Amtrak plans to offer free wi-fi on Acela trains by 2010
Amtrak’s high-speed Acela trains are on track to get wi-fi in 2010 and at least initally, the service will be free, according to the five-year fiscal plan issued Thursday by the railroad.
“Launch is anticipated in the second quarter of FY10. This service will initially be offered at no cost to our customers, though pricing may change depending on customer response, system performance, and costs,” the Amtrak document states. “The goal for this offering is to drive competitive advantage that will result in additional ridership and revenue on Acela trains. As of the end of FY09 the company will have just begun deployment.”
Broadway's 'Next to Normal' to debut a 'Twitter song'
Broadway’s “Next to Normal,” which in May tweeted its entire show online, today will premiere a “Twitter song,” written in collaboration with its social media followers.
The song, “Something I Can’t See,” will make its debut tonight at 7 p.m. at 92Y Tribeca — and on Twitter.
“‘Next to Normal’ has solicited suggestions from the Twitter followers on all aspects of the new song, from which characters are performing it and where it takes place in the musical’s storyline, to song structure and lyric suggestions,” producers said in a news release. “The song will not be incorporated into the Tony-winning musical.”
Picture credit: The company of “Next to Normal.” Picture by Joan Marcus/Hartman Group.
WIRED magazine will open its annual holiday pop-up shop Nov. 21 in the Meatpacking District, this year with a design assist from Moby, a gaming area hand-picked by Tony Hawk and a green section curated by Adrian Grenier.
The WIRED Store will be located at 415 W. 13th St., map, officials for the magazine announced today.
The pop-up shop will let visitors get their hands on more than 150 items chosen by the magazine’s editors, including TVs, laptops, cell phones, games, active gear, home goods and toys. There will be a WIRED Café with chef demos and wine tastings, Geek Dad Saturdays and Game Day Sundays.
The WIRED Store will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday. The pop-up takes it toys and goes home Dec 27.
Picture credit: Wired Store sign from 2008. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum today marks its 50th anniversary on Fifth Avenue by opening its doors for free all day.
The museum, which was first known as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, is currently mounting a major exhibition of Vasily Kandinsky, whose art is fundamental to the Guggenheim collection.
Today, the museum also opens Anish Kapoor’s “Memory.”
The celebrations today will include family activities, a 4:30 p.m. architecture tour via Twitter, as well as a screening of the documentary “Art, Architecture, and Innovation: Celebrating the Guggenheim Museum.”
The Guggenheim today will be open for free from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. It’s worth noting that the museum offers pay-what-you-wish admission every Saturday from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. Regular adult admission is normally $18.
(A few blocks up the street, the Cooper-Hewett is free every day through this Saturday for Design Week.
The Empire State Building will also mark the anniversary by tonight lighting up “in the museum’s signature red,” according to a news release issued by the skyscraper’s publicity team.
Empire State's new '20s-era murals, wind anemometer
The Empire State Building’s lobby this week debuted a set of new ceiling murals, a major step forward in the building’s $550 million restoration that seeks to return much of the skyscraper’s original art deco grandeur.
The murals, made entirely of gold- and aluminum-leaf — as well as a 100 gallons of glazes — are entirely new, but modeled on what remained of the original murals conceived in the 1920s, architects said during Wednesday morning’s preview for the media.
The original murals went up in 1931, but a mere 32 years later were painted over and punctured with holes for rods to anchor a new drop-ceiling. This new muraled ceiling covers the original, punctured ones, but leaves them otherwise untouched. “It’s still there for future generations to study, or if new technology becomes available,” said Jeff Greene of EverGreene Architectural Arts. Inc.
The intent of the current renovation is to re-create the vision of the original architects —Shreve, Lamb and Harmon — but with modern enhancements. “What would they do today if they had the opportunity to redesign” said Frank Prial of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners.
The lobby’s renovation also brought in new marble as well as a pair of chandeliers that were called for in the buildings original plans but never installed. The new chandeliers were made by Rambusch Studios, the same firm that created the original ceiling mural.
The renovation also brings a special addition above the information desk. A new anemometer offers real-time wind readings as measured from the northwest corner of the 87th floor.
The building’s original anemometer was later replaced by a clock. Plans call for the readings from the new gadget — which was only turned on this Wednesday — to also display on the official website for the Empire State Building.
See the anemometer in action as it resets with the wind direction:
The entire renovation project is about half-way finished, with the lobby marking the first major completed task, said project manager Ray Quartararo of Jones Lang LaSalle.
Although the architects usually get the attention, New York City’s ligting designers get the spotlight in the NightSeeing Map, which was released earlier this year by the Illuminating Engineering Society and Designers Lighting Forum of New York.
The map comes with its own self-guided walking tours of Uptown, Midtown, Downtown and a route through the villages. The guide hits the outer boroughs as well, including the “This Way” installation at the Brooklyn pedestrian entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge by Tillett Lighting Design.
Not all of the tour is outdoors, as you’ll also be guided into the Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History. The lighting design by Brandston Partnership, which features programmed “underwater shadows,” won the 2004 Lumen Award of Excellence.
The online version is free, but hard-copy can be purchased at The Center for Architecture at 536 LaGuardia Place; GL Lites On Showroom at 511 W. Canal Street; or the Times Square Information Center on 7th Avenue between 46th and 47th streets.
New tech for NYC: subway hacks to cheap hotel maps
There’s an awful lot of newish gee-gaws out there with special features for heavy New York City users — and travelers. Here’s a roundup:
AcrossAir’s New York Nearest Subway application for iPhone (see video above) will show you which subway entrances are closest to your current location.
Another application, Exit Strategy NYC will tell you where to stand on the subway platform so that when you alight, you’ll be perfectly aligned with the station exit you need.
The New York Philharmonic has launched its own iPhone application that lets listen to music and podcasts — and buy tickets
Sirius XM Radio Inc has also launched a free application for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Amtrak confirms wi-fi in test mode on Acela trains
Amtrak’s high-speed Acela trains between New York City and Washington D.C. have been testing wi-fi service since May with the goal toward making an official announcement later this summer, a spokesman told NewYorkology today.
While in the test phase, the service is only available on some trains some times, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said. But at least it’s free at this point.
He declined to say which companies are setting up the Internet connection, how much longer the test phase will run or whether there will be an additional charge for the wi-fi.
