https://ariadacapo.net/articles/ Recent content in Articles on ariadacapo.net Hugo en Sun, 10 May 2026 16:59:57 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2026-05-10-appendix-a7-mental-health-for-the-engineering-student/ Sun, 10 May 2026 16:59:57 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2026-05-10-appendix-a7-mental-health-for-the-engineering-student/ The fact that many key figures of thermodynamics have had tragic lives makes good material for (dark) jokes in class. Sadi Carnot died of cholera aged 36. Boltzmann hanged himself, Lavoisier was decapitated, von Mayer was forcibly detained in an asylum, and Rudolf Diesel drowned in the British Channel. “And now let’s see what chapter 7 is all about, you’re going to see it’s a boatload of fun!” The last time I joked about this with someone, I jested that I should add an appendix about mental health at the end of the thermodynamics textbook I wrote. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2026-04-18-a-winter-salad-bowl/ Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:16:53 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2026-04-18-a-winter-salad-bowl/ This winter I transited from working alone on a big project to searching for new employment. In the process I found myself taking a lot of words in, and here is a salad bowl of pieces I discovered or rediscovered: Kevin Kelly (2026): How Will the Miracle Happen Today? But the strangeness of “kindees” is harder to explain. A kindee is what you turn into when you are kinded. Curiously, being a kindee is an unpracticed virtue. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2026-04-18-the-day-that-will-never-come/ Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:16:24 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2026-04-18-the-day-that-will-never-come/ For me the day that will never come was last Saturday. I made a stupid mistake, not reading the electrical panel labels well enough before proceeding to replace a broken switch in the electrical stove. At some point, my body became the thing through which the current was flowing. Within a few hundredths of a second, the main residual current device in the panel sensed that current was not returning through the expected cable. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-24-a-free-thermodynamics-textbook/ Tue, 24 Jun 2025 11:32:58 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-24-a-free-thermodynamics-textbook/ I am delighted to release the textbook Engineering Thermodynamics today, completely free to download at thermodynamicsbook.com. I translated this book from my French-language Thermodynamique de l’ingénieur which is simultaneously having its ten-year anniversary. Wow, ten years! These books are not only completely free to download, but can be reused and remixed in all sorts of ways too, according to their Creative Commons license (the same as Wikipedia). Also, in this era of AI slop, perhaps it is worth noting that they have been written 100% by a human (me). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-11-two-years-a-teacher-memories/ Wed, 11 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-11-two-years-a-teacher-memories/ [last of a series: Two Years a Teacher] [student names have been altered] Memories I take with me. Finn, whom I thought of as a difficult student in a really tough class, on the last day of my first school year, patting me on the back and saying “it was nice with you Mr. Cleynen”. My next-door colleague Anna, upon learning that a student had just told me I was the worst teacher they ever had, rushing to give me a hug and check on me. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-10-two-years-a-teacher-the-human-project/ Tue, 10 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-10-two-years-a-teacher-the-human-project/ My greatest success in these two years teaching physics in high school was called the Human Project. This project came to life at the intersection of several ideas and impulses. First, the search for rituals for emotional connection in the classroom. This is very important in high school, since if you have not done the requisite emotional and social preparation, your teens won’t learn anything. Second, the search for an outlet to share my own accumulated treasures. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-09-real-questions-7th-graders-ask-about-electricity/ Mon, 09 Jun 2025 11:43:44 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-09-real-questions-7th-graders-ask-about-electricity/ The authors of their physics textbook thought it would be things like “what is the relationship between voltage and current” but instead they asked me: How many car batteries do you need to supply Magdeburg with electricity for one day? How big is the world’s biggest battery? What happens if you listen to music and your phone falls into the water? does it stop the music or does the phone keep playing? https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-07-two-years-a-teacher-q-and-as/ Sat, 07 Jun 2025 10:26:05 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-06-07-two-years-a-teacher-q-and-as/ [part of a series: Two Years a Teacher] At the start of the school year I would hand my students a questionnaire with a few personal questions, then answer the same questions for them. I did this because it helped me understand who they were. Some chose not to answer, some trusted me right away with big secrets. Just so you get an idea how intense, thrilling, and uplifting it can be to work with teenagers, I share here a few answers given my my 9th graders. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-03-23-two-years-a-teacher-genehmigung/ Sun, 23 Mar 2025 16:07:43 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-03-23-two-years-a-teacher-genehmigung/ Probably the least fun part of being a high school teacher in Germany is becoming one to begin with. All of the teachers I have met recounted their training as immensely stressful and disconnected from the reality of the job. In this sense I was lucky to jump on board directly from my former job as a University researcher, right into the classroom on day one. Nevertheless, the process of becoming qualified —obtaining the Genehmigung, the approval of the state— is not trivial either. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-02-23-two-years-a-teacher-mission/ Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:00 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-02-23-two-years-a-teacher-mission/ Over the course of my second year teaching in high school, I was able to make much clearer sense of what I was doing. Eventually I formulated it into something that I could explain to my students: In Physics class, you prepare for a world with a changed climate. And so, a couple of months after the start of the school year, I would present my mission to my students of classes 9 and up: why I thought I was here, and what exactly Physics class had do to with living in a world with a changed climate. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-02-16-two-years-a-teacher-big-blocks/ Sun, 16 Feb 2025 08:39:55 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2025-02-16-two-years-a-teacher-big-blocks/ I have just completed a two-and-a-half-year stint as a high school Math and Physics teacher at the Internationales Stiftungsgymnasium Magdeburg. This is a meaningful and challenging job, and I have grown a lot through it. In this article as well as a few following ones, I would like to reflect on the experience. I took the job almost on an impulse and never regretted it. Before that, I had taught 12 years at the university level. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2024-11-01-disassembling-a-smart-7000r-series-active-pen-for-the-smart-sbid-7075r-and-sbid-7086r-digital-whiteboards/ Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:15:42 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2024-11-01-disassembling-a-smart-7000r-series-active-pen-for-the-smart-sbid-7075r-and-sbid-7086r-digital-whiteboards/ I write this in the hope of saving time for others faced with a defective or broken active pen for their Smart whiteboard, since I couldn’t myself find any information on disassembling this pen. Let me jump to the unfortunate conclusion: this pen is completely irreparable. It cannot be disassembled without causing major damage. The pen is assembled axially from both sides. The center structure is a metal cylinder, around which the soft grip rubber is molded. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2024-05-01-things-teachers-can-learn-from-the-aviation-industry/ Wed, 01 May 2024 06:53:29 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2024-05-01-things-teachers-can-learn-from-the-aviation-industry/ Last month I made a conference talk titled “the Cockpit Classroom”. I made it for my colleagues, who like me, teach at the high school level. The talk is inspired from, and largely based on, a talk given last year by Dominique Arickx for French glider pilot instructors. Arickx, a retired Air France pilot, now spends his time training medical professionals about importing safety practices and culture from the aviation industry, and I thought I would try to do the same thing with teachers. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2023-10-20-changing-my-mind/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 10:20:25 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2023-10-20-changing-my-mind/ My views about software, privacy, technology and have changed a lot since I first wrote on this website sixteen years ago, and with them, my understanding of how our society works. Back then, I was passionate about free and open-source software. Now, not so much. The kind of software that I use has always largely reflected ways in which I connect to the world. When I first installed Firefox on the family computer, things clicked into place in my mind, and I felt part of something larger than me; that feeling never completely went away. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2023-09-09-books-for-beginner-teachers/ Sat, 09 Sep 2023 14:41:06 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2023-09-09-books-for-beginner-teachers/ I started teaching in high school one year ago, and I have found help in books. Out of every ten books I found online, I bought one; and I kept about one out of every five that I bought. That’s a lot of books! Here are tried-and-true books to help you become a high school teacher. The First Days of School, by Wong and Wong (I have the 1997 edition). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2023-07-16-one-year-teaching-in-high-school/ Sun, 16 Jul 2023 10:52:01 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2023-07-16-one-year-teaching-in-high-school/ This month marks one year since I started teaching in a high school in Germany. This new chapter follows one of 12 years teaching in various universities in France and Germany, and a few other work experiences as well. I have learned a lot this year, and have yet a lot more to learn. Teaching in high school is very challenging and very interesting; it has something of the ultimate human experience in my eyes. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2022-03-26-picking-up-trash/ Sat, 26 Mar 2022 15:04:38 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2022-03-26-picking-up-trash/ Over the last few weeks, I have started picking up trash on the way to work. At the moment, one of the great blessings of my life is that I get to cycle to work, on a beautiful path along the river. There is a little stretch where there is a lot of litter among the trees and bushes. It never gets picked up (I have great appreciation for the hard work the municipal workers in my city are doing, nevertheless I disagree with how they take care of plants and litter). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2022-01-20-mais-ou-sont-les-livres-universitaires-open-source/ Thu, 20 Jan 2022 14:55:12 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2022-01-20-mais-ou-sont-les-livres-universitaires-open-source/ Je suis revenu sur mon expérience avec mon livre de thermodynamique dans un article publié aujourd’hui sur le Framablog : Mais où sont les livres universitaires open-source ? https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2022-01-17-le-drole-danimal-wikimedia-commons/ Mon, 17 Jan 2022 13:59:01 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2022-01-17-le-drole-danimal-wikimedia-commons/ Cette année, le projet Wikimedia Commons, la base de donnée multimédia qui se cache derrière les projets Wikipédia, fêtera son dix-huitième anniversaire. Je connais bien cette communauté puisque je m’y promène presque tous les jours, pour le travail et mon loisir, depuis dix ans. Wikimedia Commons est une caverne d’Ali Baba, incontournable pour l’édition d’un de documents éducatifs libres. C’est là que vous allez pouvoir trouver, déposer, améliorer les photos, schémas, diagrammes dont vous avez besoin : par exemple, le circuit d’eau d’une centrale thermique, une image de 400 megapixels de la baie de San Francisco, une illustration sortie d’une publication de recherche publiée en 1820 ou un schéma vectoriel illustrant la notion mathématique de dérivée en espagnol. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2021-03-21-listening-to-keith-jarrett/ Sun, 21 Mar 2021 17:33:54 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2021-03-21-listening-to-keith-jarrett/ It’s hard to describe to other people what it feels for me to listen to Keith Jarrett’s music, because it sounds so mystical. It’s sorcery. When it finally works and the fire has been lit up, it is an opening of oneself, an immense liberation. I am possessed by the music and possessing it at the same time. It’s a connection to something greater that has been there all along, and the sudden certainty that everything so far that has led to this moment has been worth it. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-12-13-deducting-donations-from-taxes-in-germany/ Sun, 13 Dec 2020 13:52:35 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-12-13-deducting-donations-from-taxes-in-germany/ [updated 2023-01-01] If you are paying revenue tax in Germany, the German federal government can support you financially with your donations, in the form of reductions in your revenue tax. The process is not particularly complicated, but not well documented in English on the Internet. Here is how it works, based on my readings online, my understanding, and my own experience. (I am not a lawyer. I share this information in good faith. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-12-13-aerial-videos-of-magdeburg-germany/ Sun, 13 Dec 2020 13:51:57 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-12-13-aerial-videos-of-magdeburg-germany/ In the summer of 2020, I rented a drone and took photos and videos of Magdeburg, Germany. The photos are now all published on Wikimedia Commons and some serve to illustrate Wikipedia articles. I intend to use the videos as decorative features in the videos of course in engineering fluid dynamics. In the meantime, I publish them here, under a CC-by license: this means you are free to use them for all purposes, including commercial purposes, as long as you credit me (Olivier Cleynen). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-10-15-fluid-dynamics-course-2020/ Thu, 15 Oct 2020 14:58:54 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-10-15-fluid-dynamics-course-2020/ Now that the semester is over, I can take a few moments to reflect over the 2020 edition of my fluid dynamics course at the University Otto von Guericke of Magdeburg. The semester began right as Germany shut down due to the pandemic crisis. The course, with 153 students, took place entirely online. I spent nearly half of the semester working from abroad, attending to a close relative. I was never able to meet any student physically. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-09-27-removing-the-backpedal-brake-from-a-shimano-nexus-inter-3-bicycle-wheel-hub/ Sun, 27 Sep 2020 14:38:26 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-09-27-removing-the-backpedal-brake-from-a-shimano-nexus-inter-3-bicycle-wheel-hub/ I own a city bicycle with a very nice 3-speed Shimano Nexus 3 wheel hub. It is the SG-3C41 model, which has an integrated coaster “backpedal” brake. (The SG-3R40 and SG-3D55 models don’t have that.) A Shimano Nexus Inter 3 hub with integrated backpedal brake I really dislike coaster brakes, which throw me off balance when maneuvering at low speeds, make starting from a standing position difficult, and generally diminish my feeling of freedom of movement when riding. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-09-26-the-cuban-desk/ Sat, 26 Sep 2020 14:14:56 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-09-26-the-cuban-desk/ The beginnings of this mahogany desk from my dad’s house are not known for sure. The wood is very likely from Cuba, which is in itself a sad story, as this entirely renewable resource was completely wiped off from the region through catastrophic mismanagement. In any case, the desk arrived in the hands of a Soviet diplomat in the island. The diplomat must have traveled around the world, and the desk landed in the Embassy of the USSR in Brussels, Belgium. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-04-05-balancing-liberties-privacy-and-accessibility/ Sun, 05 Apr 2020 14:52:58 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-04-05-balancing-liberties-privacy-and-accessibility/ Through my work as a university teacher, I am in a position where my decisions regarding technology directly involve and affect other people. With time, I have seen my views and values change. In 2007 I was convinced that software freedoms (as incarnated by the open-source movement) were, by far, the most important ingredients of a healthy computerized society. At that time “iPhone” and “smartphone” were hardly part of our vocabulary, Amazon was an online bookstore, and Facebook had two billion fewer users than it does today. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-02-02-students-guide-to-buying-a-laptop-in-europe/ Sun, 02 Feb 2020 21:17:58 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2020-02-02-students-guide-to-buying-a-laptop-in-europe/ By Olivier Cleynen and Samuel Voß You are a university student in Europe, you have very little money, and are unsure whether you should buy a laptop, and which one: we wrote this guide for you. Our students are engineering students in Germany, so this guide is geared towards them, but most of the information here should also apply to other disciplines and countries. You Need A Laptop You want a machine where you can write text and calculate things comfortably and fluently. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-12-18-genetic-optimization-with-dakota-3-3-practice/ Wed, 18 Dec 2019 16:23:46 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-12-18-genetic-optimization-with-dakota-3-3-practice/ Part 1: The optimization loop Part 2: A sandbox for experimentation Part 3: Practice In my first three months of using Dakota, I have learned several things worth discussing. The configuration described in part 1 of this series makes for a correctly-working but crude optimization. Each optimization is different, and some experimentation and tweaking is necessary for the optimizer to progress efficiently. I run Dakota in a context where the evaluations are extremely expensive compared to the operation of the optimizer itself. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-12-18-genetic-optimization-with-dakota-2-3-a-sandbox-for-experimentation/ Wed, 18 Dec 2019 16:22:00 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-12-18-genetic-optimization-with-dakota-2-3-a-sandbox-for-experimentation/ Part 1: The optimization loop Part 2: A sandbox for experimentation Part 3: Practice In order to play with the configuration settings of Dakota’s moga optimizer, you may use a “sandbox” demonstration optimization case in which the results are quickly obtained and easily visualized. Evolution of a population in a Dakota moga dual-objective sandbox optimization Attached is a demonstration optimization case. A two-objective, three-parameter optimization with external evaluation (in Python) is configured and extensively commented. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-12-18-genetic-optimization-with-dakota-1-3-the-optimization-loop/ Wed, 18 Dec 2019 16:06:49 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-12-18-genetic-optimization-with-dakota-1-3-the-optimization-loop/ Part 1: The optimization loop Part 2: A sandbox for experimentation Part 3: Practice Dakota is an open-source optimizer with many functionalities. It is excellently documented, but because of the wealth of options available, a fair amount of reading is required to get started. In this article I describe the essential mechanisms of the moga optimizer, a multiple-objective genetic algorithm, as it is implemented in Dakota 6.10. I use Dakota to perform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies; in this context the evaluations are computationally expensive, and the settings I describe may need to be adapted to other use cases. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-03-11-diversity-and-inclusion-in-management/ Mon, 11 Mar 2019 09:47:18 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2019-03-11-diversity-and-inclusion-in-management/ In this short post I would simply like to link to Jason Wong’s series of posts on diversity and inclusion, written over the last year. Ten years ago I took the topic to heart within my own community, with a single-page website and a couple of conference talks. As I look back on this today, I think the tone was appropriate (although I was certainly quite narrow in what I perceived to be true diversity). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2018-05-10-briefmarken/ Thu, 10 May 2018 14:20:21 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2018-05-10-briefmarken/ I didn’t have coins to buy stamps at the machine-which-gives-you-change-only-in-stamps, so I waited ten minutes in the post office to buy them from a human. I received the kind which stick only when they are wet. Working at the Deutsche Post must be quite the experience. You can make xenophobic remarks in front of ten customers one day, and receive flowers from a customer another. Two-hour lunch breaks are a thing. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-04-15-review-metroboard-electric-skateboard-micro-slim/ Sat, 15 Apr 2017 21:20:44 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-04-15-review-metroboard-electric-skateboard-micro-slim/ At the moment, I belong to those people who would rather be kids than have them, and so last month I bought myself an electric skateboard. I ended up with a Metroboard “Micro Slim” (we’ll see later the quotes are quite deserved). This was my very first time on a skateboard, so here I both review that specific product and relate my fresh impressions about electric skateboards in general. Market https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-02-25-petites-choses/ Sat, 25 Feb 2017 16:48:57 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-02-25-petites-choses/ Quelques petits projets réalisés récemment parce que l’occasion s’en présentait : Un changement d’ampoule de phare de Renault Modus ; Une page web pour expliquer comment faire des majuscules accentuées ; Un puzzle en trois dimensions avec quatre roues motrices ; Des scripts en Java et en bash pour faire tourner un programme sur 128 processeurs en même temps ; Une lampe-réveil toute simple ; Une tentative (ratée) de prendre une piste cyclable à contre-sens ; https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-02-04-bechdel-test/ Sat, 04 Feb 2017 11:09:34 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-02-04-bechdel-test/ I discovered the Bechdel test about nine years ago. It is very simple: a film passes the Bechdel test if, within the work: a woman talks to another woman, and; they talk about something else than a man. The conditions are so trivial that it hurt to find out how incredibly few of the films I had ever come across passed the test. The pain hasn’t decreased much with time. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-01-08-comment-contredire-le-second-principe-de-la-thermodynamique/ Sun, 08 Jan 2017 20:30:28 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2017-01-08-comment-contredire-le-second-principe-de-la-thermodynamique/ Depuis que j’ai écrit un livre de thermodynamique, je reçois deux ou trois fois par an un e-mail dans lequel, en substance, quelqu’un détaille un procédé ou une expérience qui va à l’encontre du second principe de la thermodynamique, avant de me demander ce que j’en pense. Je vais essayer de répondre ici de façon la plus générale possible. La recette est la suivante. On part d’une situation quelconque dans laquelle il y a une partie froide, une partie chaude. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2016-08-22-didnt-the-french-flag-look-good/ Mon, 22 Aug 2016 20:38:19 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2016-08-22-didnt-the-french-flag-look-good/ The first article I would like to write this fall is an opinion column I taped on my office door last November, after the Paris attacks. I wished to read it again on the first anniversary of the bombings, but it turned out otherwise. It is called “Didn’t the French Flag Look Good Behind those Facebook Profile Photos”. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2013-04-02-from-the-window-of-my-previous-appartment/ Tue, 02 Apr 2013 08:00:45 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2013-04-02-from-the-window-of-my-previous-appartment/ A story in three pictures, titled “The Vertical One is Just Slightly Harder Chalk”. One Two Three https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2013-02-19-thoughts-about-teaching/ Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:12:53 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2013-02-19-thoughts-about-teaching/ Things you should probably find out by yourself, rather than read on a website, if you aspire to be a teacher: All that you work on with your students is gone after two years – all of your files lost, all the paper recycled. The fraction of a percent that may remain in the students’ minds after that time, however, is entirely in your hands. There is no consensus on the purpose of education. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2013-01-16-things-learned-in-2012/ Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:18:27 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2013-01-16-things-learned-in-2012/ Any given point of equilibrium should only be given as much attention as its stability. This applies to vehicle dynamics, to politics, and I suspect to everything in between. Soja milk > cow milk The rules are always written by the strong, regardless of whether they are written for the benefit of the weak. Rules written by the weak never have any value. Pink is a nice color. How to show by calculation that any given event can happen in one direction only. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-08-12-how-to-clear-photos-of-unwanted-exif-data/ Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:29:20 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-08-12-how-to-clear-photos-of-unwanted-exif-data/ Every time I take a picture with my digital camera, the embedded software stores a large amount of information along with the photo inside the file, contained in EXIF tags. Some of that EXIF information, such as the date and time the photo was taken, is very useful. Some of it is only interesting to photography enthusiasts: it gives insight into the camera’s performance and the photographer’s adroitness and artistic decisions. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-04-22-tout-seuls/ Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:08:50 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-04-22-tout-seuls/ [Ceux que l’on appelle à tort les « natifs numériques » ] sont semblables à toutes les générations qui suivront. Leur spécificité, c’est d’avoir du se construire comme individus dans cet univers alors que dans leur grande majorité, leurs parents et leurs professeurs en étaient absents, et par là incapables d’installer un environnement favorable à cette construction. Il fallait donc les appeler des orphelins numériques. Par Philippe Aigrain (Les orphelins numériques peuvent-ils éduquer leurs parents politiques ? https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-04-22-anti-cynisme/ Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:39:22 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-04-22-anti-cynisme/ Trois quarts d’heure de queue devant le bureau de vote ce matin. Toutes ces histoires de campagne m’ennuient à ne plus finir, mais je me réjouis de voir tant de personnes faire un effort pour un dix-millionième de quelque chose. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-01-29-language-through-meaning-or-music-is-a-toddlers-drawing/ Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:44:29 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-01-29-language-through-meaning-or-music-is-a-toddlers-drawing/ I am an avid, passionate music listener, and so it happens that I regularly draw myself into difficult recordings. It is a perhaps unfortunate and certainly disconcerting fact that the most revealing and furthering music I know is often also the least accessible. The consequence is that I put a lot of effort in the preparation of an occurrence which is essentially made of free flow. The cost to reach over –maintaining a week-long mindset and working towards meditation-like conditions– is enormous, and I am fully aware of the contradictions at hand. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-01-29-things-learned-in-2011/ Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:11:24 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2012-01-29-things-learned-in-2011/ Our perspective changes so much as we grow and as time passes that all personal accounts of changes are skewed. There is no vantage point from which our existence and story can be told accurately – nor should there be. School, education and learning are very different things (and perhaps related in the same way as church, religion and faith are); I had failed to find this out for twenty years. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-10-09-soul-machine/ Sun, 09 Oct 2011 12:00:10 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-10-09-soul-machine/ I became the third owner of the six year-old laptop this summer. I brought it home, carefully wiped it clean of all the stickers, the printed warnings and the dirt; it runs happily and quietly now in the middle of my little apartment, day and night. It is a source of joy, a quiet, peaceful gleaming expression of love. A computer? Can one ever be? This one is, to me, because with it I have climbed to the mountaintop of my computing landscape. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-09-02-conclusions-on-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:44:21 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-09-02-conclusions-on-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Last of a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Background (introductory) remarks | Course homepage. What a journey. It took many weeks to recover from teaching the course and many more to be able to look back calmly. I view the course as a success, but there are significant weaknesses I would like to address. First and foremost, the course is run at an insane pace and makes tremendous demands on the students’ energy reserves and timetable. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-09-01-part-8-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:38:10 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-09-01-part-8-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ We are almost done with a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 8 & Project 8 release notes | Course homepage. Lecture 8 — Longitudinal stability Project 8 — Designing Canards The objective of this eighth and final project was to explore the notion of longitudinal stability and the constraints it imposes on aircraft design and operation. The accompanying lecture is focused tightly on the concept of stability and the tools needed to solve the problem. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-30-part-7-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:33:26 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-30-part-7-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 7 & Project 7 release notes | Course homepage. Lecture 7 — Aircraft Trim Project 7 — Aircraft Trim The aim of this project was to explore the concept of longitudinal equilibrium (“trim”) in flight, and the ways in which it can or cannot be attained in practice. The lecture far exceeds what is required to solve the problem and indulges into a discussion of the design choices, pilot technique, and human interaction facets of the topic. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-28-part-6-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:33:51 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-28-part-6-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 6 & Project 6 release notes | Course homepage. Lecture 6 — Propulsion Project 6 — Turbofan design The aim of this project was to review the physics governing the operation of turbofan engines, as well as begin exploring a few of the many compromises associated with jet engine design and installation. The lecture reviewed the main notions needed in the project in a rather light and illustrative way. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-24-part-5-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:53:19 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-24-part-5-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 5 & Project 5 release notes | Course homepage. Project 5 — Wind tunnel design Lecture 5 — Scale and testing The aim of this fifth project was to work with the main fluid mechanics notions and phenomena at play in a small, subsonic wind tunnel. The accompanying lecture was a review of the important notions (theoretical flow, the effects of friction, and scaling techniques) needed to work on the project. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-21-part-4-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Sun, 21 Aug 2011 02:34:19 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-21-part-4-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 4 & Project 4 release notes | Course homepage. Lecture 4 — Cruise performance Project 4 — The market for winglets This project’s objectives were to explore the notions of and relations between cruise speed, fuel consumption, weight, and economics. The lecture focuses on ordinary flight mechanics. This is a very short and lightweight lecture: we focus on a simple model for the relation between lift and drag, and we derive the Breguet Range equation in class (first part of the projet). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-19-part-3-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Fri, 19 Aug 2011 01:34:33 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-19-part-3-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 3 & Project 3 release notes | Course homepage. Lecture 3 — Wing geometry Project 3 — Wing loads This project has the rather broad aim of studying the design of an airliner wing by integrating constraints related to aerodynamics, overall design fitness, aircraft operation, and structural efforts. Contrary to most other projects in the course the lecture’s scope exceeds what is strictly needed for solving the project problem. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-15-part-2-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:12:49 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-15-part-2-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 2 & Project 2 release notes | Course homepage. Lecture 2 — Runway performance Project 2 — Runway performance This lecture focuses on the tools and knowledge required to study and predict an aircraft’s performance on take-off. The project’s aims were to practice analytical techniques in Newtonian mechanics by working on an applied and highly visual aeronautical problem, and to gain familiarity with the complex operational concepts involved in a typical airliner take-off. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-12-part-1-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:17:08 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-12-part-1-of-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Lecture 1 & Project 1 release notes | Course homepage. Lecture 1 — Basic Flight Mechanics Project 1 — Flight Domain This first lecture focuses on the notions of lift and lift coefficient as they apply to ordinary flight. The project’s aims were to explore the very peculiar way in which drag constrains flight, as well as the notions of energy and power, through the exploration of the flight domain of an aircraft. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-11-background-on-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:36:02 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-11-background-on-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ One in a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Introduction release notes | Course homepage So how did the course go? All in all this has been the most demanding project of my short career. I significantly under-estimated the energy that would be required to run the sessions and projects. There are many reasons for this. First, for many students, lectures that were built as mere reminders and overviews mostly failed to connect with existing knowledge. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-09-introduction-to-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:21:01 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-08-09-introduction-to-aspects-of-aircraft-design-and-control/ First of a series of posts about an aeronautical engineering course I created this year. Introduction release notes | Course homepage I created this course on Aspects of Aircraft Design and Control when my proposal to use a 48-hour slot in the third year of the aerospace engineering curriculum was accepted. The slot was dedicated to group work and projects rather than formal lectures. The acceptance came as an opportunity for me both to study further a number of topics that I found captivating, and to try to share my passion for civilian aeronautics with students I particularly appreciate. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-05-19-wishing-js-bach-was-alive/ Thu, 19 May 2011 20:31:48 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-05-19-wishing-js-bach-was-alive/ (a quote from a musician, and the words with which he ended our great conversation regarding lifesnotreadonly.net) I wish Bach was alive today & had control over his music so it wouldn’t be used to advertise toilet paper or whatever (this is what happens when copyright is void), and so he wouldn’t allow you to refer to or use his music on your website. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-01-16-things-learned-in-2010/ Sun, 16 Jan 2011 08:48:54 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-01-16-things-learned-in-2010/ Authority is easily abused, with good feelings and intentions, and often used beyond the scope it was granted in. When we use authority we spend tremendous efforts hiding our selves behind it ; In physics : why gyroscopes spin, why absolute temperature synchronizes with degrees Celsius, and a good reason for inventing entropy; The only important thing about laws is the amount of the courage one might need to undo them later ; River water is clearest in autumn ; Things about human nature, and our insatiable appetite and striving still too blurry to be expressed ; Frisbees sometimes suddenly decide they are done with you and you should accept that as a fact of life. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-01-15-thermodynamique-de-lingenieur-edition-2010/ Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:16:21 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-01-15-thermodynamique-de-lingenieur-edition-2010/ Je termine aujourd’hui l’édition 2010 de mon cours en thermodynamique de l’ingénieur. Comme cela représente un peu moins d’un an de travail continu, j’ai du mal à cacher un certain sentiment de satisfaction ;-) . Par rapport à l’année dernière, le volume des cours a grossi d’une bonne moitié (ce qui accompagne le nombre d’heures en classe qui a aussi grandi). Les grands changements : le programme est découpé en dix cours au lieu de sept - le programme est mieux sectionné, ce qui permet de ne pas mélanger les concepts ; Les conventions de notation et graphiques sont bien meilleures ; Certains concepts importants sont mieux expliqués, notamment la réversibilité et surtout l’entropie ; Il y a quelques récits de l’histoire des moteurs ajoutés ci-et-là (mon intention initiale était d’en écrire un par cours mais je n’ai pas pu tenir la charge). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-01-15-openoffice-org-impress-tips-from-the-trenches/ Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:01:32 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2011-01-15-openoffice-org-impress-tips-from-the-trenches/ Annotated tips that might save someone time. To have your items (eg. bullets in lists) appear one by one, the most efficient way is to select them all at once, add appear custom animation, and then indicate Start: on click. In this way there is no need to set-up a custom animation for each of them (and they will each appear on click during the talk). Modify a toolbar (View > Toolbars > Customize) to add three or four alignment buttons. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-11-20-koyaanisqatsi/ Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:58:07 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-11-20-koyaanisqatsi/ J’ai visionné hier Koyaanisqatsi. Mon bon ami m’avait fait déjà découvrir ce film il y a deux ans, mais même la seconde fois, je suis tellement empoigné que j’en oublie de respirer et passe à travers les images en apnée. Transporter en automobile ou en hélicoptère les caméras et les pellicules, produits les plus poussés, puissants et fragiles de notre civilisation, et puis méticuleusement imprimer avec ce portrait de nous-mêmes, a du être une expérience troublante. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-10-10-a-thought-sparkling-hard-drive/ Sun, 10 Oct 2010 10:09:52 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-10-10-a-thought-sparkling-hard-drive/ My purchase of a new hard drive last month ended two years of battling with scarce digital storage space on my computer - and it felt like defeat. I have great difficulty justifying to myself this sprung-out-of-nowhere need; one that I couldn’t have imagined a decade ago, and that no human would have envisioned half a century ago. On the other side of the world-wide fabrication and shipping chain, tremendous amounts of energy are amassed, transformed, funneled and discarded so that I may flip more ones and zeros on a desk. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-10-10-hadopilol/ Sun, 10 Oct 2010 09:18:03 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-10-10-hadopilol/ Pour ne plus m’insurger sur mon fauteuil à chaque fois que l’HADOPI agite son bâton, il faut que j’enterre, dans ma tête, cette vilaine histoire. Alors, ce faisons. J’apprends par le vécu, pas à pas depuis trois ans : Que les lois sont faites et votées par des gens ordinaires ; parfois sincères, parfois pas. Que pour faire une bonne loi il faut avoir fait ses devoirs : bosser son cours, revoir et comprendre les fondamentaux du sujet, parfois techniques et souvent bêtes. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-05-28-what-did-the-sea-say-to-the-penguin/ Fri, 28 May 2010 21:54:12 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-05-28-what-did-the-sea-say-to-the-penguin/ Nothing, it just waved… https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-04-27-nice-and-clean/ Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:01:07 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-04-27-nice-and-clean/ We and our parents have made the net so filthy and dangerous that I’m glad to see someone stand up to clean it up. It is with great joy that I look forward to hand my children a safer, cleaner, purer Internet : the Cleanternet. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-02-07-thermodynamique-de-lingenieur/ Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:53:06 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2010-02-07-thermodynamique-de-lingenieur/ J’ai conclu il y a deux semaines une série de cours nommés “Thermodynamique de l’ingénieur”. Il s’agit d’une étude pragmatique de la thermodynamique: le but est avant tout de mettre en place les principes fondamentaux des moteurs et des thermopompes. Le cours est abordable avec un niveau de Terminale et nécessite une quarantaine d’heures de couverture en classe. Le premier document contient sommaire et résumé éxécutif. Les documents sont diffusés sous licence CC-by-sa, qui en autorise pratiquement n’importe quel usage, y inclus commercial. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-10-18-fire-in-a-crowded-theatre/ Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:11:49 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-10-18-fire-in-a-crowded-theatre/ Vehement, unapologetic, and, I believe, profoundly relevant (even if I don’t share all of his beliefs), here is my second-favorite speaker, Christopher Hitchens, in a twenty-minute talk in Toronto in 2006. Download the video (25 Mo) There is a carefully reviewed transcript [PDF] to help if the lovely accent isn’t enough. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-07-25-a-book/ Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:45:28 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-07-25-a-book/ I have just published a book. A set of thirty-three photos assembled with patience and love, Gulls is a book which celebrates the joy of looking at seagulls. The book has taken many months to complete (the first printing occurred a year ago) and, since I put a lot of heart into it, inevitably gives me pride and happiness. All along the past months I have had the great joy and privilege to share it with relatives; now anyone can get a copy thanks to the wonders of on-demand printing. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-06-12-et-je-lui-demanderai-un-autographe/ Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:34:53 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-06-12-et-je-lui-demanderai-un-autographe/ En français dans le texte : Considérant qu’aux termes de l’article 11 de la Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen de 1789 : “La libre communication des pensées et des opinions est un des droits les plus précieux de l’homme : tout citoyen peut donc parler, écrire, imprimer librement, sauf à répondre de l’abus de cette liberté dans les cas déterminés par la loi” ; qu’en l’état actuel des moyens de communication et eu égard au développement généralisé des services de communication au public en ligne ainsi qu’à l’importance prise par ces services pour la participation à la vie démocratique et l’expression des idées et des opinions, ce droit implique la liberté d’accéder à ces services… https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-06-03-one-a-day/ Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:11:23 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-06-03-one-a-day/ I have selected images that I have made over the last three years. Stitched one after the other, they tell of all the beautiful things that I can record… I will be posting one a day for the next few weeks. Today’s photo is called angel and is one memory from being in Munich on a cold winter night. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-06-03-de-lart-de-porter-des-oeilleres/ Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:10:44 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-06-03-de-lart-de-porter-des-oeilleres/ Il y a juste an, Mr Le Pen a affirmé lors d’un entretien qu’il ne croyait pas que l’Holocauste avait vraiment eu lieu. Ces quelques phrases, on été publiées par le magasine Bretons (mensuel sur papier traitant de la culture bretonne et des personnalités qui l’affichent, il me semble qu’il a à peu près le même lectorat que Télérama — la couverture du numéro en question (32) affiche Le Bigouden est-il un vrai marin ? https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-05-07-terns/ Thu, 07 May 2009 14:03:12 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-05-07-terns/ Terns by the nearby ponds, April 2009. (Making images and writing texts is a good way to cope with difficult events) For these two birds, this pond is only one in a thousand — they are on their way from one arctic circle to the other. A twice-yearly 20 000 km journey… by next season, they will be overflying another continent. Have a safe flight. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-04-03-hadopi-en-route-droit-dans-le-ravin/ Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:09:36 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-04-03-hadopi-en-route-droit-dans-le-ravin/ Hop ! Le projet de loi Hadopi vient d’être adopté à l’Assemblée. Voilà donc mon ministère de la culture au travail, pour protéger l’Internet et la Création. Sauf qu’en lieu de création, c’est bien de l’industrie du divertissement dont on parle (peut-être parce que d’autres ont déjà pris sa relève et assurent la publication de milliers d’œuvres par jour…). Nulle mention des autres façons d’envisager la création culturelle, ou de fabriquer du logiciel. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-02-12-findings/ Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:07:50 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-02-12-findings/ (More Incredible Things About Your Host) I don’t like: Fax machines (a very deeply-rooted animosity) The word “technically” Typing letters with a cellphone keyboard Automatic car window wipers I like: the triangle, a musical instrument; walking out of a restaurant; when people mix Arabic with French in the train; pink in very small quantities, with gray. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-02-12-the-blonde-and-the-scruffy-coder/ Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:03:45 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-02-12-the-blonde-and-the-scruffy-coder/ On March 14th, I will be giving a talk titled The Blonde and the Scruffy Coder at the Chemnitzer Linux-Tagen in Chemnitz, Germany. The abstract simply says: No doubt the best coding is done in the FLOSS community — but where are all the women? As a bright, open community, we can do better than being 99% male, and it pays to care. In this talk, Olivier will be tackling a few clichés, trolls, and misunderstandings to clarify the situation. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-02-12-things-learned-in-2008/ Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:01:29 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2009-02-12-things-learned-in-2008/ How not to make a tie knot quickly How to battle for a long time until exhausted, and then surrender The beautiful difference between a tragedy and a sad story How to have an extraordinary job fall on my head And the other week, as I was finishing teaching the last of the six-lesson course, the heavy freight train passed very slowly, thumping behind the students. Tchao, 2008. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-10-09-troisieme-voie-du-peripherique/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:19:28 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-10-09-troisieme-voie-du-peripherique/ « Puisqu’on est jeunes et cons, et qu’il sont vieux et fous », chante Saez, et je me demandais si j’allais un jour trouver la frontière entre l’un et l’autre, à quel matin j’allais me réveiller vieux et fou, plus que jeune et con. Mercredi, dix-sept-heures trente. On est tous sur le boulevard périphérique extérieur, chacun dans son auto. Je trimballe un petit paquet de rêves en fin de vie — je change de carrière — et j’essaie de rentrer à la maison maintenant. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-07-10-la-blonde-et-le-hacker-barbu/ Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:28:02 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-07-10-la-blonde-et-le-hacker-barbu/ La semaine dernière, j’ai eu l’occasion de donner une conférence aux rencontres mondiales du logiciel libre, que j’ai intitulée “La blonde et le hacker barbu”. Le monde du logiciel libre bouillonne de bonnes idées et tend ses bras grands ouverts à qui veut y rentrer. Du communiste à lunettes rondes jusqu’au libéral aguerri, on y trouve un peu de tout… sauf, et c’est vraiment curieux, des femmes. Même si presqu’un diplôme en informatique sur quatre est attribué à une femme en Europe (ce n’est pas sorti d’un chapeau, voir par exemple ces données d’Eurostat), au final au sein de la communauté du libre, le pourcentage de femmes dépasse à peine un seul petit pourcent (et là non plus, je n’invente rien). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-06-29-for-no-reason/ Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:57:50 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-06-29-for-no-reason/ I don’t like: official loudspeaker announcements; promises; the saying “it’s a small world”; guitar slapping; when things are sorted alphabetically; I like: beginning a long driving trip; treasuring an object that only has value to me; summer storms; font names; finding out I have changed my mind; back-light; French words in English sentences; listing likes and dislikes spontaneously (also for no reason). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-04-09-linstant/ Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:31:09 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-04-09-linstant/ Une citation de Jean Sur. L’instant n’est pas le hochet du bonheur. C’est beaucoup plus qu’un fruit à cueillir : une porte ouverte sur un absolument autre, sur un entièrement nouveau que pourtant je reconnais. Un basculement imprévu dans un mystère qui m’est à la fois étranger et familier. À l’évidence, l’instant me désigne quelque chose, m’invite à aller plus oultre. En repliant ses ailes sur le sentiment qu’il me révèle, je le trahis. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-02-10-more-copyright-related-media/ Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:26:06 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-02-10-more-copyright-related-media/ I recently discovered three interesting echoes to the Life’s Not Read-Only website. Kevin Kelly rightly insists on the intrinsic copying nature of the Internet, and explains how economic value can be derived from copyable things. It’s a clear, well thought-out article. [addendum: this nicely seconds an article Taco Buitenhuis wrote last summer, Money for service and your content for free.] The Steal This Film II movie was very enjoyable. The makers have quit the pirate-talk and made a fine, intelligent documentary which will reach out to more than just p2p enthusiasts. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-01-24-things-learned-in-2007/ Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:54:15 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2008-01-24-things-learned-in-2007/ Rather than predict things for 2008, I had rather quietly look back what I can still distinguish with my lantern. So here are things learned in 2007. One That when we don’t succeed in something, it’s because we don’t want to. Our national train company in France doesn’t really want to run our trains on time –because if it did, it would. I don’t succeed in letting go of some responsibilities, tasks and constraints, because I don’t really want to. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2007-11-26-its-not-the-internet-anymore/ Mon, 26 Nov 2007 21:20:06 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2007-11-26-its-not-the-internet-anymore/ It’s important that we remember what makes the Internet so interesting and unique. There are two crucial characteristics: It’s fundamentally decentralized, meaning you can cut out any part without affecting the rest, It allows freedom of access, meaning you have the same ability to access and write it as anyone else. Because they permit extraordinary flexibility and rapid growth, both of these characteristics have brought the Internet way beyond any other network. https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2007-11-09-the-operating-system-is-disappearing/ Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:39:02 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2007-11-09-the-operating-system-is-disappearing/ I believe the free software community is at risk of missing a large step in the evolution of software: the disappearance of the OS (operating system). I currently express this idea in a series of conferences around Europe and thought a written article would be a good complement. We’re so very 1999 Typically, a computer installation will look just as below. All at the bottom is the common user, Joe, who uses his computer with some kind of interface (screen, keyboard, mouse). https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2007-09-17-why-free-software-is-important-to-me/ Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:13:23 +0000 https://ariadacapo.net/articles/2007-09-17-why-free-software-is-important-to-me/ [edit: here’s an article written sixteen years later in which I explain have changed my mind] I have been asked this question recently in an interview and was very dis-satisfied with my answer. I thought another short attempt could be worthwhile. I am utterly interested and fascinated by the notion of free software, though I do not like programming at all. personal conviction I view software as a language, perhaps a derivative of mathematics.