Archive for September, 2002
Blogging Part II
I came across an exchange on Slate between journalist Andrew Sullivan and novelist Kurt Andersen, in which the two writers exchanged observations about the cultural significance of the phenomenon of blogging. Both agree that it represents a positive trend in the sense that it democratizes news analysis and challenges the hegemony of the [...]
Used computers going to South America
One of the things I offered to do for Via Libre is search for a potential source in the United States of used equipment donations. The Alameda County Computer Resource Center is probably the best known such source, and today Salon ran an article about it.
Seems anti-globalization protesters are gearing up to cause trouble [...]
Free Software Foundation benefit dinner
This article from the New York Times addresses (however briefly) a free software-related theme that is still a little murky in my mind. I understand in principle that money can be made through free software by selling services to support it, writing customized versions of GPL-based software for a customer, etc., etc. But [...]
Via Libre in La Voz del Interior
The founders of Via Libre, the organization where I work as a volunteer, have published an article (in Spanish)summarizing the value of free software in La Voz del Interior, Cordoba’s newspaper.
What’s interesting is the extent to which they downplay the utility of free software for home users. I’ve even heard Federico in the office [...]
The “Initiative for Software Choice”, etc.
In the wake of the introduction of legislation to require free software use in governments at both the state and federal levels in both the U.S. and abroad, Microsoft (with allies like Intel and also other proprietary software vendors) has undertaken an initiave to counteract these developments. I can only assume its name is [...]
Writing about free software in Latin America
This week I finally began to think more concretely about writing an article about free software use in Latin America. I am particularly interested in situating the story in the context of the Argentine crisis, which has proven to be a harbinger of similar crises in other South American countries like Brazil and Peru. [...]
Book Review: Techgnosis, and The Talmud and the Internet
[This review appeared in the Spring 2001 issue of Regeneration Quarterly.]
Given sufficient computer processing power and memory, just about all of reality might one day be digitally encoded — at least if a number of today’s futurologists and techno-optimists are to be believed. For the rest of us, such scenario may seem far-fetched, but every [...]