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Monday, December 09, 2013

 

Factory-in-a-day

This service/technology may bring sophisticated automation technology to small enterprizes that value flexibility

http://www.gizmag.com/factory-in-a-day/30053/



Monday, March 04, 2013

 

Here's what a bossless company looks like

Slashdot examines the software design company Valve, which is apparently a non-hierarchical organization. I have yet to read up on this, but it has been covered by Library of Economics and Liberty (Brian Caplan's site, I believe).

I'd like to compare it to more traditional coops, such as the Cheese Board in Berkeley, CA.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

 

Printing guns at home

From the Economist:

LAST autumn Cody Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas, leased a Stratasys 3D printer. He wanted to print a gun, and more—he and the group he founded, Defense Distributed, wanted to develop blueprints for 3D printing of guns and gun parts, and distribute those blueprints online. Mr Wilson’s motives are overtly political; he wants to “[expand] a free sphere of action…in contradistinction to a planned regulatory scheme…The file is the message. Anyone can have it, anyone can print it, anyone can use it.”


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

 

The President's plan to make "manufacturing hubs"

Mentioned in the STOTU speech, I looked up some details:
The President will announce a new proposal for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, to build a network of up to fifteen Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation around the country, serving as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence that will help to make our manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States. The President’s Budget proposes a $1 billion investment to create this new National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.
My impression is that these will be research institutes, not material infrastructure. This clearly won't support home-brew manufacturing technology. The Prez emphasizes "small business" support, but does that mean that these institutes will actually focus on their own technological problems, or does it just mean "we will try not to forget about small business"?

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

 

Bypassing the big guys to get broadband - The Washington Post

Bypassing the big guys to get broadband - The Washington Post

This article describes a small wireless ISP system in rural Virginia. It's commercial, more expensive than major networks, and eventually taps into the traditional Internet backbone, but it does indicate that small-scale ISPs are possible. Who knows how well this would work in a more densely populated area...but it does suggest that we have an alternative to the big telecom companies, whether in the form of small local businesses or consumer cooperatives.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

 

Technology: Print me a Stradivarius | The Economist

The Economist discusses "3D printing" -- mainly focusing on the short term impact of this technology (i.e. what will drive its development). Of interest, they mention how this system may cause intellectual property to become even more important.

Technology: Print me a Stradivarius | The Economist

Sunday, November 07, 2010

 

Copyright enforcement without lawyers (Cooks Source Magazine and Apple Pies)

Slashdot Your Rights Online Story | Cook's Magazine Claims Web Is Public Domain

The above Slashdot discussion provides an overview of an interesting strategy for enforcing copyright. This dovetails with Kevin Carson's writings about open-mouth sabatoge, and my own musings about a world without (as many) lawyers. It is interesting because it provides some inkling of how some form of copyright may be enforced by social norms rather than legal sanction. However, there is always the question of what role formal law plays in reinforcing social norms and facilitating coordinated enforcement. The gist of the story is this:

I'm not sure if this dispute has been resolved.

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