The Geeky, Personal, and Social Impact Sides of Creating Defensive Technology

Presented at HOPE Number Six (2006), July 23, 2006, 10 a.m. (60 minutes)

Ever wish you had the power to turn off a TV in a restaurant or disable an intrusive cell phone? Social defensive technologies are "reality hacking" devices that give us the sort of sociopathic control we've come to enjoy on the Internet alone. Three years ago, Mitch decided he'd had enough of televisions and designed the TV-B-Gone, a universal "off" keychain remote. Around the same time, Ladyada designed a personal RF jammer. Together they will discuss these projects in the context of reclaiming personal space, culture-jamming, and how we can design technologies that do what we really want. Don't expect good WiFi/cell reception.


Presenters:

  • Limor Fried / Ladyada as Ladyada
    Ladyada is an electrical engineer and hardware hacker whose interests include subversive technologies, hacking consumer electronics, DIY kits, and open source hardware. She is currently an R&D fellow at Eyebeam, a local new media gallery.
  • Mitch Altman
    From his early days as an introverted geek to his current days as a funky-haired inventor, Mitch Altman has had many and varied accomplishments, such as: cofounder of the fun protest; Hash Wednesday at the University of Illinois in Urbana; co-inventor of virtual reality; founder of a nonprofit vegetarian restaurant; cofounder of 3ware, a Silicon Valley startup that makes disk controllers; founder of a rural queer arts commune; and inventor of TV-B-Gone, a popular keychain that turns off televisions in public places. This invention propelled Mitch into the media spotlight around the world.

Links: