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Project Description

Oraculismo is an ongoing project willing to raise some critical issues related to information access and social dynamics, as well as pointing at analogies between magic and technologic learning. It brings a critical perspective about the ubiquity of internet access via wireless networks in urban contexts. Oraculismo intends to create wireless installations that are freely replicable, in order to create local experiences that can either be understood as environments for gaming, learning or information access. One of its methods is going further in the idea of de-mithifying technology, by attempting to create new myths that include the ideas of dynamic, social and collective exchange of information.

The public face of Oraculismo will consist of open wireless (wi-fi, 802.11x) networks that behave as shamanic totems or oracles, by interacting with visitors and offering negotiated information. These totems will be able to interact with people through different online tools, such as a chatterbot that, depending on the dialog, may point to a local network URL that can be accessed only once. Secrets, keywords, incremental stages for gaining access are elements to play with. Oraculismo will run on free software and will hopefully adopt alternatives for autonomous power supply.

Oraculismo needs little to start being developed. There are already plenty of alternatives offering free and open source software to manage wireless hotspots, as well as great examples of projects that offer free information in burn stations or similar artifacts. Doing the same with wireless networks is a step further in that direction, but on the other hand the negotiation is there to remind us that there are some kinds of learning in which it is not just a matter of just clicking and downloading bits.leia mais >>

Steve Cisler faleceu há poucos dias. Eu cheguei a trocar muitos e-mails e uma ligação telefônica com ele. Mais um de quem muita gente vai sentir falta. Tem algumas homenagens a ele acontecendo pela web. Recebi há pouco da lista nettime:

There is a new blog for condolences and memories about Steve Cisler,
who passed last week.

http://communitynetworking2008.wordpress.com

He served on the board of the Internet Society, and was among the
first people lobbying for the allocation of radio spectrum for
wireless computer networks-an effort that led to the establishment of
the 802.11b standard commonly used today.

He worked for the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at
Santa Clara University on a project to network the Tech Award
Laureates (25 each year) http://techawards.org/ from 2001 to the
present. They have a photo and article up about his work at http://
www.scu.edu/sts/

Steve was extremely well-known in community networking movements
around the globe.

Steve was a Senior Scientist at Apple Library for many years and ran
the Apple Library of Tomorrow project, which made grants to places as
diverse as the Pueblo of Zuni and the Library of Congress.

A frequent conference speaker, he was also admired for his pithy trip
reports about travel to some remote (and not so remote) community
networking efforts.

He also served in the Peace Corps and in the US Coast Guard.

A memorial celebration is planned for June 2 in the San Jose area.