Month: May 2008

OLPC Dead

OLPC can’t claim to be preoccupied with learning and not with training children to be office computer drones, while at the same time being coerced by hollow office drone rhetoric to deploy the computers with office drone software. Nicholas used to say the thought of the XOs being used to teach 6-year olds Word and Excel made him cringe. Apparently, no longer so. Which is it? The vacillation needs to stop. As they say in the motherland: shit or get off the pot.

olpc dead, basically.
2018-04-17: A postmortem.

To kids who grew up around smartphones and tablets, OLPC’s XO design looks hopelessly outdated. “If their parents happen to have even a low-cost smartphone, they’re more interested in that than the laptop.” But the device is tougher than a cheap Android tablet, and its unique design makes it harder to steal. Users can rely on Sugar’s development community to maintain the software. And unlike a phone or tablet, it’s custom-built for making things, not consuming them. “We’re constantly looking out for any sort of alternative. And to date, we have not found anything that compares.”

NYC Tourist Etiquette

  • DO NOT DRESS ALIKE.
  • Watch out for DELIVERY and MESSENGER BIKES!
  • DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING: Walk 4 abreast holding hands; Congregate around busy street corners, hang around stairways or active doorways; Do not clutter up Grand Central Station during rush-hour (8-9 and 17-18) — it’s much nicer around 11;
  • Hey Buddy! Get outta the way! Despite the above, let me remind you that this is a working city. This is not like Washington, DC, or Las Vegas — places that are artificially supported by the hard work of fools from other cities.

see also this memo from the NYC Department of Pedestrian Etiquette

examples of violations include: walking too slowly with more than 1 person spread across the sidewalk. Blocking pedestrian traffic to stare up at very tall buildings.

for your next nyc visit. please also use the

.

Nettime

nettime is not just a mailing list but an effort to formulate an international, networked discourse that neither promotes a dominant euphoria (to sell products) nor continues the cynical pessimism, spread by journalists and intellectuals in the ‘old’ media who generalize about ‘new’ media with no clear understanding of their communication aspects.

pomo rants about the internets

Where is Sarah?

today i checked my deserted blog, feeling a bit guilty after a friend had told me that i have effectively vanished behind the google cone of silence. and what do i see in the logs?

5 days, 9 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
5 days, 6 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
5 days, 3 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
5 days ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days, 21 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days, 18 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days, 15 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days, 12 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days, 9 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days, 6 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days, 3 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
4 days ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 days, 21 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 days, 18 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 days, 15 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 days, 12 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 days, 9 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 days, 6 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 days ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days, 21 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days, 18 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days, 15 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days, 12 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days, 9 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days, 6 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days, 3 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
2 days ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day, 21 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day, 18 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day, 15 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day, 12 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day, 9 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day, 6 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day, 3 hours ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
1 day ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
21 hours, 46 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
18 hours, 46 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
15 hours, 45 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
12 hours, 45 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
9 hours, 45 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
6 hours, 45 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
3 hours, 45 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'
45 minutes ago 	209.85.238.3 	Search: query for 'sarah m. byers'

someone* must be really interested in sarah’s whereabouts! if you haven’t heard, sarah is currently traveling in the stans for work. when internet connectivity allows, she is posting awesome pictures. here is a sampler:

Osh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh BazaarOsh Bazaar

* “someone” indeed. here’s why.