File Sharing Without The Internet: The Saharan Bluetooth Experience

A couple of months ago, Techdirt wrote about an EU politician's plan to build Internet surveillance into every operating system. As we pointed out then, this could easily be circumvented by using non-Net means for swapping files. It may not be driven by fears about spying, but it seems that communities in Western Africa are using Bluetooth connections between mobile phones to do exactly that: 

On Techdirt.

OpenSpimes

Open what?

A "spime" (the word -- a contraction of "space" and "time" -- was coined by sci-fi writer Bruce Sterling) is an object that, thanks to GPS and sensors, is aware of where and when it is, and can record and communicate these data. OpenSpimes are designed to allow everyone to record and visualize environmental (or other) data, to store them, publish them, blog them, compare them, mix and mash them up.

The first spime they've designed is a smart application of distributed computing in the service of sustainability. It can measure the CO2 level in parts-per-million in the surrounding air, and through a bluetooth link to a cell phone (or an alternative link to a laptop or other wireless channels) can relay that information back to the OpenSpime servers. There they can be mashed up and aggregated on Google Maps in almost-real-time.

Noahpad: The Asus Eee Wannabe(ee)

I've written several times about the Asus Eee PC, and how I see it as the start of a new market sector where open source possesses considerable advantages. Here's further proof of that: the Noahpad UMPC:

‧ Smaller than A5 size and only 0.78 kg .
‧ 7” TFT compact design to display 10” window.
‧ Apply Noahpad technology.
‧ Laptop and palmtop two operation modes.
‧ 30G super large storage.
‧ Rich network and wireless connectivity.
‧ External battery.
‧ Over 50 function keys for learning, working and playing…

And, needless to say, it runs GNU/Linux (although it also mutters about "Windows XP compatible" whatever that means.) I predict we'll see many more of these Asus Eee wannabes. (Via Linux Loop.)

Avatar Liberation Movement

Interesting:

"Mii" avatars for the Wii console have been given a license to travel, thanks to a "How To" article published by LiquidIce's Nintendo Wii Hacks. Using the built-in Bluetooth capabilities of the Wiimote control device, a Bluetooth-capable PC, and a program called MiiTransfer, Mii avatar data can be scraped from the Wiimote to the PC, then shared through web sites such as the Mii Transfer Station (see the article for details).

I don't know if this is the first such case of avatar liberation, but it certainly won't be the last.