This essay set out to show, through the case of the RepRap-based, Lego-built 3D printing-milling machine, two points: First, on a theoretical level, that modularity, not only in terms of development process but also of hardware components, can catalyze CBPP’s replication for tangible products enabling social experimentation, learning and innovation. Second, that the synergy of a globally accessible knowledge Commons as well as of the CBPP practices with digital fabrication technologies, which are advancing and becoming more and more accessible, can arguably offer the ability to think globally and produce locally. Of course, there are several 3D printers as well as CNC machines on the market; however, through our case study, it became obvious how the synergy of CBPP practices and tools with modular hardware components can offer innovative, novel products, such as a hybrid 3D printing-milling machine. When hardware becomes modular, we saw and discussed how individuals – no matter their age, level of expertise and initial skills – could engage in stigmergically collaborative productive processes of designing, programming and manufacturing. The parts and components of modular objects could be re-used for their own improvement or for the design of other products, enabling collaborative (and thus incremental) innovation within hardware construction. Taking into consideration the trends and trajectories of the current information-based societies, the fact that a non-expert can take advantage of a peer produced knowledge Commons and of very elementary digital fabrication capabilities and become capable of developing such a sophisticated machine, in collaboration with others, can be considered a positive message indeed.
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Peer2Politics
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on peer-to-peer dynamics in politics, the economy and organizations
Curated by
jean lievens
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Chris Anderson, the former Editor-in-Chief of Wired and now CEO of 3-D Robotics, talks with The Atlantic's James Fallows about the role of drones for civilian uses. This program is part of The Atlantic Meets the Pacific 2013 conference presented by The Atlantic and UC San Diego. (#25784) 
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In addition to our efforts in the P2P Lab and to our collaborators and partners (for example the DLN network or the Athens-basedhackerspace), the TEPSIE report (see the full citation and more info about it at the end) contains some more initiatives with the aim to build alternatives for the Greek society:
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There seems to be a prevalent trend in media and political commentary about the Canadian province of New Brunswick where I live and am from; that the province is falling behind, in decline.
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Google posted a short video that explains some of the complex theories behind its quantum computing project.
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Who are they? Why are they doing it? What new technologies are they using? How will this change the world? We interview them to find out.
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In this video from Ericsson, the premise is this: if you change the way that the world is networked and allow for ways that those in third world countries can have access to proper financial infrastructure, they’ll be able to help themselves and thus help society in general. It’s a very noble concept. We’re not sure if it would work, but it makes for a nice 16 minute video.
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Can ICT change how we define value and interact with money? On The Money is the fourth documentary film in the Networked Society series. This time we look at money systems and how connectivity is creating a new game when it comes to trading -- both in value and trust. We visit Uganda to find a nation where cash is no longer king; we meet Memoto, a start-up that sought venture capital through crowdfunding; and we talk to AirBnB about trust and the rise of a 'reputation economy'.
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Money is what moves the world. But as this documentary explores, technology is knocking down walls of today's outmoded financial system.
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Gartner expects major changes in technology, especially in areas like 3D printing, machine learning and voice recognition -- powerful trends that will reduce the need for workers and bring on social unrest.
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Technology plays two critical roles in the distribution of wealth, cutting jobs and income from below, while concentrating profits for investors from above.
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Say goodbye to Internet pop-up ads. A little white box called AdTrap completely blocks ads using a Wi-Fi connection.
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As we learn more about what went wrong with the design and launch of Healthcare.gov, a few broad principles have emerged about how to fix the procurement system so this kind of debacle -- which isn't the only non-functional Web site the government's bought, just the highest profile -- doesn't happen again.
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In 1967, The Public Interest, then a leading venue for highbrow policy debate, published a provocative essay by Paul Baran, one of the fathers of the data transmission method known as packet switching. Titled “The Future Computer Utility,” the essay speculated that someday a few big, centralized computers would provide “information processing … the same way one now buys electricity.”
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Graphene is going to revolutionize the 21st Century. As a emerging material Graphene could change the way electronic components are made. Graphene is a two dimensional material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb or chicken wire structure. It is the thinnest material known and according to mechanical engineering professor James Hone, of Columbia University, graphene is strongest material ever measured, some 200 times stronger than structural steel. Graphene conducts electricity as efficiently as copper and outperforms all other materials as a conductor of heat. Graphene is almost completely transparent, yet so dense that even the smallest atom helium cannot pass through it.
Laura Wiesner's curator insight,
November 4, 2013 2:42 PM
It is hard to think about what this will bring to the world, it could help and hurt In the exact same way.
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Vicki Kee's curator insight,
November 7, 2013 10:08 PM
Two ostomates seek to revolutionize ostomy bags. They are crowdfunding their new invention, a customized, disposable ostomy bag that snaps on and off with a button. Load an app on your phone, point it at your stoma, and the images are uploaded to the company so they can customize a bag for you.
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In a remarkably short time the internet has changed our world. Its impact has been more pervasive than that of electricity. The digital revolution has often been called the 3rd industrial revolution following previous ones driven by steam and electricity. While these earlier shifts were about creating efficiency and improvements in how products were manufactured, the ICT revolution is about a transformation of what is being processed. It’s redefining critical business assets, creating new economic models and transforming business in the process.
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These are just a few of the many fascinating statistics and technology stories packed into the just-released book by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, Age of Context: Mobile, Sensors, Data and the Future of Privacy. While my regular Friday Book Share readers know that I’m a real sucker for such “fascinating facts,” Scoble and Israel have also done a decent job of categorizing the five major “forces” driving these technologies: mobile, social, data, sensors and location. Technology is now highly mobile, it empowers us to connect with others in social media, it generates lots of data, much of which comes from sensors, and it often involves specific locations.
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Rachel Falconer writes about the cyberfeminist art collective subRosa,a group using science, technology, and social activism to explore and critique the political traction of information and bio technologies on women’s bodies, lives and work.
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A study by MIT Sloan Management Review and Capgemini Consulting finds that companies now face a digital imperative: adopt new technologies effectively or face competitive obsolescence. While there is consensus on the importance of adopting digital technology, most employees find the process complex and slow. Many say their leaders lack urgency and fail to share a vision for how technology can change the business. Companies that succeed tend to have leaders who share their vision and define a road map, create cross-organizational authority for adoption and reward employees for working towards it.
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Technology is subversive. Every few years, a new technology threatens the status quo of one industry or another, and a familiar sequence of events follows. Consumers, users, and some savvy technologists win. The folks dominating the status quo—typically rich, powerful, well-connected folks—start to hurt. But dominant players don’t like to lose, so they fight back using every weapon in their arsenal. As a result, while the first chapter in the life of a new technology is its happy launch, the second chapter is invariably a ferocious backlash. This year’s unfolding second chapter involves Bitcoin, an enticingly anonymous “cryptocurrency” designed to wrest the international currency system from the hands of central bankers. Bitcoin Is a Junk Currency, But It Lays the Foundation For Better MoneyNathan LewisContributorBitcoins Are Digital Collectibles, Not Real MoneyLouis WoodhillContributor
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Two technology stories have filled the airwaves in recent days: the impending Twitter IPO, which is predicted to raise more than $1 billion; and the Obamacare online roll-out, which has crashed in a welter of locked-out applicants and frozen exchanges
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This is a guest post by Gary Swart, the CEO of oDesk, an online marketplace for hiring virtual workers. Today’s millennials don’t like to own anything—besides businesses, that is.
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