MIT Media Lab’s 20th Anniversary

I’m currently at the MIT Media Lab’s 20th anniversary event, where the Walter Bender has invited all of us alumni back to the Lab to see what work is going on. One of the most interesting thing being talked about is the $100 laptop project, which integrates low cost Wi-Fi mesh networking. One of the best quotes about the project came from Mike Bove (this was relayed via a third party, so the exact wording is certainly not correct):

> “When you have tens or hundreds of kids communicating with each other without the need for centralized access points, then the existing telecommunications system will really undergo a revolutionary change.”

He’s right. More mesh = less centralized (structure, control, dependency, cost). This is a great meme that needs to be promoted publicly. This is truly the power of community networking.