Showing posts with label hackers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hackers. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Brain Hacking - Lee von Kraus and Amol Sarva (World Maker Faire New York 2013)


This is an interesting talk by two neuroscientists now working in the private sector. The talk was part of the World Maker Faire New York 2013 (see below the video), a gathering of show-and-tell "makers" - a "festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement."

Resistance is futile.

Brain Hacking - Lee von Kraus and Amol Sarva




Brain Hacking from Maker Faire on FORA.tv

New understanding of the brain is launching us into the realm of sci-fi possibilities. We will talk about the brain's wiring and ways in which it can be changed, either naturally through learning or artificially through cybernetic interfaces.

Lee von Kraus, PhD (Halo Neuroscience): neuroscience doctorate from SUNY Downstate and widely-published electronics hacker.

Amol Sarva, PhD (Halo Neuroscience): cognitive science doctorate from Stanford, a former McKinsey consultant and co-founder of Virgin Mobile USA.
* * * * *

About World Maker Faire New York 2013


Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement.

Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned.

The launch of Maker Faire in the Bay Area in 2006 demonstrated the popularity of making and interest among legions of aspiring makers to participate in hands-on activities and learn new skills at the event. A record 165,000 people attended the two flagship Maker Faires in the Bay Area and New York in 2012, with 44% of attendees first timers at the Bay Area event, and 61% in New York. A family event, the vast majority attend with children. In 2013, over 60 community-driven Mini Maker Faires are expected around the world, including Tokyo and Rome.

Maker Faire is primarily designed to be forward-looking, showcasing makers who are exploring new forms and new technologies. But it’s not just for the novel in technical fields; Maker Faire features innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft.

Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. It’s a venue for makers to show examples of their work and interact with others about it. Many makers say they have no other place to share what they do. DIY (Do-It-Yourself) is often invisible in our communities, taking place in shops, garages and on kitchen tables. It’s typically out of the spotlight of traditional art or science or craft events. Maker Faire makes visible these projects and ideas that we don’t encounter every day.

Maker Faire is brought to you by Maker Media. Maker Media publishes MAKE magazine, produces Maker Faire, and offers DIY electronics, tools, kits, and books through its online and pop-up Maker Shed stores.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Hacker, Open Commons Activist Aaron Swartz Commits Suicide


Sad that this has happened - he was only 26. Aaron Swartz was facing the possibility of dozens of years in prison for allegedly trying to share MIT academic journal articles on P2P file sharing sites. Over at ZDNet, Violet Blue provides the full story.

The charges were based on Swartz's sharing of four million academic articles from MIT, downloaded from the JSTOR site. Sadly, Swartz's suicide came two days after JSTOR announced it is releasing "more than 4.5 million articles" to the public.

Wired argued that many of the charges against Swartz were alleged Terms of Service violations. Their article strongly implies that the Department of Justice sought to make an example of Swartz:
The case tests the reach of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was passed in 1984 to enhance the government’s ability to prosecute hackers who accessed computers to steal information or to disrupt or destroy computer functionality. 
The government, however, has interpreted the anti-hacking provisions to include activities such as violating a website’s terms of service or a company’s computer usage policy, a position a federal appeals court in April said means “millions of unsuspecting individuals would find that they are engaging in criminal conduct.”
Asshats.

Hacker, Activist Aaron Swartz Commits Suicide

Summary: Aaron Swartz, hacker and information activist and Reddit cofounder, has committed suicide at age 26. UPDATED: Pirate Bay JSTOR torrent, public.resource.org memorial.



By Violet Blue for Zero Day | January 12, 2013

Reddit, Creative Commons and Demand Progress co-founder Aaron Swartz committed suicide in New York City on Friday, Jan. 11. He was 26 years old.


The tragedy was confirmed to MIT's The Tech by Swarz's uncle, and also his attorney.

This post has been updated to reflect public.resource.org going dark in mourning, and the extremely moving sharing of the JSTOR torrent on Pirate Bay to honor Swartz's memory.


Dedicated to the free and open Internet

Swartz was dedicated to sharing data and information online. He worked tirelessly to develop and popularize standards for free and open information sharing.


He co-authored RSS 1.0, developed the site theinfo.org, released the Python framework he developed web.py as free software, he co-founded Creative Commons, and he was a member of the Harvard University Ethics Center Lab.

Swartz co-founded Demand Progress, which launched the primary campaign against Internet censorship bills (SOPA/PIPA). His work on Reddit enabled millions to share information and news socially (Swartz sold Infogami to Reddit).

Aaron Swartz was facing a potential sentence of dozens of years in prison for allegedly trying to make MIT academic journal articles public.

Charged with felony hacking

In September 2012, Aaron Swartz was charged with thirteen counts of felony hacking.

In July 2011 Swartz was arrested for allegedly scraping 4 million MIT papers from the JSTOR online journal archive.

He appeared in court in Sept. 2012 and pled not guilty.

Swartz's subsequent struggle for money to offset legal fees to fight the Department of Justice and stay afloat was no secret.

After the September charges came down, the wife of Creative Commons founder Larry Lessig - social justice lawyer Bettina Neuefeind - established and organized the site free.aaronsw.com to raise money for his defense.
Read the whole article.