 Every Friday over the next few months, Shane M Coughlan is going to be writing about Europe, China and technology for DimSum.
"I'm going to help demystify the weird world of flashing lights, beeping computers and acronyms like WYSIWYG. I'm hoping to explain why certain aspects of technology are having a profound effect on our lives, and why the emerging markets are bringing our cultures closer together. Perhaps most importantly I'm hoping to share with you why computers are much more than the sum of their parts and how the geeks have almost accidentally created a new way for the world to communicate." Communication is a two-way process so if you have questions, comments, suggestions or ideas, email Shane at shane@opendawn.com and he'll address your messages in future articles. |
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Written by Shane
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Friday, 25 August 2006 |
The Internet is everywhere. We use it to get information, to communicate and to buy or sell things. It has reduced the distance between China and England to the press of a key. Perhaps for the first time in human history we can actually talk to each other in a way that genuinely allows countries and cultures to come closer to each other.
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Written by Shane
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Thursday, 24 August 2006 |
Most inventions are patented. These patents mean that if you want to make a version of an invention you have to pay the inventor a fee. This is an old system designed to ensure that creators are properly compensated for their work.
Computer hardware is patented to the hilt. The massive research and development costs involved in producing processors and all the other weird bits inside computers ensures this. It costs billions to make a new technology.
Patents add cost to computers. This cost is in addition to the cost of manufacture and distribution. It's a cost of patents, inventor fees and the legal teams necessary to protect the patents a company already holds.
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Written by Shane
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Friday, 18 August 2006 |
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Avid readers will have noticed that my articles are peppered with references to GNU/Linux. You may have felt like asking “what is GNU/Linux anyway?” It's just a little bit cryptic of me to keep referring to it as an operating system.
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Written by Shane
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Friday, 11 August 2006 |
Today I was chatting with Ted Haeger from Novell. Ted's job is rather fun. He's the director of user communities for his company, which means he travels around the world showing amazing technologies to people and explaining why such technology is going to have a real impact on the way people communicate.
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Written by Shane
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Tuesday, 01 August 2006 |
I'm on a train on my way to a conference. The day is just chasing away the night and the air is warm and humid with a rare English heatwave. It's over twenty degrees and it's just past 6am. This weather inevitably reminds me of Asia, and I am cast back to dawns in Shenzhen, Bangkok and Takamatsu. For a selfish moment I want to walk away from the conference, catch a plane and return to the East.
A second later my mind taps my heart on the shoulder and normality is restored. I have a job to do. Today that job is the promotion of Free (as in Freedom) Software and more specifically the promotion of an organisation that is working to ensure Free Software is advocated and protected in Europe: the Free Software Foundation Europe.
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