Each week we round up what’s been happening in the tech world and share a few of the things we like.

This week features Lego Rubik’s Cube solving machines, learning to code, Hollywood movie datasets, creative technologist residencies and the dangers of fracking.

Tech News

Happenstance: a new residency programme for Creative Technologists

The Brighton-based digital culture agency Lighthouse is one of 3 organisations in the UK who have launched a new Creative Technologists residency programme.

Lighthouse - along with Site Gallery in Sheffield and Spike Island in Bristol - are calling for proposals from designers and developers to take part in the fully-funded programme. Participants will be immersed in one of the host arts organisations and will work in small teams to develop digital projects during the 3-month residency.

While there is an emphasis on creating and prototyping new works, the scheme also has a strong focus on thinking about the relationship between technology and the arts, and how in-house technologists may transform traditional arts organisations.

Each organisation will be awarding residencies to one designer and one developer, which will last from 26th March to 29th June 2012. They will receive a bursary of £8,000, with another £1,000 available to cover expenses.

The deadline for applications is Monday 30th January 2012. If you’re interested in applying, you can submit your application here.
 
Learn to code in 2012: over 350,000 people sign up for Code Year

Over 350,000 people have signed up for Code Year – a weekly online programming course launched by Codecademy.

After the massive success of www.codecademy.com last year, the Y Combinator start-up have expanded their browser-based Javascript learning environment into weekly interactive lessons that get emailed out to participants.

Starting out with the fundamentals of Javascript programming and promising to branch out into deeper concepts and other languages throughout the course of the year, Code Year aims to teach complete beginners how to code practical applications from scratch. The lessons guide users through tasks such as scripting a function or creating loops to perform tasks multiple times, and the environment builds on the earlier Codecademy tutorials by giving you access to a Scratch Pad where you can tweak code snippets and experiment with concepts introduced in the lessons. There is also an extensive Q&A section in case you get lost or need a little extra hint to get through a particular task.

You can still sign up for Code Year at http://codeyear.com.

Things We Like

World’s Fastest Lego Rubik’s Cube Solver

The world’s fastest robotic Rubik’s Cube solver can solve any cube combination in under 15 seconds (after scanning, of course).

This should inspire you to dig out those old Lego Mindstorm kits!

The Dangers of Fracking

This gorgeously produced site explains the process of hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking”. The controversial procedure is a method of extracting natural gas by injecting pressurised fluids into underground rock formations.

Movie Information Is Beautiful

As part of their latest monthly challenge, Information Is Beautiful have released a comprehensive dataset of Hollywood movie data to challenge designers to create visualizations covering anything from the relative profitability of horror films to the value of adding an explosion to your movie (FYI, it’s $150m).