digital

Technology AS resistance

For a long time the dominant player in the personal computer market has been Microsoft. This has created a de facto standard among users who have come to expect and tolerate certain technological standards (and flaws) from their computers. One of the results of this dominance, among computer users, is the usersâ?? ability to praise diversity in principle but expect conformity from their computers.

If we all use the same tools we will produce the same limited range of products. Naturally there is a great variation within these products but still it is a freedom with limitations. One example of this is our perception of learning â?? at many (most?) universities today, when we say the word lecture most students and teachers think powerpoint. Therefore education becomes bullet-point lists. (more on powerpoint/eductation here: Do you hand out your handouts?).

But there is a technological resistance. Not to Microsoft. But a resistance to the current software ownership models which make it impossible (legally and sometimes technically) for users to

Run their software for any purpose
Study and adapt software to their needs
Redistribute, so others can be helped by such adaptions
Release improvements to the benefit of all

These four points are collectively known as the Four Freedoms and form the fundamental philosophy of the Free Software Foundation. The FSF works to provide software that fulfills such conditions.

Now many users argue that they are not competent to make changes to their software and therefore do not see the purpose of caring about such goals. This is a shortsighted outlook. The Four Freedoms grant others the ability to make changes. As non-techies all we have to do is reap the rewards of their labour. But without the freedom for them to make changes â?? we would have no rewards to reap.

Examples of Free Software are too numerous to list. But here are a few: Gnu/Linux operating system (comes in many different versions for example Ubuntu), Firefox (an internet browser), Thunderbird (an email client), GIMP (picture editing tool), Open Office (Office package with all you need), WordPress (the software that drives this blog) and much, much moreâ?¦

The software is free (fulfills the four freedoms) and is available at no cost. This is technology AS resistance.

Posted on by mklang

Torrent BBC

The BBC must be seen as being among the avant garde of television today. Not too long ago they opened up their archives under licenses similar to Creative Commons licenses (Look at the Creative Archive License Group). In doing this they were ahead of their time.

Now they have decided to make â??hundredsâ?? of episodes of BBC programmes via bittorrent.

By doing this the BBC once again show that they â??getâ?? technology. While in Sweden the term file-sharing is becoming synonymous with illegal action the BBCâ??s deal with Azareus shows that they can recognize a superior distribution system when they see one.

The new deal means that users of the software will be able to download high-quality versions of BBC programmes, including Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and the League of Gentleman. Classic series such as Fawlty Towers will also be available through a BBC “channel”. BBC News

Naturally the BBC is not into giving away these top titles (you didnâ??t think it would be that good â?? did you?) No, the titles will be protected by digital rights management software to prevent the programmes being traded illegally on the internet.

The BBC might carry the nickname Auntie Beeb but all I can say is that I wish my Swedish public service relatives were as creative.

(via Boing Boing)

Posted on by mklang

Lions among us

Lions have good PR officers. They tend to get put in the best places and are mythically protrayed as being much cooler than they really are. Just think about the four huge lions around Nelson in Trafalgar Square in London. Obviously great PR work. Nelson was a sailor and he still gets surrounded by four of the biggest lions ever.

Unfortunately there is a downside to great PR and that is that reality eventually creeps up. But somehow this does not happen to the lions. Not long ago, the Lion steps were unveiled in G̦teborg. Two large, blas̩ lions lay overlooking the main canal in G̦teborg. There air of aloofness and boredom is brilliant Рthese are not fierce wild beasts, they are city lions. Cool detached and above and beyond mere mortals that surround them.

Among lion statues there is a whole subset of the reclining lion but it is not very often that you come across a lion who is asleep. But of all the statues of lions my favorite is the sleeping lion guarding the tomb of George Wombwell, menagerist, buried at Highgate Cemetery in London. This lion is said to portray his favourite pet lion. To have the statue sleeping peacefully is a beautiful symbol. So peaceful.

But wherever did they get such good PR people?

Posted on by mklang

Resistance Fashion

Resistance to fashion is a topic that occasionally appears. Such resistance can take the form of animal rights activists protesting against the fur trade (e.g. Coalition to abolish the fur trade), it can take the form of protests against the use of anorectic models (e.g. the Spanish Association in Defense of Attention for Anorexia and Bulimia has managed to obtain the world’s first ban on overly thin models at a top-level fashion show in Madrid), or it can deal with protests against the conditions of workers in the textile trade (the most famous example must be Naomi Kleinâ??s work No Logo)

But what about the fashion of resistance? This is can be seen both as a reflection on what is fashionable to resist at any given time and as the actual fashion statement of the resister. The former is a fascinating subject since the world attention is fickle. The focus of popular attention varies even if the reason for resistance may remain â?? maybe a book here for someone to edit? (nudge, nudge).

However, it is the latter which is the focus of this post. Fashion and style can in themselves be both a form and a symbol of resistance. Styles of dress such as punk and hiphop are seen as resistance to the norm â?? punk went even further since its purpose was to provoke.

But even in the less extreme resistance has a fashion. Styles which identify, unite and exclude. Occasionally these styles establish themselves in the mainstream and there ability to provoke/resist are almost lost. One such controversial symbol is the image of Che Geuvara. On 5th of March 1960 Alberto â??Kordaâ?? Gutierrez took two pictures of Che Guevara. In 1967 the Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli received two copies of the famous print at no cost.

Che by Korda

Feltrinelli started making posters from the prints with the notice â??Copyright Feltrinelliâ?? down in the corner. The image was on itâ??s way to become an international icon â?? it has been transformed, transplanted, transmitted and transfigured all over the world. Korda never received a penny. For one reason only – Cuba had not signed the Berne Convention. Fidel Castro described the protection of intellectual property as imperialistic â??bullshitâ??.

Since then the image has gone from being a symbol of resistance and revolution to being a fashion statement. Today the image has achieved iconic status and is (ab)used on everything from posters to carpets. The image has even had an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The question therefore, as symbolized, by the Che icon is: How does an iconic symbol of resistance spread to a mass audience without becoming pop-culture and lacking in the symbolic value which was the original purpose? Or is resistance fashion a paradox since once it becomes a fashion it loses its resistance quality?

Posted on by mklang

Empty holes in my diary

A diary is a frightening thing. It comes all filled out with days and months and other relevant information. All that is empty is the actual content of your own time. This means that the diary in itself demands that you fill it with relevant personal information.

An empty diary therefore is a failure. You have been unable to fill the little book with things to do. When I started working at university people would ask me if I was available for a meeting or to give a lecture. I would turn to the relevant page on my diary and see that it was empty. Agree to the appointment and fill in the blank space with a sense of accomplishment. I had done something â?? I had filled a void.

What it took time to realize was that the blank spaces in the diary were not really empty â?? they were (and still are) time for work, time for the craft of research. Reading, writing research takes time and requires empty spaces in a diary. Not just the brief moment between two booked meetings â?? but real time. Time to penetrate a subject and develop ideas, time to record these ideas in the correct format (papers, articles & books).

Despite this understanding, blank pages in the diary still stress me out, and cry to be filled but I must do more to guard my productive time. This will be especially true next term when I am literally going to drown in teaching.

These last two years I tested going completely digital. Maintaining my diary only on my computer and syncing it with my telephone and iPod but this has not really worked well. I like the clarity but there are situations where I would prefer not to pull out a gadget to check my time and to fill in an appointment. So next year will be paper based again.

How do you guard your time? Where are you productive? All tips and tricks appreciatedâ?¦

Posted on by mklang

Bad Passwords

Most of us hate all the little passwords we need to get by in the digital world. Most online passwords are neatly stored in our browsers. But have you ever thought about how bad your passwords really are? Bruce Schneier has checked out the passwords people use on Myspace.

The most popular password was password1

The top 20 passwords? password1, abc123, myspace1, password, blink182, qwerty1, fuckyou, 123abc, baseball1, football1, 123456, soccer, monkey1, liverpool1, princess1, jordan23, slipknot1, superman1, iloveyou1 and monkey

We are such an original species 🙂 what’s your password?

Posted on by mklang

Anonymous Online

Most people have heard of the Zen koan “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” The purpose of the koan is not to have an answer but rather to be a point of departure for deeper reflection. Unfortunately for most of us with a western education we tend to attempt to answer the question with a yes or no – therefore defeating the purpose. My question of the day is a variation of the koan: If a protest is not heard – does it make a sound?

The ability to communicate in particular mass communicate is becoming easier. With all due respect to the numerous digital divides (age, knowledge, access, infrastructure etc) the ability to communicate via the internet is still growing. The question is whether this technology will serve the purpose of those attempting to conduct resistance or protest actions. The drawback with mass communication is that the communicator is all too easily identified and can be punished by those she is protesting or communicating against.

So there is a need to both be able to conduct mass communication via the internet and to remain anonymous. There is (thankfully) a growing number of relatively user friendly methods, in addition to tips and tricks, which the anonymous protester can use.

Many of these are to be found in the following guides:

Posted on by mklang

DRM & Dog Poo

I wrote an article which has been published on the Swedish Green Party website Cogito.nu. The article discusses the dangers to democracy posed by digital restrictions management (DRM). In the article I discuss the way in which regulation works by using an example of picking up dog poo. Strange mixture of DRM & dog poo but I think it works. The article is available here (in Swedish).

Posted on by mklang

Tomorrow itâ??s back on the rails again. I am off to Stockholm to meet family and then to do some work early on Monday. The three-hour trip to Stockholm is becoming a very common occurrence lately but I donâ??t mind I enjoy train travel. Also the train has power outlets at all seats and wifi. All this means that I can surf while traveling at 200 km/hour.

On Monday I shall meet with people from Solidaritetshuset (Solidarity House) to discuss how the FSFE can help with their plans for holding seminars and training courses in Free Software and developing an open archive for their material.

Posted on by mklang

Not annoyed

On Tuesday I wrote about being annoyed with a publisher. My annoyance concerned a chapter I had written for the book called Värdet av Förtroende (The Value of Trust) which has just been published. The reason for my annoyance was that I wanted to include a Calvin & Hobbes strip where Calvin’s father convinces Calvin that light bulbs work by magic. The point was to show that trust in authority is not always justified.

The publishers would not let me include the strip. First they stated that permission was too complicated to get. This was not a good excuse since I had already obtained permission (and payed for the privilege). Then they stated that the strip could not be published for technical reasons. This was silly but I realised that I would have to accept defeat even if my editor struggled hard on my behalf.

Today I received two copies of the book and imagine my surprise when, there on page 217 was my strip. So all that is left is for me not to be annoyed any more – how annoying!

Posted on by mklang