This being the last Wednesday before the iPhone’s (so insanely over-hyped) release in Canada I thought I’d cover the issues that surround the sleek little 3g hockey puck.

Okay now I have to go do a radio show about feminists and technology, who the fuck decided to become a pundit while she has a thesis to finish and some websites to design. Oh right me, I am a fyucking idjut.

I just fried both my external hard drives, at a time when there is about 5 gb of space left on my compy.

I think I fried both of them because I either; a/ used the wrong power source, or b/ plugged into an ungrounded socket or c/ both.

One hd holds all my archived data of about 5 years so if I were to get audited tomorrow the auditor would have a short job of it. The other holds all the videos I did this year for school.

I tried plugging in the second one, a second time, just to see if I could somehow coax it back to life and not only did I smell the burning, I saw a little plume of smoke curling up from it's silver casing.

Anyone know how to rescue data from hds that have suffered some vague electrical damage?

Little What?

So this is a new charitable organization called Little Geeks: “Little Geeks is a philanthropic organization and registered Canadian charity that collects, refurbishes and re-distributes donated home computers to children in need.” How about that graphic design - like Toys R’Us on poppers. I feel like Joe Matt must have done the illustrations since no-one has eyeballs. Seriously though, “Little Geeks”? I can’t say I like it.

Though it may seem harsh to take shots at a good-hearted enterprise, I strongly believe that people from the corporate sector, (and take a look at the board of directors if you want to know who’s backing this project) need as much educating about social change as people who barter for used monitors need educating about interest rates and borrowing to save.

Read More...

So, here's a post from Slate The $100 Distraction Device: Why giving poor kids laptops doesn't improve their scholastic performance. Wherein the author suggests, that computers alone do not = scholastic achievement, that often computers waste time and are detrimental, if not to intelligence then to manifestations of intelligence such as doing your homework. IWhat the author is missing is that much of the literature around technology and learning is about how playing on a computer is often a learning process that is just not recognized as such.

I don't have a ton of time here, since I am *still* plugging away at the OLPC paper, but anyways.

So mike tipped me off to this incredibly apropo and I want to say trenchant, even though I don't really know what that means, blog entry by Ivan Krstić discussing (still) the problems that plague the OLPC project.

(This is partly why my paper never ends, the problems ne'er seem to either)

So Ivan links to this article in the NYtimes about how 1-to-1 laptop programs are being abandoned in schools stateside, as students show no real sign of improvement.

Which led me to read this quote from Mark Warschauer, an education professor at the University of California at Irvine:

“Where laptops and Internet use make a difference are in innovation, creativity, autonomy and independent research,” he said. “If the goal is to get kids up to basic standard levels, then maybe laptops are not the tool. But if the goal is to create the George Lucas and Steve Jobs of the future, then laptops are extremely useful.”

And I just about threw up the very tasty guacamole and goat cheese sandwich I ate for dinner.

Una Laptop por Niño: The philanthropic effort dubbed the $100 Laptop has not met its grand initial goals. But its first deployment, in Peru, may turn skeptics into believers. from the Technology Review.

Oh jeez I just ate so much Pad Thai I am sweating.

The OLPC paper #1 is in the bag. I just printed it without double-siding and I feel like a bit of a mean anti-environmental jerk, but I often wonder if professors prefer it one-sided and right now i am into anything I can do to keep my average above the "goodbye grade point average" mark.

Stats:

23 pages including footnotes.

45 footnotes in total (there are plenny ibids though).

5513 words about development and childproof laptops.

If you would like a copy to read please email me.

So over at Hugh's blog I just left a snarky rejoinder to his posting of this handy little slide-show-of-negativity internetishsit an uber hipper-then-thou statement of disillusionment with the promise of new media.

Just in case you don't believe the hipness, I would draw you attention to the purple background. Purple is/was the hip colour of fall winter 2007/08 check out the H&M catalogue if you still aren't convinced.

So what makes me so full of hate for the little shit piece there?

If you, like me are curious to know how an OLPC initiative is working out as we speak. I have found a great little project over in Nepal.

Welcome to Shree Bashuki Lower Secondary School near Kathmandu.

In March they began preparing for their first OLPC pilot project. Kids in Nepal go back to school on April 14th, so the project leads are in the middle of preparation hysteria as far as I can tell.

These are some fascinating logs and blogs of their experience thus far, and though I can criticize NN for hubris, I can't criticize what seems to be a pretty decent little seed he's planted.

Yes, and I sure as S**t wish I was there troubleshooting their XO's, rather then here writing a paper.

“The days of pilot projects are over. When people say we’d like to do 3 or 4000 in our country to see how it works, screw you go to the back of line and someone else’ll do it and then when you figure out this works, you can join as well.”

From a Ted Talk that isn't really worth watching.