Booting up the Open Media Network OMN

Published Date 3/2/13 11:30 AM

The open web is being locked out of the closed web – with share this options replacing web-links and Facebook replacing most peoples blogs. If this continues the “open web” will wither and become dysfunctional and the closed web will grow to become the web for the majority of people. With this change the largest most successful experiment in social change by communication will die.

This is the movement we are supposed to have the LifeRay platform and linking project ready to surf http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/25/opinion/rushkoff-why-im-quitting-facebook/index.html to quote from the article:  

“The promotional leverage that Facebook affords me is not worth the price. Besides, how can I ask you to like me, when I myself must refuse to like you or anything else? I have always appreciated that agreeing to become publicly linked to me and my work online involves trust. It is a trust I value, but — as it is dependent on the good graces of Facebook — it is a trust I can live up to only by unfriending this particularly anti-social social network. Maybe in doing so I’ll help people remember that Facebook is not the Internet. It’s just one website, and it comes with a price.”

As part of building the OMN we have 4parts that already exist:
* newsflash (embeds)
* link database (embeds}
* video player (embeds)
* funding site (networking) 

And we have the new functionality in LR6.1 and social office to build new tools with. OK – is the a possibility on moving on this?

UPDATE:
– The funding site has some images, needs the text re-wrighting http://fund.openworlds.info/

– The video embed pages are all in place on the channal pages such as http://headmix.visionon.tv/embed

Review of Goalzero adventure pack Solar power

Published Date 2/18/13 1:35 PM

UPDATE: they sent a replacement panel and battery pack and am awaiting a bag to send back the old ones so they can test them. Good company.

Nomad 7 (7 watts) Solar Panel and Guide 10 Plus battery pack

This is a high power 5V usb solar charger that works as well as plugging your phone into the wall in good sunlight. With 1 amp of power it will efferently charge all but the latest huge phones such as the note II which it dose struggle a bit at.

An excellent products that I have been using for the last 2 years. In that time with about 9 months of hard use both parts of the set-up have finely failed.

It had been well used in over 7 country’s and over the summer of its failer was used for 6 months In Poland, Slovakia, Crimea before finaliey failing on a 2 month trip to the Canary islands.

The Guide10plus battery pack melted the plastic rappers off a set of Mignon Hybrid NiMH AA 2100mAh battery’s. They were finger burning hot, then with a fresh set of battery’s it gives off pungent white smoke from one of the internal components and dose not charge or function.

The panel failed at the same time, this time the failer was less final. Originally the panel worked fine in a good sunny position it could could charge 3 devises in a day with power to spare.

Now it is lucky to ¼ to half charge a devices in a days good sunshine. I think an internal cable may have broken if goalzero don’t come back with a solution might try to cut the fabric open and examine each join to check this. Both products had exposer to due and some light rain in north Europe in the south Europe the was a lot of fine blowing sand and volcanic dust. The panel had the cover folded back which might have stressed the internal cables? Neither had any “abuse” beyond normal hard use.

To sum up the products are excellent but not indestructible and am now reaching out to the manufacturer golazero to get feedback on what might have coursed both components to fail at the same time. Watch this space for a reply.

We have a very serous problem at the moment in progressive technology

Published Date 12/8/12 6:56 PM

Geek culture has always had a strong ant-progressive side to it and this in now dominant – it manifests as naivety about politics and over- complexity in open solutions.

NGO culture is based on a anti-commons, a dog eats dog fight for survival based on short term funding criteria.

Traditional left political party’s and unions are stuck on the defensive, and when they do step over the trenches to attack they take up NGO or geek prioritises.

Technology has a HUGE potential to shape our futures in progressive ways, BUT it also has a dark side to repress our futures and it is this dark side unchallenged that we are moving to.

If you wont to help in using technology for positive social change then have a look at this project – all areas of skill are needed.

Digital utopia or dystopia crosses to the real world close to decision time you part of the conversation

Published Date 11/30/12 3:44 PM

Many have dreamed and worked for makeing the internet into a digital utopia which spilles over into the realworld. But while this has been happening a darker future has been building. 

‘all the infrastructure has been built for absolute totalitarianism’ WikiLeaks

The geek answer to this has a tendency to see the world in B&W terms and to dive into a darknet of encryption and secrecy,. this is a dangerous geek mindset that we have to not knee jerk into. So this discussion is both useful for projects such as visionOntv as it highlights the need for them but also bad for such open projects as it drives energy, codeing, and users into a darknet solutions and we all know that it is not healthy for human beings to live in the dark.

The internet was built as a open and transparent network and this was the ression it has been hugely successful at pushing all the closed and obscured networking out of public use. The level of good will and naivety (both very positive forces when building non-mainstream projects) that drove the early internet is now being submerged by many levels of manipulation and control freakery. The answer to this problem is not simple, I am arguing here that the open internet has to be fought for and we should be wary of the geek need for darknet solutions.

 

Digital utopia or dystopia crosses to the real world – close to decision time are you part of the conversation? 

 

Discus:

 

Q. is this a question of balance?

 

Q. can a darknet nurture positive-open-human relationships? 

 

Q. what is the best way to save the open internet? 

 

The Pressblock take Oxford Street Oct20

Published Date 11/28/12 10:59 AM

The Pressblock take Oxford Street, blocked McDonald’s, Starbucks and occupy Trafalgar sq during  #Oct20 Radical Journalist’s putting there body’s on the line to bring wrong doers to account.

A satire – at many demo’s the are more people with cameras than demonstrates. Shot, edited and distributed from a mobile phone. Part of visionOntv’s use the tool’s in your pocket project. 

The best voltage regulator battery for portable laptop solar power

Published Date 11/25/12 6:53 PM

You need to buy this exact model myPower ALL Plus MP3450i R3 External Instrument Battery as the cheaper ones in the myPower range do not allow power pass through, that is you can only charge OR power you cant do both at the same time. It also regulates the power in from 12-24VDC to charge the battery. A one stop solution for medium powered portable devices when combined with a 20-30 watt solar panel. 

myPower ALL Plus MP3450i is a lithium polymer battery (16% more capacity than MP3450) for use with portable, laptops, instruments and equipment as portable power, or as an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) for battery backup. This universal battery provides power for equipment between 5V and 19V. 

16.5 oz

6.85″ (L) x 3.32″ (W) x .9″ (D)

18 Watt Folding Solar Panel Laptop Charger

Published Date 11/25/12 3:31 PM

This is cheap and light: Nature Power 55020 18 Watt Folding Solar Panel Laptop Charger w/8 Amp Controller.

It would work fine for powering a tablet or netbook, might just manage to power a small ultralight laptop – but will not  have anufe umpf to power a full size laptop – though would probably charge a fullsided laptop’s battery slowly.

Nature Power 55020 18 Watt Folding Solar Panel Laptop Charger w/8 Amp Controller

  • Rugged and Weather Resistant Canvas
  • High Powered Crystalline Technology
  • O-Rings for Mounting
  • 8 Amp Charge Controller
  • 10 Laptop Adapter Plugs
  • Battery Clamps
  • 12\’ Wire\

I haven’t tested this – funding permiting I will get one to review, in theory it would work well with this Tekkeon 3450i

Portable power pack

Published Date 11/25/12 3:18 PM

This looks quite usefull, next time we get some funding in I will get one to try, has anyone used one?

PortaPow Premium Dual Emergency USB Battery Extender External Pack here

The capacity is 6600mAh, 203g and 110x88x15mm

The pack outputs 2.1A from one socket and 1A from the other, a total of 3.1A of power which will alow fast chargeing. the only issue seams to be that it whont pass charge through (need to test this).