design

Toaster Filling

As mentioned earlier we are going to build a Freedom Toaster for the Technical Museum in Stockholm. Naturally itâ??s on a short deadline â?? life would be boring otherwise!

As part of the Toaster we also want to include more stuff than simply an operating system. We want to have texts, images, music and film. We also want the material to be Creative Commons licensed (or similar) so that people can do more than simply be passive consumers (if they choose to be more).

In an instance of synchronicity Рtoday I aimlessly browsed into the blog of an excellent artist & cartoonist and was blown away (who says procrastination is all bad?). Not only this but he happens to live in G̦teborg (same city as me).

Naturally I emailed him about the project and he is interested in helping to provide some of his artwork for the project. What can I say? Sometimes Fortuna plays along. Check out the artwork on Mattias Adolssonâ??s blog.

This is his Beatnick Dragon
Posted on by mklang

More on Walls

In a previous entry I wrote about walls of design and segregation. I tried to write about the impact of segregating people by using physical barriers â?? but mainly I pointed to the fact that there are many walls out there but we tend to forget this fact since we remain pleased with ourselves that THE WALL (the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain) has been removed.

Probably the easiest way to discover a wall is by looking at an area of the world which is troubled. Find a trouble-spot and all you have to do is to glance at the more fortunate neighbors to find a hefty wall.

So it should come as no surprise that the Saudi Arabian government is planning to build a security fence along its 550 mile stretch of remote desert northern frontier. This is a huge project. The wall or barrier will be equipped with ultraviolet night-vision cameras, buried sensor cables and thousands of miles of barbed wire.

Through this fence the Saudi Arabianâ??s now can join the great wall builders of the world such as the Israeli security barrier, the massive migration fence in southern Spain, and the U.S./Mexico border.

The Saudi Arabian barrier consists of a double fence running about 100 meters apart with 135 electronically controlled gates, fence-mounted movement detection sensors, and buried radio detection sensor cables. Naturally the equipment will also combine the standard hi-tech ultraviolet night-vision cameras with face-recognition software and communications equipment.

(via Subtopia)

Posted on by mklang

Swords and Apples

A long time ago I read the biography of the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. This story led me to curiously find and read Musashiâ??s own strategy book, called â??Book of Five Ringsâ?? (Go Rin No Sho). Musashi developed the skill of fighting with a sword in each hand. He also had a list of seemingly simple recommendations for the reader. Among the recommendations that Musashi had which stuck into my mind was the advice:

Know your favorite tools and techniques for key tasks without getting overly attached to any one

This advice is on the surface extremely simple. We can all intuitively understand the importance of not getting stuck in a rut, learning new things, challenging our established beliefs and principles. BUT this is not an easy thing to do. We are (or at least I tend to be) simple solution people. We identify a problem from memory and apply the same solutions from the past – even if these did not work so well then.

This philosophically sound advice is important. But on a simpler level â?? I miss my mac. After having handed it in for repairs I have been using a loaner. Itâ??s a great machine. Itâ??s an IBM â?? I shouldnâ??t be complaining. But I miss my mac. I realize that it is not the actual software solutions that I miss. What I miss is the familiarity of the tool I am accustomed to.

Posted on by mklang

Chilly Protest

We carried out a final anti-DRM protest in Göteborg today. We stood outside the AIPPI Congress and handed out flyers. There were less people who took the flyers but on the other hand we had interesting conversations with those who stopped to talk. It was a nice way to spend the morning – even if it was a bit chilly…

Posted on by mklang

Demonstrate against DRM before 40

Lists are popular. One such list is the things one is supposed to do before turning 40 (for example this book). I don’t know what the book includes but I don’t think it contains what I have recently done… I have applied for, and received, a permit to carry out a public demonstration.

On 3 October between 08.30-10.15 we will be standing outside Chalmers University. Between 11.30-13.15 we will be standing near the statue called Kopparmärra (the copper mare).
We will be wearing yellow overalls and masks while handing out leaflets against DRM. Join us for the Day Against DRM.

Posted on by mklang

Responsible Design

From Question Technology come this story of grocery-carts with built-in TVs for your kids to watch while you shop.

OK so this does not have the same dignity as the mobile execution centers (death vans) but what were the designers thinking? What are the store owners thinking? and finally what are the parents thinking?

Does the designer who creates something like this even stop to reflect about the long-term effects of his/her ideas? Or is everything just a cool wacky idea? In Swedish we have a phrase which fits perfectly just now: Jag blir trött translated this means: I become tired. The phrase reflects the tired feeling one gets when acts of stupidity abound and your personal energy to fight is on the decline.

I WANT RESPONSIBLE DESIGN!!!!

Sorry for shouting but this pisses me off. Boy I am grouchy this morning…

Posted on by mklang