Emily Davidow
links for 2008-03-05: Just Need 989 More Fans
Posted on 03.05.08 by Emily

The Latest Issuu
Posted on 02.20.08 by Emily

Copenhagen-based ISSUU invites everyone to upload and turn their documents into beautiful turn-the-page magazine experiences for free.

Once uploaded, people can bookmark, share and comment on it. Text is searchable so the document is easy to find. You can subscribe to an RSS feed of publications. Finally, you can also post and embed Issuu documents on any external site.

Now actually, it’s still not a joy to quote, because you apparently can’t deep link in there, and you can’t copy and paste text and do all the things you could do with a standard webpage (or PDF for that matter). But it’s so close… you can almost taste it. And you can just embed the whole darn thing… In any case, this is a wonderful way to share the experience of a printed thing (without the waste and expense of printing and shipping).

N.B. to those who like to tear, save and share the parts they like out of printed things… you’ll love Skitch.


G1G2 - Get One Give Two XO OLPCs
Posted on 02.11.08 by Emily

I received this note through a friend from Timothy Falconer of Waveplace Foundation (then edited with links and pix as I checked out the story — here’s the original):

Xoxo xo olpc g1g1Waveplace is a non-profit starting an XO pilot in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, in ten days [February 17th]. OLPC was going to be giving us laptops as part of the Get One Give One program, but it fell through, which is why I’m trying to get twenty XOs from elsewhere.

Angels of a Lower Flight: One Womans Mission to Save a Country One Child at a Time by Susie Scott KrabacherYour laptop may end up in the hands of one of the most needy children in the Western Hemisphere. The school where the laptop will be sent is run by Susie Scott Krabacher, who has been the Mother Theresa of Haiti for 15 years. In fact, a major motion picture is being made about her life right now, based upon her autobiography, Angels of a Lower Flight: One Womans Mission to Save a Country… One Child at a Time

You could really help by agreeing to sell us your laptop. We’ve only got ten days to get the laptops to Miami, as we’re leaving for Haiti on Feb 17th.

screenshot of children who will soon be getting XO laptops in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti from Waveplace videoTo see the kids that will get them, watch this video, which we shot last month.

Susie’s organization: Mercy and Sharing Foundation (Check on GuideStar.)

You can see a slideshow of the conditions and read an article by Susie from our newsletter.

One way or another, we’ll be in Haiti in ten days. [They're leaving for Haiti February 17th] Please help us bring more laptops.

Please pass the word, and if you have a laptop to sell, click contact on the Waveplace site.

Thank you!

I’m giving mine. David Weinberger’s giving his too. Timothy noted that Waveplace will update with news and video, some of which will include your XO laptop in the hands of the Haitian child who gets it.

Would love to have seen more transparency from the original One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project and the G1G1 (Get One Give One) program regarding the children who receive it and connection between the giver and the getter. Nevertheless, it’s a thrill to see the news and pictures from the pilot in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

girls with the olpc in mongolia

I loved the idea of OLPC project and the G1G1 program from the start and still do (despite some bungling in execution and logistics). Yes to empowering children around the world to learn, connect, explore and experiment with their own connected computers! (Yes to nutrition and health initiatives also! Why would that be an either/or?) It feels great to participate.

Commodore Pet Computer It’s hard to remember any specific classroom lessons from that age, but I distinctly remember the joy of experimenting on a Commodore PET, guided by books of python BASIC programs and stacks of Make BYTE magazines. The excitement of discovering the logic by altering the code and testing whether the programs ran (and sense of accomplishment when they did) stoked my curiosity, imagination and love of learning. Not to mention the fun of making ASCII art… (Thanks, Dad!)

Xoxo xo olpc g1g1That feeling rushed back as I opened and beheld the XO for the first time. This adorable, mesh networking, environmentally friendly(ish), highly portable and rugged networked laptop delights the kid in all of us. The magic really starts to happen when multiple XOs mesh with each other. But as much as I wanted it not to be true, it is designed for kids. The mini-keyboard’s a dealbreaker for writing anything longer than short messages with my adult fingers.

Engineered to withstand extreme environmental conditions like high heat, humidity and dust, I figured this three pound membrane-sealed computer would be ideal for tossing in my solar backpack for jaunts to cafes (including spills) and mountain hikes. It excels in high light environments, and the swiveling display delights. I was intrigued to learn even though it’s completely sealed to the elements and accident-resistant, it’s also easy to access and replace parts.

Apple MacBook Air MB03LL/A 13.3 in. laptop (1.6 ghz intel core 2 duo processor, 2gb ram, 80 gb hard drive)

If OLPC can make an XO that does that for around $200, how come Apple’s $1799 MacBook Air is so vulnerable to the elements and being dropped, yet impossible to open for something as simple as battery changing? Ok, ok, compromises must be made because it’s so thin. But the same vulnerability is true for the whole MacBook line and indeed, most laptop computers. (I know, the Toughbook. But aesthetics count, and you shouldn’t have to pay that much of a premium.)

What I’d really love is a powerful MacBook Air with XO’s ruggedness, openness and flexibility. An elegant and sophisticated yet slim and lightweight Fisher Price My First Mac case with Pro brains and easily replacable and recyclable components to cut down on the massive amounts of e-waste my gadget lust produces. Until then, I’ll settle (eagerly) for the MacBook Air, but if you have a laptop like that to sell or donate, please contact me.

So goodbye sweet XO, it’s been wonderful knowing you. Have fun with the new kid in Haiti and stay in touch!

XOXOXO
Emily

Comments: 4 Comments


links for 2008-02-10
Posted on 02.10.08 by Emily

Filed under: activism and animals and art and better world and consumerism and creativity and culture and design and emily approved and environment and flowers and food and gardening and links and nyc and senses and sustainability and technology


What to Wear in NextCity
Posted on 02.09.08 by Emily

DDCLAB EMF Resistant Clothes

Tinfoil hats are so passĂ©. So what should you wear to Faraday’s Cafe?

Check out the latest collection of electromagnetic field blocking and “anti-identity theft” clothing at DDCLAB (427 W 14th St, New York NY 10014 map).

Here’s the text from the windows:

EMF: Electro Magnetic Field Block
Anti•Identity•Theft•Fabric
Electric Resistivity
measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current and allows the movement of electrical charge.

DDCLAB
Woven of super sheer mesh polyester fibers coated with blackened copper, this high performance ultra thin, light weight and flexible mesh shield has a high ohm/sq resistivity that protects against identity theft by blocking high tech scanners from lifting valuable passport and ID information.

Filed under: advertising and ask emily and consumerism and culture and design and environment and fashion and health and marketing and nyc and observations and retail and shopping and technology


links for 2008-02-04
Posted on 02.04.08 by Emily

GhostGarden and More GPS Games
Posted on 01.29.08 by Emily

Ghost Garden

The surreal romance of aristocratic expat Lucy and castaway Jack enchanted me as I strolled through Sydney’s Royal Botanical Gardens in early January, following their love story on a handheld HP GPS device preloaded with Anita Fontaine’s spooky sweet Ghost Garden, part of the 2008 Sydney Festival. As I traveled through the gardens, certain locations would trigger animated scenes that revealed the story, set in the 1800s. I could feel the past, present and future all melting into one, and I got excited imagining the day when it be easy to create my own site-specific adventures for people to discover as they’re traveling through a space.

Garmin Colorado400T
That day turned out to be less than a month away! Wherigo is a flexible gaming platform that Garmin is embedding in their new Colorado 400t Handheld GPS unit (Pictured at right. Thanks, Brady!) Wherigo Builder allows anyone to build alternate reality games, tour guides, local reviews, real estate marketing apps, scavenger hunts, pub crawls or Victorian love stories that are site-specific by mapping out zones, creating a story and then sharing it online. (Alternately, you could write it directly in Lua, a programming language whose name means “moon” in Portuguese and is also what World of Warcrafters use to build on top of their platform.) If you have a PocketPC Device, you can download the Wherigo Player and start playing.

Anything similar for the iPhone’s fauxGPS maps or soon to be true GPS?

For now, you can enjoy my Emily Approved Sydney recommendations in Google Maps and in Google Earth.

Filed under: art and consumerism and creativity and culture and design and emily approved and gardening and love and senses and technology and travel and video and webstuff


NZ Notes: Sorry S.P…. I’m leaving you for Antipodes
Posted on 12.06.07 by Emily

Antipodes Sparkling Water from NZI love bubbly beverages: Champagne and sparkling water are always my drinks of choice. Among the sparklers, Antipodes stands out.

Coming from a deep natural aquifer to the surface in Whakatane, New Zealand, Antipodes has real mouth appeal. It’s less aggressively carbonated than my usual brew, San Pellegrino, and it’s easy on the eyes too.

Dressed in classic Mrs. Eaves, Antipodes complements any table without overpowering it. The oviform bottle echoes the round beads streaming up when opened. It’s a happy thing to hold.

I know, I know… you have issues with bottled water. I do too. But a girl’s gotta have a vice, and until I can pour sparkling from the tap, I’ll order the bottle. (When out… technically I could make my own at home.) If it makes you feel any better, Antipodes is the first premium water to be certified carbon neutral in production and export, and they plan to be carbon neutral to any table, hotel room or home anywhere in the world by 2008.

Antipodes is currently served only in hand-picked great restaurants around New Zealand, hence their restaurant list is a good guide to the restaurants I want to try. You can order Antipodes by the case for home delivery in the United States through New Zealand Natural Goods, but at $60 for 12, I’d have to consider it a design element to justify it. Oh, wonderful! Oprah already did.


links for 2007-11-05: Sartorial Subversion
Posted on 11.05.07 by Emily

Ltd Bestbuy Productimg

Filed under: activism and better world and consumerism and creativity and culture and funny and happiness and links and retail


links for 2007-11-01: Looking at Things Differently
Posted on 11.01.07 by Emily

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