Good news! Computer Shutdown Day is a "go" for this year, though this year it will be later in the spring -- sometime in May. They are taking the time to build the event without burning themselves out! I'll pass the date information on when I see the announcement.
In the meantime, the stirring of this year's activity is like a bear coming out of hibernation. I found to my delight when I looked there that the event began here in Canada. The organizer Denis Bystrov is from Montreal. Together with another Montrealer, Ashutosh Rajeka, he has expanded upon last year's success and registered as a Quebec non-profit society to promote the theme of finding a more balanced life. Both career software developers, they describe themselves as "first hand victims of excessive use of computer related technology". So there is a lot of common ground between the issues that I look at here and those being addressed by events like this.
I plan to do a small video about my experience with last year's event. So stay tuned!
In the meantime, here again is the very funny video they made to introduce the concept for the first Shutdown Day, last year. It is called "Alternate Uses for Your Laptop".
Update in 2013: Wikipedia article on Shutdown Day
Actual numbers 2007 too small to be a "success"
ReplyDeleteSpecifics too vague (internet or laptop or smartphone)
Purpose too vague (marginal power savings)
Projected numbers don't look real
Very little participation on website
A few press releases
I must be missing something
Oh yes my answer to "Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer ?"
ReplyDeleteis "yes of course and I hope you don't mean to imply by that question that I'm signing on to your half-baked well-meaning protest thingy"