Open Studio 2

update 2 didactical centre

initial ideas

Concept Summary The concepts I’ve started with in the previous presentation: 1: Collect & redistribute, a service in which older hardware is collected, and refurbished to extend usage 2: Light weight computing, give your pc a second life 3: Front-end Linux, centrally developed GUI-fronted to Linux 4: Hardware-as-a-Service, consumer doesn’t actually buy a computer but merely uses it as a service 5: Computer Eduservice, local computing lessons + acquisition advise 6: Used USB-keys, using a used USB-key as a token between people (for example so share music or pictures) 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 3

inspiration

Worn Again “It’s estimated that over 1 million tones of textiles are thrown away every year in the UK alone. Worn Again believes some things are just too good to go to waste. Worn Again upcycles pre and post consumer and corporate waste materials into stylish and relevant products for a consumer market as well as for companies, using their disused materials.” source: http://www.wornagain.co.uk/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 5

Worn Again - ethical policy “Ethical policy Worn Again takes a transparent approach to communicating the real ingredients that go into our products, including materials, labour standards and energy use, while addressing the impacts of our activities on trade and climate change. Our aim is to create good-looking products, for good-looking (inside and out) people, without a guilty conscience. Environment // Recycling // Regional Sourcing // Environmentally Responsible Manufacturing and Transport // People and Places // Production” source: http://www.wornagain.co.uk/pages/ethical-policy 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 6

Above + Below London “We’d like to introduce you to some truly unique and exciting footwear by Above+Below London™. The collection exclusively incorporates ‘rare’, ‘vintage’ and ‘ultra rare’ iconic retro textiles from the 50’s, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90’s reclaimed from seats on London’s Underground tube carriages and buses. Finely crafted, comfortable, robust and contemporary, these Limited Edition Trainers are made by sweat shop free, European labour. Upper: Restored London Underground and London Bus seat covers. Trim: 100% recycled or repurposed leather. Sole: 33% recycled tyre rubber. Features: Retroflective safety strip. All 100% salvaged UK waste. Remade in Portugal.” source: http://www.aboveandbelowlondon.com/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 7

Freecycle “Freecycle: the Freecycle Network is made up of 4,739 groups with 6,694,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. An exchange of value and movement created solely by citizen engagement.” source: http://www.freecycle.org/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 8

Land Share “Landshare connects growers with landowners With allotment waiting lists massively over-subscribed and people right across the country keener than ever to grow their own fruit and veg, the aim for Landshare is to become a UK wide initiative to make British land more productive and fresh local produce more accessible to all. But all of this depends on people like you registering their interest now.” source: http://www.rivercottage.net/landshare/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 9

Innocent Drinks “We wanted people to think of innocent drinks as their one healthy habit; like going to the gym, but without the communal shower afterwards We call them innocent because our drinks are always completely pure, fresh and unadulterated. Anything you ever find in an innocent bottle will always be 100% natural and delicious -and if it isn't, get on the banana phone and make us beg for forgiveness.” source: http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 10

Ciclofficina Stecca (IT) Ciclofficina Stecca is a gathering place for bicycle owners where they can repare their own bicycles. The Ciclofficina is located in the centre of Milan, and open to public twice a week. The Office is fully equipped with tools, but offers free usage of all tools. Spare part can either be bought, and used parts can be taken on donation base. Within the ciclofficina a lively community is active also seemingly connected to . source: http://www.piubici.org/attivita.php?more=stec 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 11

Ciclofficina trends Related to the Ciclofficina are two trends: 1. First of all there is a certain fashionable bike. We could call it custom bicycle: assembled together from various bikes. Usually a racing bike frame, with for example a different steer wheel. If we want we could almost call it a mash-up of different bicycles. 2. Secondly there is the notion of urban transport. This subculture seems to be actively aware of urban transport problems and with bicycles they try to protest to the local government. Thereby hoping that the either the bicycle lanes get better developed, or cars will be less used within the city. Related is the critical mass-movement. sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass http://www.ciclistica.it/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 12

Trashware (IT) Trashware is a movement started in Italy (199x) and has as scope the re-use of old(er) computer parts and to prepare them for new usage. Integral part of trashware is the usage of free software to stimulate the free spirit of the alternative. The newly obtained computers are either donated or sold to people in need. In this respect trashware also tries to decrease the digital divide. Trashware is different from retrocomputing in the social aspect, retrocomputing has no further desire than to collect older computers. source: http://trashware.linux.it/wiki/TrashWiki 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 13

Free Geek (USA) “A collectively run non-profit organisation in Portland, Oregon. With two main goals: to reuse or recycle used computer equipment that might otherwise become hazardous waste, and to make computer technology more accessible to those who lack financial means or technical knowledge.” source: http://www.freegeek.org/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 14

Swap-O-Rama-Rama A clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing. The Swap. When you attend the swap bring at least one bag of your unwanted clothing and a small donation (each swap varies depending on available funding). DIY Workshops. After you have chosen your new clothes slide on over to one of the sewing stations and attend a workshop. On Site DIY Stations Swap-O-Rama-Rama also offers on site DIY with skilled artists to help you get started. Fashion Runway. An all day participatory fashion runway will feature the silly and the sophisticated http://swaporamarama.org/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 15

Informal meetings 1 HACK-UP.ORG Hack-Up is an informal meeting for people sharing a common passion for technology and hacking devices. It works like this: people propose different ideas and groups are self- assembled. Each group has to develop a project in 4 hours. All projects are published in an open wiki allowing anybody to use or implement them. source: http://hack-up.org/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 16

Informal meetings 2 JELLY! Jelly's a casual work event where everyone's invited. It's for anyone who'd like to work alongside other creative people in a welcoming environment. source: http://www.workatjelly.com/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 17

Fab Lab “FABRICATION LABORATORY Is a small-scale workshop with an array of computer controlled tools that cover several different length scales and various materials, with the aim to make "almost anything". This includes technology-enabled products generally perceived as limited to mass production. Currently already widespread worldwide, locations include: North-America, South-America, Asia, Africa, Europe (Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland)” source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fablab 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 18

Fab Lab - rationale “Neil Gershenfeld a MIT-professor and orginator of the fablab-concept has a certain vision, which he calls ‘ personal fabrication’. We've already had a digital revolution; we don't need to keep having it. The next big thing in computers will be literally outside the box, as we bring the programmability of the digital world to the rest of the world. By personal fabrication I mean not just making mechanical structures, but fully functioning systems including sensing, logic, actuation, and displays. Rather than the digital divide, the real story is that there's a fabrication and an instrumentation divide. Computing for the rest of the world only secondarily means browsing the Web; it demands rich means of input and output to interface computing to their worlds.” source: http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/gershenfeld03/ gershenfeld_index.html 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 19

Eyebeam (NYC, USA) “ART + TECHNOLOGY CENTER Eyebeam was conceived as a non-profit art and technology center dedicated to exposing broad and diverse audiences to new technologies and media arts, while simultaneously establishing and demonstrating new media as a significant genre of cultural production. Since then, Eyebeam has supported more than 125 fellowships and residencies for artists and creative technologists; we've run an active education program for youth, artists' professional development and community outreach; and have mounted an extensive series of pubic programs, over recent years approximately 4 exhibitions and 40 workshops, performances and events annually. ” source: http://eyebeam.org/ 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 20

didactical centre or how tap more brains...

PARTICIPATION 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 22

Didactical Centre A catalyst space where people with different (technological or non- technological) backgrounds meet. Everybody is free to express their needs/dreams or demonstrate their skills. The centre has a promotional role for open source/ free culture heritage. It teaches, installs, and facilitates open source initiatives. This spirit is interwoven in each individual activity. 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 23

Free Culture “A free culture supports and protects creators and innovators. It does this directly by granting intellectual property rights. [...] to guarantee that follow-on creators and innovators remain as free as possible from the control of the past. A free culture is not a culture without property, just as a free market is not a market in which everything is free.” Free Culture, Lawrence Lessig (2004) 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 24

The Third Place “Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives with. The "second place" is the workplace — where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction.” Oldenburg, Ray (1989),The Great Good Place Currently experts presume ‘places’ such as Facebook, Hyves, and MySpace are fulfilling the role of a third place. The idea here is to add another third place where people can meet and spend their time. 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 25

Different area’s Since the centre itself needs to be self-sustainable there will be several different services offered; some free others more professionally structured. A possible conceptual layout (top-view): a. Laboratory, computers get fixed and reinstalled here b. Central space, an open space a. where free Internet access and sharing is a given c. Workshop space, a professionally equipped conference unit b. c. 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 26

Central Area > Atom metaphor 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 27

Area’s - continued Area A This area is vital to the centre because here old/used computers are ‘refurbished’ and receive their second life. But also pure software development/support could be houses here. Area B Everybody enters and leaving the centre through the central space, thus (hopefully) meets and greets people. People can freely enter and sit in this space for free for unlimited amount of time. A Starbucks-like space, with couches and other flexible work-spots. Almost like a Greek ‘agora’ or Roman ‘forum’. Wireless internet is offered to all visitors. Area C A professional presentation/workshop space. Live participation requires a payment fee, but for example the course should be freely accessible from the Internet (e.g. streaming). 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 28

Office/studio Space (a) Area A This space is used to provide professional (paid) services. Here computers are professionally installed and support given to third parties. Still with the open source approach at its core. Ideally when a person to walk into the centre for the first time, he starts his ‘career’ in the open space (b), eventually becomes a teacher/mentor (b + c). And afterwards this gets hired in the office/ studio. 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 29

Common Space (b) Area B This common space is free for anybody who desires to enter. Access is without cost. Within the space there is some basic infrastructure: computers, tables, chairs, wireless internet, used books library, and perhaps a coffee bar. However some ‘rules’ have to be imposed to ensure an active behaviour and to limit ‘abuse’ of the free access. For example: Each participant upon entrance has to express his/her intention. Or perhaps even better, each day there is a central theme: thus this theme provides guidance/focus. But in the end a bit of chaos in this area is needed, even desired. Chaos and creativity often tend to travel together... 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 30

Workshop Space (c) Area C The focus of these course should be on so called meta-skills or computer literacy. - Free Culture: a crash-course in the fundaments behind free culture, pro’s and con’s, some theory, creative commons, etc. - Open Source Your Life: open source alternatives explained for professionals (Open office, Firefox, Pidgin, etc.) - Your Own Linux machine: bring a spare/older computer and in a day you will make the switch to linux - Wanna blog? people learn and create their own blog (Wordpress, Blogger, Movable type) in a single day - Host events which can be booked by anybody who desires to share his or hers skill/theme/topic 6-july-2009 / didactical centre / p.beeker 31

Open Studio 2

by Patrick Beeker on Aug 31, 2009

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Open Studio 2 — Presentation Transcript