I have a Digital Dream
House on Red Corner · 2005-07-29
Wired 13.08: We Are the Web The network is the computer. I am the geek. Ordinarily, I keep my geekness uncovers of Xperiment No. 8 however this has overlapped into my life in the very recent period of time, and thus I find it meaningful to share this all in my quasi-nightly report.
First of all, the Rss-Planet program is active and works wonderfully. I am really amazed at how quickly it all came together. In one short week, a huge flurry of emails and an expectional programmer in Germany willing to work on my idea has yielded this new program.
Basically, it sprung from my aquired notion that your desktop should be your browser, instead of your browser being a substitute desktop. Apparently Windows operators have the option of selecting active desktop which would go further towards advancing this notion.
I may have prevviously mentioned this porject when we started it, if not, I’ll tell you it comes from a program called Xplanet. Xplanet generates a desktop image, similiar to when you save a picture of Squeaky onto the desktop, of the planet Earth ( or any of the other planets in the solar system.)
My idea and thanks to Martin Doege for making it happen, is to put headlines from the news services onto this surface in relation to it’s geographic location. For example, the headline Banned Kenya minister to ’sue UK’ appears on the continent of Africa, with a marker for the city of Nariobi, which is the capital of Kenya.
Now, I got wrapped up in this project because of an idea. I contacted a programmer based upon teh language within which he had written another program. That language is Python. I just sent an email out as a ‘courtesy’ to inform him that I was going to be
looking at his opensource program and ripping out the parts I thought I needed to write my own program. I did not realize how much I needed to actually do.
I have only gone through seven or eight study modules and I thought I could write this sophistocated program. Nonetheless, I was prepared to spend a couple of months working on it. Not anymore. this is where my digital dream comes in.
See, during this whole process, Steph sent me an email saying she gets this discount on computers from work. I sent back a quick reply stating that I wanted to build a network in the house out of old PCs that gets all the Microsoft wiped off and install Linux and tons of open source programs, such as Open Office.org.
Now, Dad, before you get the wrong idea, this is not a holy mightyquest or crusade on my part against Microsoft. I learned how to use computers on basically microsoft equipment, especially when we were all getting email at prodigy accounts, like ev27yx@prodigy.com. (Incidentially there is only one return for prodigy.com in Google.) My basic reason to impliment this plan is economic.
I live in New York City. The trash that people throw out here could be shipped to a thrid world country and sold to people, or better yet given to people who don’t have anything. I am pretty sure I can collect a couple of PC boxes from the street. On a recent recycling night I saw five monitors within a five block radius of our house. (some of which I’m sure were in the trash for a reason.)
Then installing open source software that I can download for free will further reduce the amount of expenditures necessary to create a home network. I envision an Internal Network with a print server and possably an email exchange, and if I get lucky enoough our own server to host EckenrodeHouse.net [ nothing personal Steve, it would just be neat to be able to do that I think.]
See, I have fallen off the diving board. And this is where the Digital Dream gets going.
I want to set up a dummy terminal in EJ’s room. One that runs a program that is an educational environment. Teaches the Alphabet, numbers, shapes and colors as well as basic computer skills. I also see being able to write programs that continue past these skills and develop and build upon what she has learned. There can also be a music player so she can play music in her room. ( I really enjoyed my record player as a young boy, today music is stored on hard drives not pressed plastic platters with analog grooves that translate the sounds.)
With the advent of Digital Television, and I am speaking of the new roll out that will put video and video content on a standards based open source software, it is quickly becoming that our little magic window will be what indeed connects the world. We will superceed the boundaries of nations and with the participatory culture that exists on the web ( you read this, you respond to it, you are particiapting {and by the way, please us the comments function on this page, I look forward to them as much you you may look forward to reading these posts.}) large proprieatary corporations oneday may even be superceeded
Oh yes, I have a Digital Dream. A Dream of Utopia, a dream where we all are able to live our lives in complete connection with each other. A dream where our social circles extend beyond the geographic boundaries of nation and state. For me, this starts with learning a new skill and expanding my personal boundaries of creativity.