http://46halbe.org/auchblog18.html September en-us Creative Commons Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:41:08 GMT Blinkenlights is basically the transformation of a building into a giant display. A number of years ago the Chaos Computer Club did this in Berlin to celebrate the club's 20th anniversary. You don't see why this is a story? Just another hacker humor? Well, there will be Stereoscope in October. And you can create your own content! http://46halbe.org/auchblog18.html#a54Mon, 23 Sep 2008 23:39:19 GMT He is now part of the future-proof trend to offer content for free: filmmaker Michael Moore. His documentary trailer of "Slacker Uprising" is available and, of course, also a torrent. And hey, you can order a DVD, too. Moore always plunges deeply into controversy. This time it is about voting. By the way, I don't know if you still remember, many years ago he attacked the US voting computer manufacturers for their apparent links to the Bush administration, earlier than most critics and scientists had ever heard the word voting computer. And when left-wing Moore won the Oscar in 2002 he said before they turned up the sound to fade him down: "We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president." Because ballot addition is not trivial. http://46halbe.org/auchblog18.html#a342Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:19:39 GMT Regular folks can do it: low-cost open source aerial drones with hi-tech sensors and autopilot mode. A whole fleet of those and related vehicles can be seen at Motodrone on September 20th in Finowfurt near Berlin. Don't miss it, because they're coming, won't be long until you see those vehicles somewhere - and you like to be prepaired. Like nanotech or genetic engineering those techniques are controversial. Because such robots and drones are predominantly used for military purposes like surveillance or delivery of explosives. And affordable spy drones are now also available to civilians. But not only the sinister aspects will be debated. On the other side, there are a lot of dirty and dangerous jobs robots could do. They could be used for search and rescue operations, or performing all sorts of useful tasks from hobbyist wildlife films to objects of art. So, it is time to discuss which rules will be needed if everyone can build or purchase a drone. Who is to blame if a drone accidentally harms someone? Whose fault is it if they make something wrong? What set of laws will be necessary to prevent robots from hurting humans? http://46halbe.org/auchblog18.html#a72Tue, 9 Sep 2008 15:39:09 GMT46halbe