rejon is Jon Phillips.

Finally, Cleverpig and I worked out the schedule so that I will be speaking a the upcoming Beijing Open Party on July 25, 2009 between 13:00~17:30 at Thoughtworks in Beijing.

For those not in the know, Beijing Open Party is a (mostly software) hacker gathering where all are encouraged to participate, hack on some software, give quick presentations to stir up conversation. Its free! Come out, connect with others and have a good time! (NOTE: This might also be another good place to have a spontaneous #bjtweetup).

Here is my topic:

Making Computing Real: Fabricatorz and the Laoban Soundsystem 2.0

I’ve spent the last 6 years heavily on-line. I have collaboratively built several
projects including Inkscape, Open Clip Art Library, Open Font Library,
the Create Project, and worked for Creative Commons for 3 years. Most
recently I fundraised for (and spoke at) a conference I
help put on, Libre Graphics Meeting 2009. Still, with all these
projects, some part of me has felt frozen like a stone. Whether its my
soul, body or creativity, I made the leap to make computing real.

Through the creation of the open company, Fabricatorz
(http://fabricatorz.com) I decided to make real objects in addition to
virtual projects in order to move computing beyond the confines of the
virtual terminals we all stare at so dryly. While my previous projects
built on-line communities, how does one apply the virtual and open
methodologies to off-line projects. The Laoban Soundsystem 2.0, being
built in Guangzhou, China in a speaker factory from custom designs, is
a physical sound system that produces full range audio from 6000 watts
of amplified power to create “real” experiences. These events may be
electronic music festivals, parties, experiments, contemporary art
music, or simply the soundsystem existing as a respected object.

While this presentation appears as a denial of the previous work I’ve
done, it is an enriching experience of transformation. While the
Laoban Soundsystem 2.0 is a real set of massive objects, it also is
part of computing culture. All plans, released under a Creative
Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license, were designed with CAD
software for CNC computer controlled cutting and manufacturing. The
speaker boxes were engineered to not only be Chinese, but to be
functional superior technology. And, with the CC license, the speakers
are available under, legal shanzhai copying and manufacture are
possible. Anyone may build or modify our speakers DIY (do it
yourself). Through each event Laoban does, the project website
(http://fabricatorz.com/laoban) will track on-line traffic. Microblog
posts about laoban will be highlighted in addition to sponsors who
have contributed towards the creation of the Laoban Soundsystem.

The Fabricatorz Open Company
http://fabricatorz.com

The Fabricatorz, Laoban Soundsystem Project
http://fabricatorz.com/laoban