Published Date 2/5/12 3:50 PM
(UPDATED)
This is still well worth a read, it’s too late to save the common web from Scoble and an answer from Dave Winer
This is something I have been facing for the last few years, and its why i have been working on the visionOntv open web project. Phwww…. but as you may have realised this has been an uphill battle which has become bogged down in the trenches and the mud.
If you care about the open web, pass some amunition… and a flask of hot choclet and rum.
Published Date 2/4/12 5:03 PM
I am visiting my parents who are of the newspaper reading age, it’s an interesting revelation/reminder to me of something I have known for a long time. That the people in newspapers are trailing edge, their thoughts and opinions are a week old, their news stale even before it is printed on paper.
IP based news is gatekeeper frictionless, instant as it happens and its up to you to build your own network of connections. If you haven’t done this then you are back in the world of gatekeeper flow and even lower “quality” news world. The IP world is not a panacea for lack of action on your part, it’s just an opening of possibility that you can build a news flow that is not gatekeepered and/or a week old.
Published Date 2/4/12 4:49 PM
We are a contemporary media project, not a traditional media project that works with “the people formerly known as the audience“.
But the people formerly known as the audience are now the crap producers, could they become better producers? Throwing the net wide – getting a happy community rather than great films? Your film has no value on its own. Have to change the concept of the value of people’s work, that it’s a brick in a wall.
We aim to be part of the technological backbone of an Open Media Network. But to build this we have to overcome “What is innovative is not sustainable, and what is sustainable is not innovative”.
Published Date 2/4/12 3:34 PM
Poll Tax Riots – why I made the banner
This banner was made in 1990’s in reaction to Margaret Thatcher introducing the Community Charge.
Trade unions at GCHQ – banner
The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance to the UK government and armed forces. Based in Cheltenham, it operates under the guidance of the Joint Intelligence Committee.
Published Date 2/2/12 4:40 PM
Film-makers/writers/graphic designers have you ever dreamed of being able to work in the hart of nature rather than a boring office in the hart of the rat race. Well now you can work away from the electric grid (in a sunny climate) using small scale, light wate solar technology, the latest folded solar panels work well for powering portable electronics. Here we provide a set-up for a solar powered video production/editing studio that fits in a small day backpack.
The first set-up was a tangle of wires and connectors. This worked fine for running/charging small laptop with about 15 min battery power out of the sun. This would run a 12V laptop power supply up to 20Voutput.
Equipment: Fujitsu laptop and Sony PC330 camera with 12V battery charger
Used for Canary island for a month, I built a lean to hut from dried cactus prongs and bamboo in abandoned village in the north of the island. A short work from a empty beach.
This didn’t work well, as the battery’s didn’t charge and/or were over charged damaging them. This barely worked beyond smoothing the panels power output.
Failed
This was the perfect set-up, allowing the running of a small laptop and charging USB devices. This would run a laptop upto 20V input
Equipment: Thinkpad X61 and Sony HC7 camera
Used for a overland hitch-hiking, train, bus, bout, cregslist car share and portareacken taxi trip from San Francisco to New York overland 6 weeks.
The problem was that the panel internal (folding) connectors failed during the trip and the battery pack was latter damaged while charging from a 24 volt bout battery on a island squat in London.
This was a more robust solution, but it had many problems, the second generation battery would not pass threw power while charging thus was very limited in use. And the set-up was 3x as heavy as the flexible panel limiting its use to more long term set-ups rather than vagabonding. This set-up hasn’t been fully tested yet.
Equipment: Thinkpad T410 and Panasonic 900 AVHCh
Not used yet due to carrying weight issues.
A very cheap, 10 and 10 for the battery’s. This worked, but it would take 2-3 days of sun to power the phone for one charge, and the NiMH battery’s had a high self discharge rate thus would lose power as fast as they gained it on low sun days. This kit kinda worked, so I bought a second one, I use it mostly as a USB backup charger for my CJ work – with the recharging coming from the laptop USB not the solar panels. On the Greek island trip I would use a car lighter USB charger to recharge the NiMH battery pack for later phone charging, with the solar part being marginally useful.
HTC Desire Z and Nokia 95B
Used on wild camping trip to Greek island beach for one month.
Am currently testing this set-up, it is likely a perfect system, it has plenty of power for charging a smart phone, and the battery’s are low self discharging NiMH. It will charge a device very fast in changing sun conditions and can charge 2 USB devices at the same time. Can also be used for slow charging small 12 volt devices.
HTC desire Z and thinking about getting a Kindal for reading.
Will be used on my next trip.