Why building codes should be open

Cory Doctorow 10:04 pm Sun Oct 24, 2010

Here's rogue archivist Carl Malamud's five-minute Ignite Sebastapol talk on "Code City": the democratic necessity of making all of the nation's laws and codes free to read, download and analyze: "The laws that most directly touch our daily lives are not supreme court opinions or bills of landmark legislation, they are the public safety codes: building, electrical, plumbing, and other technical standards. Yet, these laws are the most inaccessible.

Open standards make better infrastructure, and if we open sourced our public safety codes, our laws would be not only more relevant, but the law would be better."

Welcome to Code City!

(Thanks, Carl!)

Here's a DogPhone so your canine can call you whenever it wants

DogPhone, who dis? University of Glasgow computer scientist Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, who specializes in animal-computer interaction, her labrador Zack, and colleagues have developed a videophone system for dogs. It consists of a ball containing a motion-sensitive switch and wireless radio. When the dog shakes the ball, it triggers a nearby laptop to initiate a call. And… READ THE REST
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Here are 10 Black Friday deals on our favorite language learning apps

We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Set yourself up for the new year by treating yourself to learning. When you learn a new language, you can go see the world and interact with new cultures. It also… READ THE REST