PDPal, Screen Shot 1, 2003 Virtual Museum of Canada
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PdPal allowed people to download a basic 'official' map of the Times Square area onto their PDA devices. Then, using the 'tool-kit' that comes with that map, viewers could plot their path through the area, making note of the details that catch their eye. Many were broadcast on the Panasonic Astrovision board in Times Square. PDPal welcomed the details of everyday life that did not fit onto official maps and images, letting the individual be the author of the unofficial map. The image represented here is of a PDA with a map overlayed with icons on the screen.

PDPal, Screen Shot 1, 2003

A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is a handheld device, originally designed as a personal organizer, but which has become much more versatile over the years. PDAs can can be used as a clock, calendar, address book, or spreadsheet, or for calculating, playing computer games, accessing the Internet, sending and receiving E-mails, taking pictures or videos, or recording notes. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones (PDA Phone), web browsers, or media players. Many PDAs can access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi, or Wireless Wide-Area Networks (WWANs).

PDPal, begun in 2002, is a collaboration of New York City based artists Scott Paterson, Marina Zurkow, Julian Bleecker and Adam Chapman and was co-commissioned by the Walker Art Centre and Creative Time. A downloadable application for a PDA, PDPal is a tool for mapping a collective portrait of a city. It is produced with the assistance of Lem Jay Ignacio, Michael Sarff, ORG, and Kelly Evans.


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