Category Archives: technology

Musique pour Supermarché

Posted on March 17, 2014 by things magazine

Jean Michel Jarre’s Music for Supermarkets is a fabled lost album, deliberately created to exist as an edition of one, with all master tapes destroyed. On July 6th 1983 it was played in its entirety on Radio Luxembourg, a hissy … Continue reading →

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Fire in the hold

Posted on March 4, 2014 by things magazine

Aargh. Apologies for the (enforced) downtime. We’re learning about all sorts of new things, like DDoS attacks and htaccess files. Please don’t stop visiting.

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From around the web

Posted on February 28, 2014 by things magazine

Tech things. Smartphones versus DSLRs versus film: A look at how far we’ve come. Can a modern cameraphone outperform a DSLR? Even a very old DSLR? / Google’s Project Tango, a sensor-stuffed phone that makes ‘over a quarter million 3D … Continue reading →

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Space for the 1%

Posted on February 26, 2014 by things magazine

“Welcome to the world’s largest ever gathering of future astronauts”: Jon Ronson is ready for blast-off. Is Richard Branson? The idea of space as a playground for the rich is a rather dispiriting one, and Ronson softly skewers the self-importance … Continue reading →

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Raiding the 20th Century

Posted on February 13, 2014 by things magazine

Close encounters with the Third Reich, a 1978 essay arguing that the ‘theme, structure, and symbolism [of Close Encounters of the Third Kind] strongly echo those of the films of pre-fascist and Nazi Germany’. A fascinating artefact from the dawn … Continue reading →

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Boldly going into the back bedroom

Posted on February 3, 2014 by things magazine

Make your own space. Following on from the space simulator built into a caravan, we trawled around to find this list of ‘five homemade flight simulators‘. Alternatively, if you have a spare £3.25m you could buy this South London mansion, … Continue reading →

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Tune out the past, and just say yes

Posted on January 17, 2014 by things magazine

Coming to an office near you: ‘One recent study by academics at Oxford University suggests that 47% of today’s jobs could be automated in the next two decades.’ / wish we’d thought of this: Craigslist Mirrors (via, and also picked … Continue reading →

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Surviving The Biz

Posted on January 13, 2014 by things magazine

Jon Ronson’s memoirs of a former life as Frank Sidebottom’s keyboard player, and the genuine maverick that was Sidebottom himself, are most enjoyable. Sidebottom – Chris Sievey – was also an early computer programmer. His game The Biz, is a … Continue reading →

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Smoking lounges in the sky

Posted on January 6, 2014 by things magazine

The Z. Taylor Vinson Transportation Collection / sort of related, inside the Hindenburg. A fine ride, by any standards. The comments are particularly interesting. Above image is of the passenger lounge. See also the details of the pressurised Smoking Room … Continue reading →

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Cycles in space

Posted on December 10, 2013 by things magazine

SSTL – Surrey Satellite Technology – is what one might describe as a ’boutique’ satellite builder, specialising in compact, low-cost multi-application satellites that can do everything from communications to scientific observation. SSTL launched the STRaND-1, a ‘satellite smartphone’, earlier this … Continue reading →

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