Hacker Friendly

I’m back from the 4th International Conference on the Book. I gave a presentation on the book sprint process along with Marco Zennaro. I was very impressed with the program and the people who attended. Many of these folks have been in publishing for years, and had some very interesting perspectives on […]

 

Okay this is an old one, but after a week in Boston, I could kill for a decent espresso. Just looking at this Engadget story on modding your espresso machine for the perfect pull is making me… Well, you’re not really thirsty for espresso. It’s more of a bodily need. A […]

 

I’m at the 4th International Conference on the Book in Boston for the weekend. Marco & I had breakfast early this morning, and CNN was on the tv. Incredibly, they ran a short segment detailing Geekcorps’ project in Mali (one aspect of which was documented in Wireless Networking in the Developing World, of […]

 

Here’s a fun design for a steerable can antenna driven by servos and a PIC microcontroller. The page is a little light on details, but since Adrian is a local, maybe we can get him to bring it to hack night (or even field day…)

 

Looks like real last names are coming to Second Life. Finally.
According to CNET:
…the company has decided, CNET News.com has learned, to charge individuals who want a real last name a $100 setup fee and a $50-a-year maintenance fee. Companies that want their corporate name can have unlimited accounts for a $1,000 setup fee and […]

 

The Workshop on Optimization Technologies for Low-Bandwidth Networks at the ICTP has closed. Fortunately, we were able to get the PDF of the bandwidth book to them just in time for local printing.
The presentation videos are available now as well. Just in time, plenty of high-bandwidth content to fill your low-bandwidth pipe. […]

 

WNDW has been reviewed by Geoff Huston on The Internet Society website:
…I’d thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who reads this column. Not only is it a good read, but it is an excellent example of the type of material that really helps in the area of practical training that can help enthusiastic individuals realize […]

 

We’re very pleased to announce the release of How To Accelerate Your Internet: A practical guide to Bandwidth Management and Optimization using Open Source Software. You can download the PDF or HTML version for free, or order printed copy. The book is available under a Creative Commons License.
Full press release is below the […]

 

This week proved to be a fun, mellow, Pho-filled hack night. Hilights:

Ame-Link 1900MHz phone experiment. Have you ever had a cordless phone that sends SMS? All it needs is a bigger antenna.
At almost the seven week mark, I finally got my replacement PowerBook battery. The old one is now the USPS’s […]

 

This just in from Fam Kremer:
When FADECO.org in North-West Tanzania looked for sustainability of their satellite internet connection they turned for help on the net. Making WiFi connections to schools and other organizations in their neighborhood was the goal. Several organizations where able to help, WSFII.org, WNDW.net, WirelessNederland.nl and many others could support this project […]