Date archives "July 2010"

The Differences and Commonalities Between Shared Code for Immaterial Production and Shared Design for Material Production

Proposed by Magius: “Let me make some theoretical considerations about open production. Imho the two big differences between immaterial production (ip) and material production (mp) now are: 1. design/product 1.1 in ip, the design and the product are the same (code is an “executive design”) 1.2 in mp the design and the product are not… Continue reading

Using emerging, open source fab technologies and other innovations to build local self-reliance

The economist Juliet Schor spoke at Seattle’s Town Hall May 24, 2010 on her vision of using emerging, open source fab technologies and other innovations to build local self-reliance, adapt to structural unemployment, and create sustainability. (somewhat U.S.-centric but informative for everyone) Juliet Schor: Plenitude from toddboyle on Vimeo.

Finding the ancient lore of the early appropriate technology movement for the creation of a new Gaianomicon

1. green wizards: By this I mean individuals who are willing to take on the responsibility to learn, practice, and thoroughly master a set of unpopular but valuable skills – the skills of the old appropriate tech movement – and share them with their neighbors when the day comes that their neighbors are willing to… Continue reading

U-Cubed: A new model for occupational networking? (+ labor, unions and internet recap)

For those interested in building occupational or sectoral networks within their union, here’s an intriguing experiment to follow. More at http://www.unionofunemployed.com/ucubed-resources/communicating_cubes/ Unemployed people in the USA are signing up and then linking themselves (if & when they choose) to others with the same zip code. Together, six members form a cube. If they like, this… Continue reading

Monopolisation as anti-innovation, and some alternative approaches

Today, America’s five largest banks control a stunning 48 percent of bank assets, double their share in 2000 (and that’s actually one of the less consolidated sectors of our economy). Similarly, the debate over health insurance reform awakened many of us to the fact that, in many communities across America, insurance companies enjoy what amounts… Continue reading

Open Education is NOT an institutional alternative

Open Education is not an attempt to reform educational institutions, insists Stephen Downes (responding to Michael Feldstein) “As I said here “the functions of production and consumption need to be collapsed, that the distinction between producers and consumers need to be collapsed. The use of a learning resource, through adaptation and repurposing, becomes the production… Continue reading

New Online Local Currency System With Ecommerce, Mobile Phone Capability

Bruce Colley says on the openmoney forum that he has developed a system (LocalMart) which establishes a local currency and gives it an internet Ecommerce capability. Each vendor/provider gets a web site presence and shopping cart, with the local currency used for payment for online purchases (without transaction fees). It also has the capability to… Continue reading

From Ecological Economics to just plain Physical Economics

This is from the introduction by Richard Register, to a special issue (July 2010) dedicated to ecocities by Ecocity Builders magazine: Richard Register: “We already have environmental economists, ecological economists, bioecological economists and so on, described in various places as “fields of academic research.” Why then have they failed to focus clearly on what we… Continue reading

Cory Doctorow: Technology Can Be a Force for Liberation

Introduction to the Persian edition of the science fiction novel Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, London, June 2008 Available for free download via http://www.archive.org/details/LilBroPersian, under the “Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0” Creative Commons license. Cory Doctorow: I wrote this book because I believe that technology can be a force for liberation. Not always, and not easily, but… Continue reading