dalepd | Dale Dougherty

Enthusiast

Cory Doctorow's Parable of the Wheel

Excellent piece on copyright wars on the Internet.  


Lockdown
The coming war on general-purpose computing
By Cory Doctorow

General-purpose computers are astounding. They're so astounding that our society still struggles to come to grips with them, what they're for, how to accommodate them, and how to cope with them. This brings us back to something you might be sick of reading about: copyright.

But bear with me, because this is about something more important. The shape of the copyright wars clues us into an upcoming fight over the destiny of the general-purpose computer itself.   

<snip>
The important tests of whether or not a regulation is fit for a purpose are first whether it will work, and second whether or not it will, in the course of doing its work, have effects on everything else. If I wanted Congress, Parliament, or the E.U. to regulate a wheel, it's unlikely I'd succeed. If I turned up, pointed out that bank robbers always make their escape on wheeled vehicles, and asked, "Can't we do something about this?", the answer would be "No". This is because we don't know how to make a wheel that is still generally useful for legitimate wheel applications, but useless to bad guys. We can all see that the general benefits of wheels are so profound that we'd be foolish to risk changing them in a foolish errand to stop bank robberies. Even if there were an epidemic of bank robberies—even if society were on the verge of collapse thanks to bank robberies—no-one would think that wheels were the right place to start solving our problems.
</snip> 

Finland: Cooperation, Not Competition, Among Schools

(in Finland) The main driver of education policy is not competition between teachers and between schools, but cooperation.
With America's manufacturing industries now in decline, the goal of educational policy in the U.S. -- as articulated by most everyone from President Obama on down -- is to preserve American competitiveness by doing the same thing. Finland's experience suggests that to win at that game, a country has to prepare not just some of its population well, but all of its population well, for the new economy. To possess some of the best schools in the world might still not be good enough if there are children being left behind.
via theatlantic.com

Lots of good ideas in this article but the idea of cooperation instead of competition seems like the best one.

Gilbert's Girders: My article on the Erector Set and the toys of the American Century

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via kits.makezine.com

This article, whic was published in the Make special issue on kits, is online at kits.makezine.com. I found it interesting that Erector sets, Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs were developed in the second decade of the 20th century, and became very significant learning toys in the second half of the century. What might we build in this decade that has a similar impact for new generations of makers yet to come?

Nashua NH hackerspace, MakeIt Labs, Shut Down by City Plans to Re-Open

Staff photo by Don Himsel
Make It Labs

Enlarge Purchase Photo

The region’s first hackerspace, MakeIt Labs, is working to reopen after being shut due to building-code issues in the former foundry where it set up shop in July, and the city might help out with a micro-loan.

“Something like this could be a death blow to a hackerspace, but we’re definitely sticking around. We’re here for the long haul,” said Adam Shrey of Hudson, a member of the board of directors.

via nashuatelegraph.com

Here's a story from Nashua, New Hampshire story that has nothing to do with presidential elections but everything to do with role of government. good and bad. Thanks to Dave Brooks for covering it and getting the context right. Good luck to the hard-working members of MakeIt Labs.

The Problem With Patents (Infographic) from Frugal Dad

Excellent summary from Frugal Dad of the patent issues. Be sure to listen to the episode of This American Life, "When Patents Attack." My favorite section of the infographic is #5 referencing Tim Berners-Lee.

There’s no question that software and technology represent some of the fastest growing industries today. The internet has fundamentally changed the way we interact, do business, and spend money—without it, Frugaldad wouldn’t exist. That said, I always try and keep abreast of what’s happening in these sectors, and to be aware of how the online and tech industry makes its money.

I recently listened to an episode of This American Life called “When Patents Attack!”. Something that surprised me while listening was that while I think of patents as being mostly for gadgets and the kinds of products you see on infomercials, patents have become a huge factor in the software and online industries, to the tune of billions of dollars.

This infographic discusses some of the facts behind the patent industry and how it’s changed as software, technology, and the internet have developed at an incredible pace. I find the information to say a lot about the state of development and innovation; both how important it can be to everyday life, and the problems it can face on a larger scale.

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Patent Infographic

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via frugaldad.com

Excellent summary from Frugal Dad of the patent issues. Be sure to listen to the episode of This American Life, "When Patents Attack." My favorite section of the infographic is #5 referencing Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web, who never obtained patents for his invention so that it might spread freely.