Ars Electronica is one the premiere events of the interactive tech world, and this year was apparently no exception. Good luck deciphering the stream-of-consciousness blog entries on the festival, though; I sure can’t. I’ve tried to pull some of the best references here (via a wiki of weblog action:

Ars Electronica Review [pieceofplastic.com]

Ars Electronica photostream [Flickr]

Tangible interfaces [engadgeted.net], again featuring the ReacTable — see CDM’s musical table roundup

One of the highlights was the Tenori-On, an interactive LED music toy from the creator of Nintendo’s upcoming game ElectroPlankton, as covered here before. But the coolest event sounds like the opening performance “Suspended Engines” (pictured), with video and music live in an engine shop of the Austrian Railway. (Blog details are sketchy, but see Fashionable Technology.) Now, if only they had a train controller for the performance.

Don’t wait for M-Audio to create the controller of your dreams. DIY. Of all places, some railfans (yes, that’s as in railroads, trains, you know, choo-choos) are giving us some great resources:

USB train controller

ReDAC USB voltage - to - I/O

Full-size train control cab

Custom, programmable keyboards and other USB inputs

Connect a train controller to your Mac for music: See discussion on my earlier story; this does look possible via junXion, after all.

Or a PC: They’ve got a Windows-centric SDK, complete with sample controls.

Or build your own music hardware: Sure, you could go anorak/railfan and build your own train cab in your basement — uh, that would be unique, certainly. Or, just use that I/O kit to build your own computer music hardware that connects via USB, without lots of mucking about with basic stamps. At US$350, it’s an impressive little box, and developers will love that sample code. And don’t miss the custom controllers. More photos after the jump.