, there would be no need for the millions employed by the fashion industry. The loss of jobs would be frighteningly high, especially in poorer countries where much of the world’s tailoring is performed.

While designers like Natasha will no doubt continue to design and create exquisite pieces, you can be sure that when this breakthrough in technology and creativity goes mainstream that the world of fashion will be changed forever.

DESIGN IT. PRINT IT. WEAR IT.

Photos by: Advan Matthew

F A S H I o N

1 3Zomp - www.Zomp.com.au / Seer Footwear - www.Seerfootwear.com.au / Ivory Blue - Instagram: @IvoryBlueheadpieces / Truese - www.Truese.com.au / Magdalena Duma - www.MagdalenaDuma.com / Jack London - www.JackLondon.com.au / Nique - www.Nique.com.au / Saxony - www.Saxony.com.au / Kate McCoy - www.Katemccoy.com / Wish - www.Wish.com.au / Watson x Watson - www.Watsonxwatson.com / Cara & Co - Facebook.com/Cara&CoSydney

Paola Talbert is a Sydney based artist who has been a photographer for 23 years. Her underwater figure photography is part of a sustained body of work that has featured in solo and group exhibitions since 2001.

During her career, she has completed many private and public photography commissions, her most recent being for the Annette Kellerman Aquatic Centre in

Marrickville, which features seven of her large scale colour photographs.

She lectures in photography at the Art Workshop and the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney.

Currently Paola’s underwater figure photography is being exhibited at Platform 72 on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst.

For more information, please visit: www.paolatalbert.com

PAOLA TALBERT

Sarah Howell left for London in 1997 after finishing art school and didn’t come back.

A master of mixed media and the layering of computer-manipulated images swathed in sensuality, after 16 creative years she has worked her way to now being one of the most in-demand creatives in Europe.

Illustrating and creating works for everyone from the Queen B herself,

Beyoncé, to the likes of Sting, famed sportsbrand Nike, Nokia, Coca-Cola and now The Feed Magazine.

Sarah Howell has transformed our fashion photoshoot and cover from already beautiful photos, into something truly out of this world.

Howell’s pieces are currently being exhibited at Platform 72 on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst.

For more information, please visit: www.sarahHowell.net.

SARAH HOWELL

SOME LIKE IT HOT!ART BY:

Styling by: Kate Burgess & The Sense Styling Photography by: Tawfik ElgazzarModels & Dancers: Simone Barry & Daniel DollingHair & make-up by: Anita SantaSpecial Thanks to: Janet Burgess

FEATURING

Her: Dress by Watson X Watson, Headpiece by Ivory Blue, Jewelry by Kate McCoy.Him: Shirt by Saxony, Aviatic pants from Cara & Co, Ring by Seer Footwear

1 5

her: dress by truese, headpiece by ivory blue, necklace by Kate McCoy. him: Jacket, shirt and pants by saxony.

1 7

her: Jacket by bitte Kai rand from Cara & Co, dress by Watson X Watson, shoes by lucchesi from Zomp, Jewelry by Kate McCoy / him: shirt by Melinda gloss from Cara & Co, shorts by nique, shoes by seer Footwear.

1 9 her: dress by tim Van steenbergen from Cara & Co., bag by delvaux from Cara & Co, sandals by Watson X Watson.him: Vest, shirt and pants by Jack london, shoes by seer Footwear.

her: skirt and bag by Magdalena duma, shirt by Wish, Jewelry by Kate McCoy.him: shirt and shorts by Jack london, shoes by seer Footwear.

2 1

T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

CONSOLE WARSgaming: It’s a lifestyle, a family, a

religion, and an industry which brings together people of all ages, sizes, genders, ethnicities and social backgrounds, all in the name of immersing yourself into a digital world, even if just for a short time.

It’s that time again when gamers, both casual and hardcore, swear allegiance to a console within an industry about to undergo a major generational change, as Microsoft and Sony gear up to deliver their latest gaming devices - Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.

At first glance, these black boxes may look very similar, but peel back the sleek design and their differences become more obvious.

Let’s start with the Playstation 4: Toted as a powerhouse with its improved processor and specs, the PS4 is the next generation tapping into growing social trends including cloud storage, smartphone compatibility and the introduction of social media applications. This will allow players to share their gaming experiences with others and to even drop-

yOU cAN TELL A LOT AbOUT A PERsON by THE cONsOLE THEy PLAy ON, ANd IN NO wAy Is THE cHOIcE AN EAsy ONE IN AN INdUsTRy wHERE EAcH sIdE Is cONsTANTLy VyINg FOR yOUR NERdy AFFEcTION. sO, wHO dO yOU PLAy FOR?

PRIcE: $549.00*

bLU-RAy PLAyER? yEs

sTORAgE: 500gb Hdd (EXPANdAbLE)

bAckwARds cOmPATAbILITy? NO

sEcONd scREEN: yEs, wITH PsVITA

in on live gaming sessions from around the world bringing a new sense of community to what has usually been quite an isolating experience.

Sony was quick to point out that at its core, the PS4 was, quite simply, a gaming console made with the gamer in mind and it looks sure to deliver on this promise.

Sony fans will enjoy being able to link their PSVita up to the PS4, which opens up a whole new world of gameplay. However, they may be upset to hear that the console is not retroactively backwards compatible, meaning you won’t be able to play your Playstation 3 games on it - Bummer!

Don’t fret yet though, because on this console you’ll find many games for all ages and maturity levels, whether you’re into adventures, platforming and puzzles, shooting, driving or even sport, there is something for everyone.

The best thing about the PS4 is, without a doubt, its long list of exclusive first-party “Only On PS4” games, and boy is it long. It even includes the very popular Ratchet & Clank, Killzone and Uncharted series.

Oh! Not to mention the great list of third-party games (also available on the Xbox One), which you can get your hands on from launch day. These include the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4 and Call Of Duty: Ghosts.

*All prices quoted correct from date of publishing and are non-bundled standard editions quoted from EBgames.com.au .

Writ ten bY Jesse Matheson & YusuF hassan

WHO DO YOU PLAY FOR?

XbOX ONE

PRIcE: $598.00*

bLU-RAy PLAyER? yEs

sTORAgE: 500gb Hdd (EXPANdAbLE)

bAckwARds cOmPATAbILITy? NO

sEcONd scREEN: yEs, wITH smART gLAss

But what about Microsoft’s next-gen entry, the Xbox One?

Microsoft’s last-gen console, the Xbox 360, saw some of the highest sales in video game history, with its lower price point and a budget edition being released early on in the 360’s lifecycle. Yet even with this dedicated base, fans appear hesitant about the latest console from Microsoft.

In what is sure to be a lesson in bad PR for the ages, the Xbox One was met with a huge backlash from the gaming community when it was announced that is would need a constant internet connection to not only download new games and talk to friends, but to even play video games locally.

That’s right, without an internet connection your One would actually be nothing more

than a Big. Black. Plastic. Box.Thankfully, after a little reconsideration, Microsoft decided that the world wasn’t ready for an “always online” console

and so changed their tune, and their product, very quickly.

The benefits of the Xbox One include that it is, as the name suggests (and unlike the PS4), an all-in-one media hub for your

entertainment system. This means you’ll be able to use it for movies, music, television and of course video games - if only it made breakfast for you too!.

In terms of being a gaming console, the Xbox has always offered players a more mature

library of games, including its famed shooters such as the historic and groundbreaking Halo series.

If you’re a huge Halo fan, then the fact that the game is exclusive to the console is reason enough to purchase the Xbox One.

Buying a console is never a black and white decision. Considering the cost, a new console really is an investment and one which probably shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Whatever your decision is, though, just take it from us nerds: it’s not always the fancy gadgets and gizmos or the apps which make the console. At the end of the day, it’s the selection of games that should make up the bulk of your decision.

On the next page we’ve chosen our must-have titles ,which you can pick up at launch.

Oh, and just in case you can’t make your mind up on whether or not to buy the Playstation 4 or Xbox One, just do what any true gamer would do: buy both!

G A M I N G

Platform: Xbox One/Playstation 4/wii U & Last-gen consoles

Continue this blockbuster story with pirate assassin Edward Kenway as you sail and sneak your way across the vast Caribbean. Featuring an open-world to explore, brimming with things to do, as well as action packed close-quarters combat and a riveting story, this one should be at the top of your wish list.

Platform: Xbox One/Playstation 4/wii U & Last-gen consoles

For the speed demon in all of us. Race down streets at breakneck speeds as either a racer or a cop. With a variety of cars, jumps and gadgets, no two races will be the same. Take the game online to race against the best of the best and get ready for a real challenge.

Platform: Playstation 4 (Exclusive)

Sony’s latest addition to its exclusive library is Knack, a beautifully presented platformer suited for all ages. Playing as the titular character, you must use Knack’s ability to absorb various elements and substances to save mankind from the evil goblins!

T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

2 3

Platform: Xbox One/Playstation 4 & Last-gen consoles

Constantly taking war torn games to the next level thanks to its immersive and expansive multiplayer, Battlefield 4 presents to players with possibly the most destructive and hectic gameplay ever seen in a video game. Watch in awe as skyscrapers fall in front of you in real time - Amazing.

Platform: Xbox One/Playstation 4/wii U & Last-gen consoles

Who says you need to leave the house to party? Play with up to four friends in your lounge room, or against thousands online, as you dance along to choreographed peformances with music by your favourite artists including, Lady Gaga, David Guetta and Daft Punk.

Platform: Xbox One (Exclusive)

We should’ve known that an Xbox One exclusive would include bloodshed of Roman proportions. Mixing third-person action with a touch of strategy, you play as Roman Centurion, Marius, as you fight in an intense, total war. No word of Russell Crowe making an appearance though...

G A M I N G

Professional photographers may find Instagram reductive to their art, but there is no denying

that the smartphone application has opened up a new world of photography to those who may have otherwise have never experienced it before.

Here are images shot by business graduate and Instagram aficionado Martin Borg on his recent trip to New York City, taking us on a journey through the nooks and crannies of this beautiful concrete jungle.

Times square, west 47th street - 11am, FridayFilter: Hudson

The energy in Time Square is palpable. Here, you’ll see street performers and theatre patrons one moment, Indian festival-goers the next. At any hour of any day or night, there are thousands of people coming and going about their lives in a place that absoloutely earns its title of “The Crossroads Of The World”.

bY Martin borg

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T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

NEW YORK CITY: AN INSTAGRAM PHOTO ESSAY

T R A V E L

statue Of Liberty - 2pm, SaturdayFilter: Mayfair

Appearing as a barely-recognisable speck in the distance when seen from Manhattan, the majesty of this remarkable structure can only truly be appreciated from up close. You realise how new migrants, fleeing war, persecution and devestation must have felt on seeing the statue for the first time, a metaphor for casting off the oppression of their past and being given a fresh start and a new life in a new country.

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T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

Temple of dendur at the metropolitan museum of Art 2pm, ThursdayFilter: Kelvin

Threatened by the construction of the Aswan High Dam on the river Nile, this ancient Egyptian temple was relocated, brick-by-brick, and the stones weighing over 800 tonnes reassembled inside a cavernous, glass-walled room in the Met.

Now, New York City residents can explore an Egyptian temple oasis inside Central Park, learning about the fascinating history of Ancient Egypt one moment and seeing superlative collections of Renaissance and North American art the next.

View downtown from the Empire state building Observation deck5pm, SundayFilter: Lo-Fi

The Empire State Building looms large, both physically and in the public conciousness, having been the setting for climactic scenes in films such as King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle.

However, it is slightly less impressive in real life, outdone in several respects by the Rockefeller Centre.

The Empire State Building’s saving grace is the commanding view of the Financial District from the 102nd Floor observation deck.

The view almost makes it worth the hours of queuing and enduring the dated, Kevin Bacon-narrated virtual tour...

T R A V E L

central Park south3pm, MondayFilter: X-Pro

Central Park provides the oxygen, both literally and metaphorically, for the residents of New York City.

Whether it’s riding around the park on bike; stopping off at various sights such as the Met and other nearby museums, shops and art galleries; having a caricature of yourself drawn in charcoal or picnicking on the lush green lawns, visiting the park provides a welcome escape from the busy and grey streets and the perfect way to while away an afternoon.Luckily, there is plenty of room for the park’s 35 million annual visitors to stretch their legs.

brooklyn bridge - downtown manhattan4pm, WednesdayFilter: Amaro

Thought it may not hold a candle to the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the beauty stakes, the Brooklyn Bridge is an architectural marvel in terms of the sheer vision of the scale and time in which it was built, having been the longest suspension bridge in the world for twenty years.

Construction of the bridge changed the face of the city in more ways than one, doing away with the flotilla of small ferries that were previously the only way of crossing New York’s East River.

Today, it occupies a special place in the hearts of visitors and New Yorkers alike as a connection between the city and the hip borough of Brooklyn which lies to the south of Manhattan.

imho2 9

T H E F E E D I S S U E T w o

Hardly a day goes past without another food trend telling us what to eat and

how to eat it. From the Paleo “caveman” diet to eating for our blood type, embracing the “grease is good” manifesto of dude food or the trending #cleaneating diet, the days of meat and three veg for dinner seem long gone. But, amidst the hype around food fads and diets, have you considered what the future of food really looks like?

Food technology has recently made headlines with the unveiling of the world’s most expensive hamburger made from meat grown in a lab (pictured right). 20,000 muscle fibres were carefully grown from cow stem-cells over a three month period before being formed into a patty ready for consumption.

Described as tasting like beef but with the texture of an animal protein cake (sounds... tasty?), it’s been praised as an ethical and nutritionally smart alternative to factory farmed meat. But with a £250,000 price tag the patty won’t be available in your local burger shop for sometime.

It’s not just test-tube meat that we may all be chowing down in the future, no, it’s likely to go much further as Food technologists are currently searching for other sustainable solutions to the dilemma of how to feed our increasing population.

Scientists estimate by 2050 there will be an extra 2.5 billion more people living on Earth, which is roughly equivalent to the entire population of China and India again.

With land and water resources already stretched to near capacity, one billion people currently experiencing severe food shortages and the effects of climate change,

the problem of how to feed our population is serious and will only get worse.

Food, farm and water technologists are rethinking current food systems around the world, resulting in some interesting solutions.

Move over Superman, algae may be the super plant to save our planet. The scourge of pool-owners everywhere, algae is being touted as a future source of food, animal feed and energy. Types of algae are already commonly consumed in Japan and China and you’ve probably already eaten it as seaweed. Sushi anyone?

The potential for algae to save millions of acres of farm land and billions of gallons of water each year is huge. It grows quickly in places that would normally kill crops, such as polluted water, and forms of it can also be used as soil conditioners, fertilizers and animal feed.

Shipping and airline companies are also investigating using algae oil as a form of clean energy.

It’s not just veggies from the sea that might be popping up on a menu near you. Insects and other little critters are being increasingly recognized as a highly nutritious source of food around the world. Before you scoff at the idea, insects are already consumed in parts of Asia and have recently been appearing in the more adventurous Nordic restaurants.

“Why insects?” you ask. Well, Insects are a high-source of protein, low in cholesterol and fat, and are available in far more abundance than other protein sources such as livestock and fish. Plus, who doesn’t like a little bit of crunch in their meal?

On a local front, Australia’s CSIRO is just one of the many organisations changing the genetic makeup of food staples. CSIRO is

currently developing a type of genetically-modified rice that is more resistant to harsh climate conditions and contains added vitamins.

For many living in the developing world the consumption of these more nutrient dense staples could mean the difference between life and death. On the other end of the spectrum is the growing popularity of ideas that bring food back to the basics.

Slow food is a global movement promoted as an alternative to fast and processed foods by encouraging communities to eat locally grown, organic foods. Slow food isn’t just about shopping at the local farmers markets on the weekend, it’s also about choosing minimally processed foods that are chemical and insecticide-free.

Offshoots of this movement, which began in Italy in 1989, can be seen in more current trends of ‘clean eating’ (no processed foods, organic produce), raw veganism (no animal products, no food cooked above 46°C) and the Paleo diet (no grains, no dairy, no sugar, no processed food).

As an increasing number of diseases are being linked to the consumption of ingredients commonly found in processed foods such as high-fructose sugar and trans-fat, these food trends which seek to return back to the ways of our ancestors are quickly finding worldwide popularity.

While there’s still a considerable amount of uncertainty about the future of food, it’s likely food technology and movements, like slow food, will heavily influence how and what we eat. But what is certain is that unless we solve the bigger problem of how we can feed our growing population, the future is looking pretty unappetising.

WHAT WILL WE EAT IN THE FUTURE?bY K atie Moore

imhoI M H o

Since the inception of the smartphone and the wonderful world of apps that comes with it, we’ve been treated to an array of functionalities that are now so ingrained in our day to day lives, we previously have never imagined being able to access via our mobile phone.

Actually, our mobile phones are no longer mobile phones. They are sophisticated, life-managing, entertainment-providing machines. What respectable, tech savvy Gen Y actually uses their phone to call people more than they use it to surf the net, check their email, stream music or manage their various social media accounts? And when it does come to communication we’re saving dollars. SMS? who needs it when you’ve got Whatsapp? GSM calling? Don’t you have Viber? Using your included calls is for ringing your mum who stubbornly refuses to upgrade from that old Nokia 3310.

Convenience, increased productivity, cost minimisation. Repeat the mantra.

WHAT’S IN AN APP?

Convenience, increased productivity, cost minimisation.

But I can’t help thinking we are missing something. Apps aren’t just about convenience and cost cutting, nor are they just about increased productivity. Apps mean something to people, they have emotional value.

Apps, like Whatsapp and Viber, market themselves to that very same mantra of convenience, increased productivity, cost minimisation, but there’s much more to it.

Its not these traits but in turn what they make possible, that is where the true beauty lies. It is the way they can make something that, in this day and age of constant connection, would have been impossible without them. Such as my across-the-world long distance relationship.

Timing has never been my forte. I’m the kind of guy who’s laptop dies just before deadline (Editors Note: It’s true!) or who moves into a new share-house two weeks before they slap a development proposal on it. In this case, I connected with a girl ten days before she flew out of the country, possibly forever. Had this been the 90s, what is now my relationship would probably just be a collection of fond memories from a week spent with a sweet, intelligent, tattooed, German girl and an ever-lingering question of what might have been.

After ten days all we had was a desire to get to know each other better. We were two

like-minded people, with what seemed to be similar philosophies in life, and a physical attraction. But, through apps, we were able to explore our initially fleeting connection - via instant messaging rather than the conventional dating method - and despite the 16,085.6km between Sydney and Berlin, we’ve become closer than ever before.

In any 24 hour period we average around 150 messages each via Whatsapp, getting to know each other’s favourite foods, movies and hobbies. We call each other on Viber two to three times a week, and it’s great to be able to have a conversation and expand on things that we couldn’t quite explain by message. Simply hearing each others’ voices means so much in keeping a close connection.

“A cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS” is how Whatsapp’s website describes their product.

Yes, these are its functions and features, but for apps like it and Viber, the real value in how they allow us to connect.

Whether it’s standing in the middle of Australia’s Red Centre, chatting with a close friend in London, keeping your family up to date with your road trip through the US, or being able to wish your significant other goodnight every night from the comfort of your own bed - despite the 16,085.6km between you.

bY Joshua Manning

TECH RUINED MY LIFE!

bY georgia leaKer

My phone just won’t stop beeping. It makes the same beep for every notification – text message, email, Facebook post, Twitter interaction - and I can’t bloody figure out how to turn it off! I know I have emails, stupid phone, I can see them ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN WHICH I SIT AT ALL DAY! Yet I keep checking my phone – because I’m an addict.

I can’t remember the last time I verbally spoke to my dad, who lives 3000km away. We communicate almost exclusively in picture based text messages, almost all of them of my cats. And my best friend? We Facebook message constantly, but I can’t remember the last time either of us picked up the phone and just talked to each other.

My phone is always with me. Without it, I feel naked. I don’t even need to be looking at it or playing with it, I just need to know where it is. I’m an addict, but I’m not the only one.

When I have dinner with my mum (which is not that often because we live on opposite sides of the country), she spends her entire time checking her emails and taking business calls. Awesome quality time, ma.

Technology was supposed to make our lives easier, to unburden us of the 9 to 5 desk-bound workforce. Instead, we work longer hours and we spend our free time communicating with people electronically, instead of in person.

Technology has given us a 24 hour news desk, which is great for breaking news, but is killing other sorts of journalism, including investigative journalism, magazines, newspapers... goodbye my career (except with The Feed of course)!

I switched off recently, spent the entire day sewing and baking and I felt renewed. I didn’t care what was happening outside my own little realm. I only answered the phone once, when my mum called to check in. It was liberating – we should all do it more often.

Now don’t think for a second I don’t love technology. I do. I love that I can have a face-to-face chat with my friend in Maine through Skype. I love that I can litter my mum’s email inbox with things as I think of them, rather than having to try and remember them all for that one phone call we have every day.

It’s great, sure. But I think we’ve taken it too far and it’s beginning to ruin our lives.

We’re on call 24/7, we’re ignoring what’s in front of us because our eyes are glued to 140-character Tweets, we’re distracting kids as young as two with iPads and iPhones, so that they’re learning to be entertained by passive, flashing lights and aren’t learning important motor skills.

This last one makes me particularly sick:

I’ve been a nanny/babysitter on/off for nearly a decade and I strongly advocate kids and their parents spend time outdoors together, building things and getting dirty. Television is fine for wind down time, but do they really need smart phones when they’re barely out of nappies? What happened to board games and walking to the corner deli for a treat?

And we’re now meeting people online – which is awesome and expands our social circles but is that really how it should be? What happened to striking up a conversation with that cute boy at the bar?

We’ve become incapable of talking to strangers without a screen between us. No wonder we all feel so disconnected from each other. I don’t want to perv on someone’s online dating profile online, I want to meet them by chance.

Technology has ruined my life. I want to be heard but I feel like the only way is online. I don’t think we need to ditch technology entirely, but can’t we switch it off once in a while? We need to switch our phones off, even if it’s just at dinner.

We need to learn to enjoy each other’s company again, in person, the old fashioned way. So go on, drop by your mates place unexpectedly with a cake you baked from scratch, talk to that cute girl or boy at the gym, ask the cashier how their day is going and wait for a proper response, stop hiding behind technology and reach out. We need to learn how to see eachother again, without fibre optic cables.

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ever again.

Each styling service is tailored to your lifestyle, personality and budget. We show you where to shop, what to buy and how

to wear it.

Mention The Feed for a special offer...(limited time only)