Appropriate Tech

As I wrote previously, I started a work-from-home internship with the Open Technology Institute last Wednesday. The project I was placed with has me working on boosting privacy and anonymity in wireless mesh networks. I spent some time orienting myself with the task and organizing my thoughts.

The stated goal of the project is to integrate Tor with Commotion. More specifically:

Tor Integration:

Commotion mesh nodes are capable of being configured to enter directly into the Tor network. We need an intern to configure, package, and document the process of making a tor-entry node. If the intern completes this task within the time frame they will have the opportunity to tackle custom configurations that will allow for Tor exit nodes on the mesh that allow small bandwidth Tor traffic from elsewhere to be run over the network to further obfuscate it.

Great! So….what does that mean? This … Read the rest

Site Visit with AIDG in Guatemala

This past winter, I spent a month in Guatemala studying Spanish, checking out appropriate technology projects, and zipping around the geologically manic country around the Western Highlands. Here’s a reportback from a visit to the offices of the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG). I got to check out some prototype wind and solar designs and take a peek at their new kit-built CNC machine and custom circuit board designs.Â Later, I got to poke around the office and come along on a site visit to a biodigestor installation they did outside of the city.Â It lets the farmers nearby turn animal waste into organic fertilizer and cooking gas while reducing greenhouse emissions.Â I got to hear about the combination of technical and user friendliness challenges they encountered and saw how the system is working now … Read the rest

Steph Makes Stuff

Appropriate Tech

Geekery

OPW Internship: Organizing My Thoughts

Tor Integration:

Appropriate Tech

Site Visit with AIDG in Guatemala