Interactive internet stuff: FOLDIT and Richard's Loops

I found this performance on youtube using an MPC 1000 and recorded samples of Mozart's 'Ronda Alla Turca': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN4H1vRsw7Y

Its shows some more extent to which the digital environment can expand our creative capacities. I though this was an excellent example because you can clearly see and hear exactly how and how well this MCP has exploited a digitised performance of Mozart's piece, a basic drum loop and some good timing. It introduces potential in a really clear way. (Listen to Ronda Alla Turca if you do not already know it).

I found Richard Houghton's youtube channel and then his website. An interesting feature of his website is that it allows you to mix loops he has made. Making it whoely interactive and dependent on the internet for its success. It allows many different combinations through use of his website on the internet, perhaps an infinitely large number of combinations (in theory) of 9 simple looped sounds.

http://www.richardhoughten.com/secretmix.html

A very large volume of combinations is only possible through using the internet. Have a look at his website: http://www.richardhoughten.com/

FOLDIT (Online problem solving game)
Similarly: http://fold.it/portal/

and blog: http://fold.it/portal/blog
and wiki page: http://foldit.wikia.com/wiki/FoldIt_Wiki


This experiment depends on internet interaction to for fill its intentions. 'FoldIt' is an online game in which humans try to solve one of the hardest computational problems in biophysics: protein folding. Almost like trial and improvement the success of its interactive nature is due to the fact that the more people try/build/make/fold/etc different varieties the more likely the program is able to find a solution to a protein folding problem testing the limits of the game with existing problems with known solutions.

FROM PHYSICS WORLD Volume 22 Number 7 July 2009: "FOLDIT draws on the idle hours of several thousand data-crunchers for help in solving scientific puzzles. FOLDIT is all about biophysics. The project's goal is to understand how proteins- the chains of amino acids that drive processes inside living cells- fold themselves into a myriad of different shapes. But the most striking difference is that FOLDIT's protein folding operators are actual human beings, and the datasets they are sifting are disguised as an amazingly addictive computer game." 


Its educational, user friendly, Tetris-like by nature and takes advantage of the human penchant for pattern spotting. It outsources these problems to any one with a computer and spare time, seeing what the game is capable of telling us about interactive problem solving in the hope that human players can one day tackle protein-folding problems that have no current solution.