Tech Talk: Windows 8.1 - Internet Explorer 11 (desktop version)

Internet Explorer 11 is the last in its line before Microsoft launched the Edge web browser for the Windows 10 operating system. IE 11 came in two versions for Windows 8.1 with the modeless version and the desktop version. I’ll be going over the desktop version and you can check out a previous post on the modeless version.

The back and forward buttons were made exponentially larger for this model with their rest looking minimalistic, I guess to add more emphasis on the viewable content on the screen. The search bar contains allows searches to be done directly with the assigned search engine as well as for the use of entering web addresses directly.

Just like any other modern web browser, this is no different as tabs are a must for convenient and quick page jumping and navigation. IE 11 can open up an unlimited amount of tabs which can all be reordered by dragging the tab between tabs – so meta!

On the right-hand-side is the Home button for quick access to the saved home page, Favourites button for your online clippings and the Tools button to customise the experience and settings as well as to bring up the developers tools for the technical developers out there.

I’m gonna miss the good ol’ Internet Explorer but even Microsoft knows that it has run its course so I’m really excited to go through their new browser in an upcoming post.

Frank Dobson - London Pride

The London Pride is a bronze-cast sculpture created by Frank Dobson to celebrate the Festival of Britain in 1951 and commissioned for the Festival, which was chosen by the Festival Design Group with assistance from the Arts Council of Great Britain. The sculpture originally formed as part of a series of sculptures created by over 30 leading artists of that time.

It was given by Mary Dobson in 1987 and unveiled with a new slab as a permanent public installation on Thursday 10 September 1987 by Ronald Grierson, Chairman of the South Bank Board. It is now situated outside the National Theatre on the South Bank in London. The sculpture is listed as Grade II.

Running on a theme of leisure, Dobson adopted the use of plaster and finished with gun-metal, due to budgetary constraints required for bronze. With assistance from his students, he developed the full-scale clay models at the studio of the Royal Academy of Art. The sculpture was then placed outside the Royal Festival Hall’s Belvedere Road entrance.

Once the Festival came to an end, the work was placed into storage until 1986 when Dobson’s widow Mary decided to give the sculpture to the Arts Council to recast in bronze. The casting was done by Morris Singer Foundry and funded by Lynton Property & Revisionary Plc and The Henry Moore Foundation.

Cast in bronze from the original plaster, the work features two nude female figures with a bowl as they both sit on a raised plinth, which form as a reminder of the event that took place on the very site over 50 years ago. The work was to feature the plant Sacifraga Urbium, hence the name given to the sculpture. The inscription carved by David Kindersley reads:

LONDON PRIDE
FRANK DOBSON CBE RA
1886–1963
Commissioned for
THE FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN 1951
GIVEN BY MARY DOBSON 1987
AND PLACED ON THE SOUTH BANK
Assisted generously by Lynton Property & Revisionary Plc and The Henry Moore Foundation
ARTS COUNCIL OF GREAT BRITAIN

Enzo Plazzotta - Young Dancer

Plazzotta's Young Dancer can be found on Bow Street, opposite the Royal Opera House and around the corner from Royal Ballet School on Floral Street. The bronze cast depicts a girl tying the lace on her ballet shoes. The sculpture was erected by the Westminster City Council in association with the Plazzota Estate and unveiled on 16th May 1988.

Stephen Cox - Ganapathi & Devin

Standing in their own distinct space, yet linked together, are two pieces Ganapathi and Devi. They were named after Hindi elephant god Ganesha and Hindu Goddess Devi. The pieces hark back to periods of history and ancient civilisation. The sculptures is part of the Broadgate Art Trail.

#BroadgateArtTrail

Tech Talk: CaptionBot

CaptionBot is a new creation coming from the minds of Microsoft as part of their Cognitive Services. This is a result of years of studies into new capabilities. "Computer Vision and Natural Language" are used to describe the images which is brought together with Computer Vision API, Emotion API and Bing Image API. So without further ado... let's get down to it!

You could say that...

Ace to the first description but it seems to have picked up on a ghostly presence...

I guess art can be subjective.

It's still being worked on in the building phase and there is a rating system of 5 stars that allows it to know how it did in determining the image. It's not as fun as How-Old.net or What-Dog.net but there is fun still to be had with it.

Danny Lane - Colour Eclipse

Each laminated coloured disk weighs a whopping 180kg and are encased in clear architectural glass, giving it a weightless illusion as if floating despite its weight. The glass is compressed as Lane uses the eloquent yet strong form of glass to create this pair of artwork. The art pieces is part of Broadgate Art Trail.

 

Instagram April 2016

Rush Hour sculpture by George Segal as part of the Broadgate Art Trail #sculpture #Broadgate #art #trail

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Apr 15, 2016 at 2:02pm PDT

One of Fiona Banner's Full Stop sculptures at More London #fullstop #sculpture #art

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Apr 14, 2016 at 3:11pm PDT

David Batchelor's Chromorama art installation / #sculpture

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Apr 11, 2016 at 2:04pm PDT

Ever Fallen In Love #neon #art #installation by Illumanti Neon at the Lights of Soho gallery

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Apr 8, 2016 at 3:44pm PDT

Jim Dine - Venus

These bronze sculptures affixed to the walls of 155 Bishopsgate were inspired by Venus de Milo which is common in the works of Dine. They represent beauty and romance, but the works employ a rough edge reminiscent of archaeological artefacts in light of the handiwork showing the underlying emotion. The sculptures form as part of the Broadgate Art Trail.

Lincoln Seligman - Alchemy

Running along a passageway behind a building of Broadgate lies Seligman’s Alchemy which explores the motif of turning base metals into gold. The colours interchange slowly from metallic lead into golden yellow and back again. This is part of the Broadgate Art Trail.