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sheep windows client 2.6.6b11 released

download the latest torrentized windows client from David McGrath. v2.6.6b11 release notes:

Fixed crash when message queue is empty, Create "ElectricSheep.dmp" on crash to aid in debugging, Check for eddies, Max torrent downloads based on 1/3 total cache size, Minimum cache size is 300, Cleaned up config page, Added number of frames being generated to status message, Sheep in torrents now count for "Sheep Downloaded" display.

feels like we're getting close!

Weizenbaum: Rebel at Work

The website for the documentary film Weizenbaum: Rebel at Work has launched. Joseph Weizenbaum is famous first as a pioneer of computer science at MIT, including inventing Eliza the first virtual persona in 1966. Later he became a vocal critic of military and other unethical uses of technology.

The film comes out in German this summer and English in the fall. I am pleased to report that it includes several segments made by the Electric Sheep to illustrate the nexus of software and mathematics. Furthermore, Eliza and the Sheep both realize a virtual other.

It's even in the trailer, watch it!

Window Party

The human condition

Sheep Design Tools

If you run the Electric Sheep screen-saver, you can use the up (or down) arrow key to vote for the sheep you like (or not), and so influence the evolution of the flock. Furthermore, you can design your own sheep and post them into the gene pool. If your sheep are popular, they will interbreed with the rest of the flock and produce children. By mutating and crossing the genomes, variations of your sheep will appear and themselves evolve.

Windows users can run Apophysis and Mac users run Oxidizer. Linux users have their choice of Apophysis under Wine or Qosmic, a native Qt application. There's also a portable Java version.

There's a Sheep Edition of Apophysis that has exactly the right variations you'll need.

After you've got a hang of the software and are ready to share, join the genetic design email list and ask for the password for connecting to the server.

Dreams at MeshForum May 7

The Dreams in High Fidelity will be shown at the MeshForum in the Commonwealth Club in downtown San Francisco. I'll be giving a short presentation on Sunday May 7th at 3pm.

Animating with Apophysis

Thomas Williams has a tutorial on how to do keyframe animation with Apophysis including using the new smooth interpolation in FLAM3 2.7b7. Hopefully a future version of apophysis will allow setting the timing and interpolation from within its GUI, which would vastly streamline this process.