Transcending Technology – Michael J. Russell

The U.S. Military OSS (Open Source Software) 2011 Working Group 3 is in session, August 30th – September 1st in Atlanta, GA. Mil-OSS connects and empowers an active community of civilian and military open source software and hardware developers across the United States. This grassroots movement is a collection of diverse patriots that work for and with the Department of Defense and believe in adopting open technology innovation philosophies to effectively defend our nation.

Friends in Asia, Europe and Oceania have been telling me for years they’re positively dumbfounded by how North American businesses and consumers are willing to put up with the oligopolistic tyranny of wireless carriers, their inconsistent service, overburdened data networks, locked handsets, dubious charges and a litany of other grievances, especially in the U.S.

After all, in many parts of the world, you choose your handset and your carrier…in whichever mix-and-match combination strikes your fancy.

Well, the OpenBTS technology discussed in this MIT TechReview piece is a harbinger of things to come already here, along with the decentralization and democratization of almost every other meaningful digital technology, so now there may be some intriguing alternatives.

Consider the possibilities represented by cheap, sustainable, easily-deployable wireless networks for community resilience/resiliency, emergency preparedness and disaster recovery, much less the opportunities for leapfrogging failed, obsolete (or non-existent) infrastructure in the developing world.

—Mike Russell

Readers of this blog who may also know me “IRL” (in real life ) are aware that I’ve been a passionate and vigorous advocate of  the international “barcamp” movement – i.e., self-organized groups of professionals, students and others who meet (usually on weekends) on their own time and dime to brainstorm, share vital knowledge and [...]