#anonymous web

I spent a few minutes reading an incredibly in-depth article about mesh networks, and have decided to just start with the basics for today.

THE STORY

A pair of NY artists have started a program called OurNet, which teaches middle school students how to build their own mesh networks that support WiFi and social capabilities. This helps them understand how the internet works, and that there are alternatives to ISP-controlled networks.

VERY COOL. Keep reading to satisfy some more curiosity...

WHAT IS A MESH NETWORK?

A mesh network is “An alternative digital network...built using affordable, off-the-shelf hardware and open-source software, hundreds of communities around the world are assembling small, independent, nonprofit wireless networks, often organized as so-called "mesh networks" for their weblike, decentralized design, in which each node—a phone, for instance, or a sophisticated wireless router—relays the connection onwards to the next node.”

WHO HAS USED THEM IN THE PAST?

Residents of Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy

Occupy Wall Street and Hong Kong’s Occupy Central

I’m going to keep sifting through this article, and will report back next week with more learnings.