[Noisebridge-discuss] Piece on Hacker Spaces (with mention of NoiseBridge) in Irish Times

Mon Nov 17 03:04:09 UTC 2008

Hey Danny,

Very well written article!  Thanks for posting it.

Turns out I'm going to be in Limerick from the 10th to the 12th of December.  I know it's not that close, but if you happen to be in that neck of the woods, it'd be cool to meet up.

All the best in getting a hacker space going in Dublin!

Cheers,
Mitch.

---------------> Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:55:47 -0800> From: danny at spesh.com> To: noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net> Subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] Piece on Hacker Spaces (with mention of NoiseBridge) in Irish Times> > Hey folks,> > So I have a regular column in the Irish Times, and I wrote a little> about NoiseBridge in it. I mentioned the piece to Jake, and he> suggested I post it here.> > I've already had one query about setting up a Dublin hackerspace (one> of the intentions of the article), so if any of you hear of people> interested in this (or London, where I also know a few people mulling> the idea), let me know, and I'll put them in touch with each other.> > d.> > http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2008/1024/1224715113204.html> > THE FIRST hacker space I can recall was the L0ft: a Boston loft shared> by a hat-making company and a group of grungy security experts and> computer underground figures with names like "Mudge" and "Kingpin".> > The L0ft lasted from 1992 to 2000: a group of smart minds working on> slightly edgy tech plans together in a shared environment: wiring> together wireless networks long before anyone was thinking of WiFi,> sketching out potential attacks on the internet that got the US> Congress worried.> > When the L0ft started, it was hard to get hold of the technology you> needed to hatch such plans, unless you had the right job. And in 1992,> it wasn't easy to get a job unless you were the right sort of person.> The L0ft people weren't right in that sense - although their work> predicted a great deal of what was to happen in the dotcom boom.> > In 2008, you see tattoos and piercings on chief executives and company> presidents in Silicon Valley, but the jobs are beginning to edge away> again. Just the right time for the return of the idea of a "hacker> space", a co-operatively run tech workspace that isn't for business,> and not quite for pure fun. That's what's happening at Noisebridge in> San Francisco's Mission district.> > A rented apartment, the space has been commandeered by a group of> hardware and software enthusiasts who are paying $80 a month each to> pool their resources, and kit it out with high-speed internet, strange> hardware and stranger friends.> > The truth is that hacker spaces have never quite gone away. In Europe,> where the movement has closer ties to the squatting collectives of> Germany and the Netherlands, hacker spaces have existed for many> years.> > C-Base in Berlin and ASCII in Amsterdam were founded in the mid-1990s> and survived for over a decade; long enough to pass the knowledge back> to the US. Inspired by visits to European hacker spaces, New York> technologist Bre Pettis founded NYC Resistor in Brooklyn in 2007. A> similar crossover contact between European and west coast coders> spawned Noisebridge last month.> > What do you do in a hacker space? Gossip, compare notes, learn and> teach seem to be the key activities: coders sit around and help each> other, or wave their hands explaining their latest idea.> > In any other field, most projects being conducted in these places> would be an art, a craft or a hobby. But hacker space projects tend to> float between all of those labels. One person works on wiring San> Francisco's public transport notification system into Noisebridge's> audio, so late-night hackers can hear when the next train is due. In> New York, coders have worked with knitting and textile enthusiasts to> see if there's a potential crossover in their two worlds. Tutorials at> Noisebridge include lessons in "processing", the computer language> used by modern artists to built interactive works, and hacking the> Arduino - a hardware platform used by artists and roboticists alike.> > None of these ideas are intended to make money. Indeed, hacker spaces> are supposed to take some of the pressure away from the money-grabbing> pursuits of the wider Silicon Valley world. There's a cheap "starving> hacker" rate at Noisebridge for those who don't have much cash; the> hardware is mostly donated.> > The return of the hacker spaces may be a sign that the brightest minds> in America's tech community are preparing for their cyclical> hibernation - in a week where Yahoo has shed 10 per cent of its> employees, and there are more shutdowns than start-ups, places like> Noisebridge and NYC Resistor look like refuges.> > Not that anyone here views them in such a negative light. Dozens have> signed up to be members of Noisebridge, and the community has enough> regular dues to pay its high San Francisco rental costs. Despite being> the initiator of so many tech innovations, the city has never had an> open hacker space, and the excitement around the arrival of> Noisebridge is high.> > The European hacker space movement is also experiencing a revival.> After losing one of its key Dutch collectives, ASCII, in 2006, dozens> are now springing up across the continent.> > Which leaves the obvious gap in this transatlantic movement: is there> room for an Irish hacker space? With Dublin real estate prices, unless> someone fancies an old-fashioned squat, perhaps not. But European> hacker spaces haven't turned away indirect government funding in the> form of arts grants and a space doesn't have to sit in the most> expensive urban environment. Anywhere with a fast internet pipe will> do.> > If the Government wants to inspire some forward-thinking development> work by the next generation of Irish students, it might do well to> seed a couple of grungy looking spaces with a sound system and a few> LCD screens donated from a Department of Enterprise, Trade and> Employment spring clean.> > It might be the cheapest way to come out of this downturn with a few> bright ideas.> _______________________________________________> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
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