#hackerspace

[mynonsenseistingling]

Watch Dogs 2

[honeywafflez1art]

DedSec HQ📌

[adafruit]

Triple Matrix Bonnet Makes Big Bright Displays 🔴🟢🔵✨

With our latest work on getting HUB75 RGB matrices working on the Raspberry Pi 5

we can now create stunning LED displays. But what if we want more pixels? At some point, we max out the bandwidth of the RP1 chip, but we can still squeeze out additional performance by updating the PIO commands to output two or three matrix strings instead of just one.

Thus, the Triple Output RGB Matrix Bonnet you see here! We're using the classic Active-3 pinout

with a switch to select whether the 4th or 8th pin is connected to address E.

Since we expect large matrix grids drawing 10A+ of current, there's no onboard power management—the 5V supply should be connected separately through thick power wires. This board is for data only. If you aren't using port 3, the I2C remains available, so we've added a Stemma QT port for extra flexibility.

[theillusionofcybermind]

[yosefinasays]

In Defense Of Electronic Civil Disobedience

There has been some criticism lodged against us. Claims have been made that our activism is merely engagement. That our movement is sort of sofa ersatz activism. However, in order for this argument to hold true, you must make a central conceit. That the concrete world is somehow more real than the digital. Members of The Kollectiv do not view the net from this narrow scope. We see the digital realm as an extension of the more abstract plain of technology. We see the space, though incorporeal on a macroscale, to be very real.

The average user in 2024, spent a 1/5th of their life online. Whether engaging with shopping, posting, or just browsing the net this is a significant portion of time. Enough time is spent on the net that a culture has emerged around various social media sites. Artifacts are made that can only be interacted with in the digital space. And people can become totally enmeshed in a digital world if they wish. Interacting with the greater world almost exclusively in the digital realm. 

An extreme example would be an individual who works as a digital nomad, does all their shopping online, and interacts with others exclusively through social media. Although this individual would be seen to be living a fringe net lifestyle, this way of life is very possible. To argue that activism should not be done through the medium of technology is only alienating. It does not serve one's greater purpose. 64% of the world is online. That is 5.52 billion souls. 

Though The Kollectiv adopts a view of the internet separate from those informed by commodity and corporate interest, the economic activity on the net can’t be ignored. Imagine the disruptive potential of a boycott. The sheer volume of activity allows the activist to make lasting change on the world. We can look back to The Gamestop Short Squeeze. A grassroots political action originating in Wallstreets Bets. To go further back in history we can make reference to the initiatives of net.artists. Groups such as the VNS created works like the “A Cyberfeminist Manifesto for the 21st Century”. Work like this advanced both feminism and digital art. To write off the digital landscape as a lesser landscape of reform, activism, and engaging art, one would have to ignore the efficacy of these movements. 

Going further into the political landscape we can look at the example set by Net Strike. A software that was deployed by activists in the 90’s for digital sit ins. It essentially was a tool for groups to orchestrate DDOS attacks. A vector of protest, that has unfortunately been taken from the general public and is now deployed heinously by state actors to suppress movements. This reversal if anything shows that net activism should be more staunchly defended. The internet is now often the first point of contact individuals have with any movement. And it is also the center of global operations. Are rights on the net should be defended, advanced, and clearly defined. The right to protest should not just extend to the physical space, when the digital space is becoming such a driving factor in our lives.

The Kollectiv’s digital graffiti campaign and its current food disparity initiative is only the beginning. We plan on continuing to mobilize people to be the change they want to see in the world. By establishing our ad hoc hyperlink structure: essentially a website built within the framework of another. We will be raising awareness for our cause. Making people think about the effects of food disparity, while considering new ways to experience the internet. Are either of these aims ignoble? I do not believe so.

We are continuing in the footsteps of activists such as The Electro Hippies. Advancing methods of protest into the 21st Century. We are also continuing the efforts of situationist thinkers. Now that globalism taken home and the internet has pushed commodity and spectacle into our home. We must attack it at its source if liberty is to continue to flourish and grow for future generations.

 To ignore the possibilities of change now is rob the children of the future of their potential fruit. That is why I continue to call for the development of net.art and methods of activism on the web. Not only to raise awareness for causes affecting us here and now, but to change the landscape of the internet for the people of the future.

[dimipiraat]

Greetings from Ca La Fou

Hi everyone ! We have been pretty silent those past weeks, we apologize for that. We have been fixing the last details before heading Ca La Fou. This… Greetings from Ca La Fou Ca La Fou is a pretty special place, they describe themselves as a post-capitalist, eco-industrial colony, they have amongst others a very rad hacker-lab, and a bunch of people living there permanently. I only visited it…

[mizu-schizo-dog]

This is what REAL science looks like, kids

[moonlitrosecrafts]

Haha! I finally found a place that, theoretically, let's an artist make use of their 3d printers when ever they want! That means that CAD class can be put to use for the things that require precision! Precision, that my astigmatism makes hard to accomplish technical items in a timely manner by hand carving wax. I will hopefully be able to show an example of something made by hand carving wax vs CAD by next week regardless of how my walk through of the makers place goes.

[casioandglitter]

DIY laser projector

Paula and I built a laser projector out of old hard drives, some 3D printed parts, small mirrors and a laser we got from Aliexpress 😁

[mynonsenseistingling]

Watch Dogs 2

[doubleunion]

Starting 2025 at Double Union!

Happy New Year to everyone!  We posted a recap to Instagram, Facebook, and Mastodon with some highlights from last year.

Starting the new year, we’ve got a couple public events scheduled, and we’re trying to get some more on the calendar for the next month or so.  Also we’re trying something new!  We had a couple very lightly or unattended events towards the end of last year, so we are seeing how things go with using RSVPs.  For the first few public events we’re trying a sliding scale donation.  

Monday, January 6th at 5:30-7:30pm.  Open Project Time:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-project-time-registration-1131555495949

Saturday, February 1st at 12 noon.  Valentine’s Day Card Making:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/make-greeting-cards-for-valentines-day-registration-1132030175729

Follow our Eventbrite page at https://doubleunionsf.eventbrite.com as we add more public events.  We’ll still be posting to Instagram and Facebook (and occasionally Mastodon), but we’ll be using the registrations through Eventbrite to gauge if we should cancel an event.

If you’re thinking of joining Double Union, come to one of our events.  Membership applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, but we expect prospective members to have attended at least one public event, or have been a guest of a current member.

Also, in case you missed it, see our post at the end of last November on how you can support Double Union both monetarily or via donations to Community Thrift:  https://doubleunion.tumblr.com/post/768506271736397824/2024-in-review-and-looking-ahead

[adafruit]

A Compact Pi Compute Module Backpack 🍓��📸🎒

We used to stock a PiCam Module

that would plug into a Pi CM4 or CM5 - recently we went to restock it, but the vendor hasn't replied to our emails for many months. So, it could be a good time for us to design something that works similarly but with more capabilities. So we tasked Timon

with designing something for us - we just said, "Make the best thing ya can," and he delivered! Check this board out that plugs onto the compute module and provides many great accessories: USB connection for bootloading/USB gadget, USB 3.0 host type A for CM5, micro HDMI, micro SD card for data storage on 'Lite modules, camera connection, and mount, two DSI connectors, fan connect, Stemma QT / Qwiic connection, and RTC battery. There's one shutdown button for CM5 and two GPIO buttons plus one LED. Timon's gonna try to add an EYESPI connector for our next rendering so we can get some I2C/SPI/PWM outputs easily. What do you think? We wanted to keep it compact and not too pricey (aiming for <$30 cost. We'll see if we can get it there) but were able to craft fairly complex projects in a small space.

[theillusionofcybermind]

[yosefinasays]

The Thanksgiving Day Parade

On November 28th the digital graffiti enclave The Kollectiv will occupy the social media accounts of McDonald's, Wendy's, and Starbucks. We will be exhibiting art to both demonstrate a new form of protest and raise awareness of food disparity in the U.S and around the world. We will essentially be making an ad-hoc website using hyperlinks to art, poetry, and prose.

Our work is informed by the modern hip-hop and punk ethos. And it is directly related to the real world. The synthesis of concrete and digital that is the modern day. We hope to show a different way of looking at the web.

One that isn't solely focused on commodity, capital, and convenience. One where we acknowledge the impact technology has on our lived experience. Only through adopting different frames of mind when accessing the dimension of technology can we fully explore the depth of experiences it has to offer.

[munichmakerlab]

We now have an open sign! It's coupled to the space status via home assistant so if it's lit up you're welcome to come in!