exwhite.pl
(Zipfile of Perl download for Linux or MacOSX Terminal.)

Although some versions of Perl and some terminals haven't worked well over the years, I retested in 2015 and it worked out of the box on OSX Mavericks using the default Terminal app (Perl 5.16.) And now that we're 12 years in the future, computers are fast enough that you can even use it full screen. Take that, 2003!

Questions for philosophical ponderers:
Is performance typing the logical successor to laptop techno?

Will whitespacing ever replace whitewater rafting?

Do attempts to make Linux/coding/open_source cool miss the true beauty of the awkward ugly duckling?

Also check out deprogrammer VJ Übergeek's CyberSpaceLand software and live show!

and...Live Video: Übergeek covers Leroy Anderson's "The Typewriter"

contact: exwhite -at- deprogramming.us

 
# Extreme Whitespace takes advantage of your linux/unix text
# terminal's natural talent as a realtime video instrument!
# It's really pretty simple. About all this script really does it is 
# continually spew whitespace into your terminal for you to type 
# into/with/against/around... 
#
# If you want just the "essence" of this script, see the exwhitesimple.pl
# script - it just does the simple blowing of whitespace into your
# terminal, without the color, variations, etc.
#
# Video jamming the natural way! Typing as performance art? Reverse karaoke!
# No patches to build, no peripherals to buy, no DirectX/OpenGL hassles -
# Just peck away! Try it in your favorite club!
#
# Somewhat inspired by one of our favorite visual music films. 
# And also by the fact that we have been typing commands into unix shells 
# several hours a day for the past 10 years, and we type kinda fast and 
# loud and use the arrow keys a lot. Sometimes entire rooms turn around and
# stare when we type. So we felt very performative and we started to get 
# very misty about the whole damn thing. 
#
# Extreme Whitespace Performance Typing. Laptop Techno for Your Eyes (tm). 
# 

Screenshots!
Sorry they don't show it in motion but maybe you can get the idea.

Extreme Whitespace Live Experience!
###################################
Read_me 2.3, Helsinki, May 2003 (world premiere)
1 - Photo: Mike Bonanno
2 - Photo: Mike Bonanno
3 - Photo: Mike Bonanno

exwhitesimple.pl
the simple version.
also included in the zipfile at left.

press: neural.it netartreview the lunatic fringe runme.org feature