In memory of Daniel Ayre

DOWNLOAD THE ZINE FILES

You can use this address to download the digital copy of NODE Vol 01, the license, and all the project files:

dat://d5f52282d8277c323abcd838e7b1e62113af6dfa70f3c7316ec004911881ec41
 CONTENTS

Editor’s Letter 004 Maintaining Publics Spaces in P2P Networks 076

The NODE Mini Server 008 Mesh Networking Basics 082

Dat Project 101 014 3D Printing Wifi Antennas 090

Interview with Paul Frazee 018 The Rise of Smart Organizations 098

The NODE Double Drive 024 The Pi Zero W Security Camera 106

So God Made a Farmer 028 Open Bazaar 112

Chattervox Tutorial 034 MNT Reform: Open Source DIY Laptop 114

Ricochet IM 040 Deciphering The Lexicon 122

Digital Fingerprinting & Tracking 044 Product Directory 126

Pi-Hole on The Nano Server 048 Open Source Directory 136

Librebooting The Thinkpad X200 052 The Satoshi Mindset 146

Decentraland 062 Submissions 148

Bulletin Board Systems Today 070

Editor: Mike Dank. Contributors: NODE, Sam Patterson, John Light, Burak Nehbit, Eric Schallock & Esteban Ordano
004 / EDITOR’S LETTER

EDITOR’S LETTER way to dispense information, but the

fundamentals aren't all that different from the
texts of a bygone age.

In 1968, a 29-year-old Stewart Brand and his Zines, small-circulation magazines often
wife embarked on a road trip in his 1963 produced independently by a small group of
Dodge pickup truck (dubbed the "Whole Earth people, have been around for decades. Going
Truck Store") to set up educational fairs at back to the 1930s and 1940s, many zines
communes across America. Before the trip, became staples within the science fiction
Brand and his colleagues published the first community as more popular "pulp" sci-fi
issue of the Whole Earth Catalog (1968), magazines would often reject more precarious
subtitled "access to tools," to sell along the stories that didn't align with their norm.
way. At each stop, Brand and his wife Lois Perhaps the biggest boom, or most radical
created a mobile micro-education service, mutation for zines, came in the 1970s by way
selling the catalog of tools, maps, clothing, of the punk subculture. The punk movement
computers, books, and journals, while offering was underground, and the advent of
advice to the growing, new communities. By home-publishing resources melded with the
the end of the trip, Brand's Whole Earth Catalog DIY spirit of punks around the world.
became a best-selling tool all in itself, and Thousands of these punk zines lived and died
nurtured a growing counterculture movement throughout the '70s. Many were vulgar and
with its curious, do-it-yourself attitude. profane, but filled with vital news on the
burgeoning punk scene and other information
80% of the tools in the first Whole Earth Catalog that would build up punk rock culture. These
were books. Written word--the transfer of zines were sold, or more often traded, around
knowledge from one person to another--is the world as a way to disseminate information
perhaps the most valuable tool we have as a to an otherwise unknown or isolated
species. These days, web content like video community. Punks didn't wait for the world to
tutorials or podcasts has become a prominent catch up--they didn't really want it to.
 The Whole Earth Catalog
Photo by Akos Kokai (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
006 / EDITOR’S LETTER

They took matters in their own hands, and for others to consume. It wasn't long before
created something they could control without people started publishing eZines, electronic
outside influence or corruption. zines, for this new ethereal medium. By the
time physical zines were on their way out in
The 1980s saw zines continue to flourish, the '90s, the World Wide Web was hitting hard,
expanding to the cyberpunks, grungers, and spawning a fresh movement of independent
cynical Generation X slackers who hijacked content publishers that could inexpensively
their office photocopiers. Zines became not publish in cyberspace and have their work
only a way to share your niche, but also escape accessible to anyone with a modem. Content
from the monotony of your McJob. The real publishers and web developers danced in
echo-boom in zine culture came with the Riot stunning coevolution--one group would feed
Grrrl movement, stemming from the marriage off of and influence the other in a
of DIY punk culture and American third-wave never-ending relationship we still see echoes
feminism in the early '90s. But, by the end of of today. As time went on, we saw the birth of
the decade, most prolific zines were either blogs, especially on free platforms, that gave
selling out and going corporate, or fading into way to the idea of everyone being a content
nothingness as independent publishing creator. These days, the reverberations of zine
companies went bankrupt. Almost overnight, a culture are found in a lot of content we see and
whole industry producing indie content regularly consume. Podcasters,
disappeared, but that isn't the end of the story. video-bloggers, indie game creators, lo-fi
musicians, and others maybe have very well
The advent of bulletin board systems (BBSes) been zinesters back in the '80s and '90s. The
in the 1980s led to an explosion of spirit never died, it just adapted.
contemporary techno-culture. Counterculture
pioneers and engineering wizards raised a new I've had the pleasure of working on NODE for a
high frontier of interconnected computing. few years now, and I'm always excited to see
Computer users could dial into centralized how it evolves and grows over time. It took me
machines and leave messages or share files too long to realize something about it that I
 EDITOR’S LETTER / 007

deem fundamental: NODE isn't a website or a footsteps of the DIY punk spirit and the
video series or a person. NODE is an idea. Whole-Earthian standards of counterculture
NODE is a movement. NODE is a way to enlightenment. It's a perfect fusion of the
understand and reshape our world. eclectic idealism and self-sufficient attitude
that shows what can be done when you have
At its core, NODE works to gather and distill tools and the knowledge to use them. This
information to educate the curious. You're here zine holds firmly the idea of information
because you're curious. You have a certain itch sharing that NODE is built upon. It doesn't
that just can't be scratched no matter how matter if you can make flashy videos or
hard you try. NODE always pushes the produce a website, all it takes is one person
envelope for how we can use technology to with an idea who can convey their thoughts to
our advantage in this highly technical era. How another. As the surveilled-web continues to
can we make things more distributed? How grow along with our penchant to communicate
can we put power back into the hands of the digitally, print may become the only haven we
people? Every day, we see strides taken by have left to get information freely out of silos
corporations and government entities, but and into the hands of the motivated, standing
often at the cost of our personal liberty, the test of time.
privacy, or security. Hackers, tinkerers,
developers, and makers just like you are If you're out there somewhere, we will be too.
building things on distributed technologies or Knowledge is power, and we want to spread it.
shaking things up with movements like
biohacking, 3d printing, and solarpunk, primed I hope you enjoy this first issue of the annual
to disrupt the status quo and change our path NODE zine.
for the better.
Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
You're reading a zine right now. It's paper, and
it's cold in your hands, and it's not as modern Written by Mike Dank
as you might be used to, but it continues in the
008 / THE NODE MINI SERVER

INTRODUCING THE This device measures in at 152x88x25mm,

and can basically be plug and play.
NODE MINI SERVER
The point of doing it this way is foremost to
make a device that uses cheap, readily
The aim of the NODE Mini Server project is to available parts, with many software options,
create an inexpensive, easy to make hardware but also so that anyone can build one. The
node which allows us to start building out the hope is that other people begin to iterate and
physical infrastructure for the P2P web. Here, sell these so it becomes a standard and we
we begin to replace remote servers with nodes can get them out to as many users as
that the users themselves own and operate. possible.

Inside the NODE Mini Server is a Raspberry Pi

3B+, with future options of upgrading to the PARTS
more powerful Asus Tinker Board. This choice
allows you to run various node applications at - 3D Printed case halves (including struts
the same time, depending on your needs. which connect them)
Bitcoin, Lightning and Ethereum nodes, - 3D Printed HDD/SSD frame
payment servers, IPFS and dat servers, self - Bottom PCB (1.6mm thick)
hosting servers, and a bunch more applications - Top PCB (1.6mm thick, optionally
are ideal for this platform. The internal Aluminium-based)
2.5-inch harddrive that's attached to the - Micro SD Card Adapter PCB (0.8mm thick)
device should provide more than enough - SATA Adapter PCB (1.6mm thick)
storage space. - 8x M2.5 x 12mm Machine Screws
- 6x M2.5 x 8mm Machine Screws
You could easily put something similar - 6x M2.5 Hex Nuts
together without modifying an SBC, but it - 4x M3 x 6mm Machine Screws
would be a maze of wires, and much bigger. - Rasbperry Pi 3B+
 THE NODE MINI SERVER / 009

- 50mm 4pin 1mm Pitch FPC Cable (Contacts

on same side)
- 2x 4pin 1mm Pitch FPC Connector (84981-4)
- 2.5-inch Hard Disk Drive or SSD
- Standard USB-A Port
- Standard SMD Micro SD Slot (Push/Push)
- 5.5mm x 2.1mm Right Angle DC Jack
(694106301002)
- SMD RJ45 Jack (43743-8101)
- S8050 Transistor
- 30x10x10mm 5v Blower Fan (3010B)
- USB SATA Adapter (W25P1)

DESIGN

The case design consists of two PCBs

sandwiched between a 3D-printed frame. This
makes for a surprisingly sturdy and easy to
assemble device.

It's pretty minimalist, with just the screws and

air holes drilled into the top case PCB.

There are no other defining features, other

than the rear of the device, which has some
more air vents as well as the ethernet, USB,
power, and micro SD card ports.
010 / THE NODE MINI SERVER
012 / THE NODE MINI SERVER

Underneath, you can see the underside of the replacing it with the mini PCB. This basically
bottom PCB, and this design choice of lets us connect the two halves together with
exposing this board means the whole finished the little flex cable.
thing is much slimmer.
Then, you simply solder all the other
components onto the boards, connect the flex
MODIFICATIONS to the harddisk and Pi boards, and assemble
and screw everything together.
The internals comprise of two adapter boards,
which basically connect the Pi to the 2.5-inch
Hard Disk (or SSD). TEMPERATURE CONTROL

Basically all of the modifications require Little SBCs are often known for their heat
something to desolder components. I used an generation, and the Pi 3B+ is no exception, so
electric vacuum pump, which makes life I've done a few things to keep it under control.
extremely easy, but if you only have a
spring-loaded desolder pump and desolder Firstly, the top PCB used on the case is
wick that would work too. aluminium-based, meaning under normal
loads it stays pretty cool, and acts as a
Firstly on the Pi, we desolder the front three heatsink.
ports (ethernet, and 2x USB), and all the GPIO
pins. You then plug in the micro SD adapter, The micro SD card on the Pi has also been
screw the pi onto the board, and solder it all moved off the board itself, away from the
together with the corresponding holes heat, hopefully mitigating any of the
underneath on the adapter board. temp-related problems they can suffer from.

You then need to remove the USB port from There's also a temperature-controlled blower
the SATA adapter, and do the same procedure, fan you can set up in Raspbian, which
 THE NODE MINI SERVER / 013

automatically turns on when the Pi's CPU

temp reaches a certain level, turning off again
when it's cooled down.

The circuit design is the same used in a guide

from HackerNoon [1], so follow that to set it
up. Also, I found a better script than the one
they used [2], so check that out too.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully this was worth the wait. I think

we're almost at the point of having a truly
great plug and play mini server, and I hope this
nudges things closer. Once a faster Pi 4 comes
out, it'll be perfect. If you try to make one let
me know how it goes.

SOURCES

[1] https://n-o-d-e.net/url/1/
[2] https://n-o-d-e.net/url/2/

Written by NODE
014 / DAT PROJECT 101

DAT PROJECT 101: After installing Dat, let's see how a user can
interact with it.
DECENTRALIZED DATA
1) Alice has a folder of documents on her
STORAGE system that she wants to share with her
friend Bob. She navigates to the directory via
her terminal, and issues a dat share
Dat is an open-source data distribution tool for command to create a new Dat address that
easily duplicating and version-controlling corresponds to her directory:
different data sets. First released in 2013, Dat
combines aspects of Git, BitTorrent, and $ dat share
cloud-storage sites like Dropbox to create an Created new dat
easy-to-use method for reliably sharing files dat://7c46dafaa44098d5d439812ed6300
without needing additional infrastructure. 036eaa85bbd9422ee677dbbdc722710a231
Sharing dat: 96 files

HOW IT WORKS Behind the scenes, Alice's data is broken up

into small pieces, hashed, and arranged into a
Three important design features of Dat are data structure called a Merkle tree. The
in-place-archiving, file versioning, and the use resulting data is then easily referenced by a
of a distributed network. Dat address that looks like this:

Dat is most commonly used by installing the dat://7c46dafaa44098d5d439812ed6300

official Dat application and invoking it with 036eaa85bbd9422ee677dbbdc722710a231
commands through your terminal. There is
also a GUI version available (pictured, right) Dat addresses are hexadecimal
that you can download from representations of a public key that
https://datproject.org corresponds to the shared data. Any user with
DAT PROJECT 101 / 015
016 / DAT PROJECT 101

the address can clone the data repository, but reflected in her Dat. She can do this easily by
only the user with the accompanying private rerunning the dat share command within
key can make changes to it. her existing directory:

2) Alice then sends her newly-made Dat link $ dat share

over to Bob through any standard
communication channel. Bob brings up his 4) Now, Bob needs to update his local store as
terminal and runs the following command to well. This can be done with the dat sync
clone Alice's data into a directory of his command:
choosing:
$ dat sync
$ dat clone
dat://7c46dafaa44098d5d439812ed6300
036eaa85bbd9422ee677dbbdc722710a231 COMPARISONS
alices-data
Created new dat Dat is most similar to other decentralized file
Cloning: 96 files storing/sharing tools like IPFS and version
control systems like Git.
Behind the scenes, Bob's Dat instance uses a
combination of DNS and DHT to connect to Much like Git, Dat has built in file versioning to
Alice or any other peers she may have track the history of changes made to data.
provided the address to for mirroring. Using Dats, the repositories, are created and
two protocols: Hypercore and Hyperdrive, Dat updated very similarly to Git repositories, only
then facilitates connections to machines without the reliance on a central server.
seeding the files and downloads them.
The concept of addressable, decentralized
3) Suppose Alice updates a file within her data sharing is where Dat and IPFS share
directory and wants to get that change some overlap. Each protocol allows a user to
 DAT PROJECT 101 / 017

create a unique hash to identify data and share Dat also does not have a global peer swarm.
it with others to completely clone the data it Peers do not come together to join a global
corresponds to. Dat currently has the added network, and instead create smaller, focused
benefit of native browser support with the networks around pieces of data. This could be
Beaker browser, allowing the easy creation of considered beneficial as there is less overhead
Dat-based websites. Websites can be made in terms of peer connections, but it also makes
and hosted in either a user's filesystem with it difficult for applications to simply "connect
the aid of the dat application, or via the into Dat," leaving applications to implement
Beaker browser itself. their own way of interfacing with Dat.

https://beakerbrowser.com Further, it is important to note that if the

original data owner goes offline or closes their
client, their Dat address will not work if there
DOWNSIDES are no other peers hosting it. However, once
the data is cloned, it will remain on a user's
Dat does have a few downsides worth machine even if the original creator disappears
mentioning. While addresses are touted as from the network. Services like Hashbase
secure and non-guessable, they are relatively (https://hashbase.io) offer free and paid
public and unprotected once found. While a storage options for mirroring Dats to keep
bad actor on the network might not be able to them online indefinitely.
target a specific user directly, there is nothing
stopping someone from randomly guessing Besides those points, it's an innovative,
addresses to see if they correspond to data. easy-to-use tool for storing and sharing data,
with many similarities to version control
Dat is targeted at the scientific/research systems.
community with an aim of sharing public data.
If you want to share private data via Dat, it is Written by Mike Dank
advisable that you encrypt your data first.
018 / PAUL FRAZEE INTERVIEW

BUILDING BEAKER: When did you first hear about Dat, and what
made you choose this project as a basis for
AN INTERVIEW WITH Beaker?

PAUL FRAZEE I first heard about Dat while I was working on

Secure Scuttlebutt. At the time, Dat wasn't a
protocol; it was a command-line tool for
When people think of web browsers, they working with spreadsheets. Then the Dat
likely think of FireFox or Brave or any other project hired Mafintosh to add a P2P
traditional browser for navigating the World networking stack. The idea was, academic
Wide Web. Beaker (beakerbrowser.com) is a researchers often need help syncing files
project that challenges the notion of what a within labs and then keeping published files
browser can do, and utilizes the peer-to-peer online, and a bittorrent-style network could
Dat protocol for accessing and building kill both birds with one stone. Over time, Dat
distributed sites and content. became better known as the protocol than as
the command-line tool.

When I decided to build Beaker, I wanted a

files-based protocol. Dat was just reaching its
beta state, and so I included it as one of
Beaker's browsing protocols. I also included
IPFS, but, the more I worked with Mafintosh
Paul Frazee is the co-founder of the Beaker and their technology, the more I preferred Dat.
browser, but he is no newcomer to the world
of P2P. Frazee additionally runs a public peer One of the reasons for this may seem trivial,
service for the Dat protocol called Hashbase but it's not: IPFS has a novel URL design which
and previously worked on Secure Scuttlebutt, a I couldn't make work with Chromium. Their
decentralized, secure gossip platform. URL doesn't fit the "standard URL" shape, and
 PAUL FRAZEE INTERVIEW / 019

the encoding is case-sensitive which

Chromium threw away by lowercasing all
hostnames. By the time I was working on
Beaker, IPFS was too dedicated to that
design-choice to change it. Dat, on the other
hand, didn't have a URL design yet, so I was
able to work with the Dat team on a URL that
would work.

It seems small, but when I had two really good

options in front of me, it was like: why struggle
with IPFS? Dat was already a solid choice, and https://cabal-club.github.io
it's continued to be great for us.
Is there anything you would like to see built
What things are people out there building on Dat that you haven't yet?
with Dat that surprised you?
I would really like to see a Facebook killer on
On Beaker, I was surprised by the creative Dat. I think the technology can get there, and
websites. A lot of what we've seen has been I'd like for the Web to start fresh on social
zines, surrealist art, and brutalist design. networking.
There's a community of talented Web
designers and artists who liked the idea of not One of the things I try to highlight often is that
needing a server. They've been making some technology has models of authority baked into
really fun stuff. its design. This is especially true for networks.

On the Dat protocol, Cabal was a really cool On the Web, you're appointing a server to your
surprise. It's a p2p Slack alternative that I'm leader. You have the server controlling the
really interested to see grow. data, the software, and the network itself.
020 / PAUL FRAZEE INTERVIEW

When you don't like something about It's almost like making a Linux distro at this
Facebook, all you can do is say "Oh well, it's point. There's been Brave, Vivaldi, Beaker, and
just Facebook" instead of going out and some others. And now, Microsoft is rebuilding
changing it. What kind of online society is that? Edge on top of Chrome. That move is really
That's not how the Web is supposed to work. going to shape the landscape. It's possible
That's not how Personal Computing is that Chromium forks will become really
supposed to work. We should be empowered common, and we'll debate our choices in the
to change our software. same way that Linux users debate their distro
picks. Who knows?
Peer-to-peer, on the other hand, gets closer to
anarchy as a design. That doesn't mean it's It's hard to say exactly where Beaker sits in
chaotic; it just means there isn't any baked-in the market until we see other vendors react to
hierarchy and users can choose leaders for us. Beaker is meant to be an ongoing
themselves. You can replace your software experiment, which is why we chose the name.
without having to leave the network, because Our mission is to push the Web forward, so
the software's not controlled by a server. success means getting our best features
That's how this should work. The design of the standardized and then moving on to the next
social network should be a dialogue within the experiment.
community that uses it, and the community
should be empowered to change it. So, I'd like I guess if we ever run an experiment that no
to see social networking move to P2P, where other browser wants to adopt but that our
the users are free to control the experience. users love then we'll just keep it and that'll be
our differentiator.
What role are browser like Beaker going to
play as the web evolves?

I don't know! There appears to be a market

developing around Chromium-based browsers. Continued...
 PAUL FRAZEE INTERVIEW / 021

1 2

3 4

5 6
022 / PAUL FRAZEE INTERVIEW

When every peer stops sharing a Dat, the Mafintosh has been discussing this idea called
data within it stops being available. Do you "progressive deployment" that I think could be
feel this impermanence is a natural really exciting.
characteristic of the web or something that
needs repair? The idea stems from the fact that that he's
developing a way to deploy online services
I think there are cases where you can make the using public keys, similar to how you publish
impermanence a feature instead of a bug. I Dat sites. You connect to the services using
don't think that's the most common case, their public-key address, and the discovery
though. I think we need to solve uptime. network helps you deal with firewalls and
routers.
My ideal future is that people own servers at
home that run software like Hashbase, so that That technology has two effects. The first: you
they can have a "home cloud." I'm not sure yet can move a service from one device to another
whether people care enough to make that without the hassle of DNS, because you can
effort. reuse the keypair and so the address doesn't
change. The second effect: you can run a
What we're doing in the mean time is keeping service from your laptop because the
Hashbase on a FOSS license and making sure discovery network solves the routing problem.
that it's easy to deploy. It's not perfect, but
we've written it to use SQLite so that you don't So imagine this: you write a service in JS or in
have to configure a DB or anything. That way, Web Assembly, then start the service in your
we know we're not standing in the way of browser. That service would run in the
home hosting. background and handle user requests as
usual. Then, once you need that service to
How do you see all of these projects growing handle more users, you can move it to a cloud
in the future? Are there any exciting changes provider without interrupting it. That's the
on the horizon? "progressive deployment" part--you deploy at
 PAUL FRAZEE INTERVIEW / 023

home first, then progress to more powerful

hosts when you need it.

Progressive deployment is very nice for

developers because it makes development
easier, but end-users are the real winners
because it means they can deploy services
without any technical savvy. It'd be no different
than starting an app on their phone. That's a
good case of end-user empowerment.

All of this is going to push us further into a

"dumb cloud" world where consumers either
self-host their online software, or they rent
generic cloud services to host for them.

That sounds awesome man, I look forward to

it, and seeing what you do next with Beaker.

EXAMPLE LINKS

[1] dat://beakerbrowser.com
[2] dat://filez.destroywithscience.com
[3] dat://editor-cryptic.hashbase.io
[4] dat://datproject.org
[5] dat://beautifulwebtype.com
[6] dat://pfrazee.com
024 / THE NODE DOUBLE DRIVE

THE DOUBLE DRIVE but go as far as to pry open the metal

shielding. This will lessen the likelihood of you
accidentally breaking the chip inside.

From the outside, the Double Drive looks like a

Once released, you can simply line up the
normal USB flash drive, but inside it holds a
metal contacts of the flash drive with the holes
secret, completely separate flash chip.
on the adapter board [2] (You can add a little
glue to stop them moving around before
The device itself comprises of a custom PCB
soldering). Make sure the contacts are flat right
adapter (2mm thick), 2 flash chips salvaged
up against the holes.
from the widely available Sandisk Cruzer Fit
USB drives, a 4 pole, double throw (4PDT)
switch (MFS401N-2-Z), a 3D printed case, and Now you need to solder them on. The best
an optional keychain lobster clip. technique here is to add initial blobs of solder
to the hole contacts, and then while the solder
is still molten, poke the tip of the iron through
ASSEMBLEY each hole [3]. This should ensure a good
connection is made between the PCB adapter
Assembling the Double Drive is relatively and flash chip.
straight forward, you'll just need some
soldering skills, and a iron with a fine tip. Once both chips are on, you now need to add
the switch to the rear of the device [4]. Be
You can grab the source PCB and 3D files on careful not to touch the flash chips.
the specially made dat folder for this zine (see
the front of the publication). Time to test everything. Place the Double Drive
in your computer's USB port [5], and one of
First, use a small flathead screwdriver to open the flash chips should light up. Good, one
up the Cruzer Fit drives [1]. Make sure to do it works. Now eject the disk, flip the switch, and
from the underside of the USB plug section, reinsert it. The other flash chip should initiate.
1 2

3 4
5 6

7 8
 THE NODE DOUBLE DRIVE / 027

If either don't work, go back and resolder the

PCB holes again, and this should bridge any
gaps in the contacts.

WRAPPING UP

Alright, if everything's working, just add the

keychain clip to the 3D printed case, then
assemble everything [6]. You can choose to
glue bottom parts of the case together, but
that's up to you. Extra stealth points if you
finish and paint the case so it looks even more
inconspicuous.

You now have a stealth Double Drive. To the

casual observer, it appears like a regular drive.

The keychain clip intentionally obscures the

back of the device, but if you stick a thin object
into the hole [7], you can flick the switch over.
Plug it into a computer [8], and you'll see the
data on one of the chips only, flick the switch,
and you'll get something completely different.

Written by NODE
028 / SO GOD MADE A FARMER

SO GOD MADE A and other equipment have become less and

less user-serviceable. For generations of
FARMER machinery, any person could strip down a
tractor to its individual parts, clean them, and
build things back up without needing anything
Farms today use a tremendous amount of but time and patience. These days, when a
technology. Where we once had tractor breaks down, manufacturers like John
vehicles--cars, trucks, tractors--that were Deere require machines to be sent away to
built of analog parts and reparable by any authorized repair centers, enforcing these
machinist with a lathe and some know-how, rules with software lockdowns and tampering
we now have machines that are controlled by prevention mechanisms that a normal
computers, with software connecting to user--even a crafty one--cannot get around
sensors connecting to engines and actuators. without some level of outside assistance.
It is a different world, but not necessarily a
better one.Manufacturers boast that new A whole community of farmers, who have
tractors are safer and easier to maintain than been known to tamper, tinker, and construct
ever. Software makes sure that everything is makeshift solutions to complex problems,
working properly, and if something goes have been left out in the cold by
wrong, it throws an error alerting to the manufacturers of equipment essential to
problem. Unlike with earlier tractors, farmers maintaining a livelihood. While a tractor that
these days can't simply fix their machines and first rolled off of the assembly line fifty years
get back to work if something goes awry. The ago may still be able to put in a full day's work,
manufacturer has to be included in the repair who knows the fate of the current generation
loop, and you're left in the dust if you don't coming out of the showroom. Will future fixes
want to go through them. be impossible if authorized service centers
refuse to support older equipment? In today's
Within the past few years, farmers have joined culture, a lot of technology is considered
the Right to Repair movement as their tractors disposable--longevity isn't factored in when
 SO GOD MADE A FARMER / 029

Repairing Tractors The Old Way

Photo by FOTO:FORTEPAN / Mészáros Zoltán (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
030 / SO GOD MADE A FARMER

pushing out a new product. Planned outlined plans for pricing or delivery
obsolescence reigns supreme. mechanisms. Currently, a farmer can obtain a
replacement part from a third party and even
In the US, farmers have been granted an install it, but the machine won't run until an
exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright authorized repair center locks the part to the
Act (DMCA), a piece of 1998 legislation that tractor via a firmware update that marries
enforces intellectual property rights and their serial numbers. DRM-culture has
criminalizes circumvention of access control. infected many aspects of daily life, and it can
However, manufacturers retaliated by only cripple technological advancement as
updating their terms of service to disallow the time goes on.
tampering that this law would permit. Though
it is fully legal for farmers to make certain Farmers have always been self-reliant: they
repairs, it is against company policy, and take repairs and construction into their own
manufacturers don't need to make things hands to save time and money. When you
simple, or have materials available to assist. need to get things done on a schedule, there
As with companies like Apple and Microsoft isn't a lot of time to waste in getting things up
and their respective iPhone and Xbox and running again; why spend thousands of
hardware, these manufacturers don't want dollars and send a machine away when a quick
anyone looking into the internals of a product, fix will do? Numerous websites exist to
even after it becomes a customer's own support farmers who wish to share their
property. Luckily, legislation is changing, albeit designs and inventions, including
slowly. Aligning with smaller strides in the https://farmhack.org/tools and
techno-legal space such as the https://www.opensourceecology.org.
unenforceability of "Warranty Void If Historically, there have been many interesting
Removed" stickers, tractor manufacturers technological feats accomplished by farmers.
have agreed to produce repair manuals,
firmware updates, and replacement parts in One such marvel is the introduction of barbed
California by 2021, but with no currently wire telephone lines going back to the 1880s.
 SO GOD MADE A FARMER / 031

When telephone companies wouldn't extend

infrastructure out to farmers, ranchers, and
other homesteaders, they banded together to
extend service from one house to communi-
ties of 20 or more residences by wiring up
pairs of barbed wire lines, already deployed on
fences, extending out around properties. While
the barbed wire was initially erected to contain
livestock, clever minds thought it could also be
purposed to carry communications to phones
set up in homes and barns that the telephone
companies wouldn't touch.

While many of these configurations may have

been crude, they were simple, convenient, and
inexpensive. Some groups may have had all
phones ring when the number was dialed
(relying on agreed-upon codes, like three short
rings for you and two long rings for me), while
others contained extensive switchboards
https://farmhack.org/tools manned by volunteers.
032 / SO GOD MADE A FARMER

A more recent analog we see if the rise of These homesteaders would carry out
community broadband networks in rural areas. agricultural tasks, construction, infrastructure
Initiatives such as B4RN in Lancashire, planning, and basic jobs to contribute to the
England and RS Fiber in Minnesota, USA were livelihood of their community. Merry
founded through grassroots efforts to combat Pranksters, Whole-Earthers, Douglas
a lack of high-speed Internet availability. Some Englebert disciples, and engineers blended in
farmers and ranchers got fed up and started high collaboration. Steve Jobs, Ted Nelson, and
trenching and lighting their own fiber, while Xerox PARC pioneers all drew from this
others started deploying wireless access self-sufficient culture, creating an explosion of
points and backhaul links to cover area ISPs mind-expanding technological inventions that
wouldn't service. Many of these installations would go on to shape our present.
are done through member-owned
cooperatives set up specifically for broadband
expansion within communities. These
built-outs are often performed without federal
funding, and ensure that communities have
Internet service essential to their well-being
and businesses.

When you really stand back and look at

everything, it is easy to conclude one thing:
farmers are hackers by nature. They tinker and
improve and figure things out for themselves.
Hacker culture itself can be traced back to the Today, the hacking continues. When faced with
hippie movement of the 1960's. In the USA, vendor lockouts on modern farming
hippies were banding together to create equipment, farmers are using pirated software
communes on patches of land that could be originating out of Eastern Europe to get their
run in a self-sufficient manner. machines up and running again.
 SO GOD MADE A FARMER / 033

Private, invite-only forums sit innocuously on

the web where farmers can go to get cracked
software for their machines. After paying a
membership fee, black-market software kits,
keygens, and cracks for the latest tractor
models are all available--for the right price.

Without knowing it, farmers have become

activists, freeing their property from the
stronghold of manufacturers and teaching
others to do the same. Nobody is quite sure
what will happen in California come 2021 with
regards to promised parts and software, but
many are worried that this agreement might
hinder full Right to Repair legislation being
passed in certain states further down the road.
Because lawmakers and interest groups
settled on a small solution now, it'll be harder
to ask for more later.

Manufacturers are feeling the heat, but no

matter what happens, we can be sure of
something that has held true for generations:
farmers will take things into their own hands.

Written by Mike Dank

034 / CHATTERVOX TUTORIAL

LIKE IRC OVER RADIO sign and verify messages with one another in
real time, even when they are miles apart.
WAVES: CHATTERVOX
As of this writing, the software is in beta and
TUTORIAL relatively new. That said, the current version is
stable, easy to use, and simple to set up with
inexpensive hardware. Please note, depending
Packet radio is a technology that has existed on your country of residence, you may need to
for decades, going back to projects like acquire an amateur radio license to use
ALOHAnet in 1971 where it was used to Chattervox legally depending on what
transfer data through the Hawaiian islands. frequency band you choose to use.

Based on the simple idea of transmitting

digital data over wireless communications, MATERIALS NEEDED
packet radio is used today by both radio
amateurs and commercial organizations, such I will assume that you already have a
as those working with dispatch networks and computer with a Unix-like operating system
even cellular phone deployments. and a 3.5mm TRRS jack for audio in/out (or
separate line-in/line-out jacks with an
In the amateur radio space, many countries appropriate adapter). I will be using a generic
ban encrypted communications of any nature. laptop running Debian Linux. You’ll also need:
While Chattervox does not offer a way to
encrypt conversations over the radio waves, it - Baofeng UV-5R 4-watt radio ($19.99 USD). A
builds upon AX.25, a popular packet radio chat very inexpensive but capable VHF/UHF radio.
protocol supporting digital signatures and
binary compression. Chattervox adds a chat - BTech APRS cable ($18.79 USD). A 3.5mm
implementation on top of AX.25, and includes TRRS to 3.5mm and 2.5mm audio cable to
elliptic curve cryptography to allow users to interface with our radio.
Alternatively, you can make the cable yourself we may need to install it separately from the
with instructions from the zine, “Messing NodeSource Node.js Binary Distributions page,
Around With Packet Radio” by O’Really. You github.com/nodesource/distributions
can download it for free from Archive.org. /blob/master/README.md

This guide has been tested with node v11.0.0.

SOFTWARE SETUP
$ node --version
First, we need to log into our system with a v11.0.0
non-root, sudo user.

Debian's package repositories may not have

an up-to-date version of Node.js included, so Continued...
036 / CHATTERVOX TUTORIAL

After we verify that Node.js is installed, we can communications, a simple simplex

install Chattervox via npm (all on one line): (radio-to-radio, not using a repeater)
frequency for packet radio can be used, such
$ sudo npm install --cli -g as 147.027 MHz on VHF.
chattervox@latest
We can now start direwolf:
Before starting Chattervox, we will install a
popular software-based TNC substitute $ ./direwolf -p -q d -t 0
known as Dire Wolf: Dire Wolf version 1.5

$ git clone Reading config file direwolf.conf

https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf Audio device for both receive and
$ cd direwolf/ transmit: default (channel 0)
$ sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev Channel 0: 1200 baud, AFSK 1200 &
$ make 2200 Hz, E+, 44100 sample rate.
$ sudo make install Note: PTT not configured for channel
$ make install-conf 0. (Ignore this if using VOX.)
Ready to accept AGW client
application 0 on port 8000 ...
RUNNING CHATTERVOX Ready to accept KISS TCP client
application 0 on port 8001 ...
Now that all of the software is installed, we Virtual KISS TNC is available on
can hook up our radio to our computer using /dev/pts/3
the APRS cable, and make sure the radio is Created symlink /tmp/kisstnc ->
turned on and in VOX mode. /dev/pts/3

Anyone participating in the chat will need to chattervox can then be started using the
tune in to the same frequency. For basic chat flag. On the first run for a user, it will set
 CHATTERVOX TUTORIAL / 037

up your identity and public/private keys, saved Is this correct [Y/n]? Y

to ~/.chattervox. Generating ECDSA keypair...
Public Key: 04cf3a8d53fb6f8fce248f...
$ chattervox chat
Welcome! It looks like you are using Settings saved to
chattervox for the first time. /home/user/.chattervox/config.json
We'll ask you some questions to N0CALL:
create an initial settings
configuration. Just like that, we're in chat and able to
communicate with a anyone else on the
What is your call sign (default: frequency with the same setup.
N0CALL)? N0CALL
What SSID would you like to associate If you are having trouble communicating, try
with this station (press ENTER to adjusting the squelch setting on your radio to
skip)? '1' and make sure audio is working via your
Do you have a dedicated hardware TNC computer. Keep in mind, Baofeng radios may
that you would like to use instead of transmit for an additional second after the
direwolf (default: no)? no output signal has concluded while in VOX
{ mode, so you may miss some RX in that time!
"version": 2,
"callsign": "N0CALL",
"ssid": 0, KEY EXCHANGE
"keystoreFile":
"/home/user/.chattervox/keystore.json Chattervox really shines when you use it for
", digitally signed messages, meaning you can
"kissPort": "/tmp/kisstnc", verify someone sending a message is who
"kissBaud": 9600 they say they are. We can view our own keys
} using the showkey option, which prints the
038 / CHATTERVOX TUTORIAL
 CHATTERVOX TUTORIAL / 039

public key that we can send out to contacts CONCLUSION

(don’t share the private key with anyone):
That's all it takes to set up and use Chattervox
$ chattervox showkey on commodity hardware. In theory, Chattervox
N0CALL Public Key (your signing key): can be used via other communication
04cf3a8d53fb6f8fce248f5249bc2... methods, including unlicensed radio bands, or
N0CALL Private Key: <REDACTED> even via sneakernet for slow communications
where audio is physically recorded,
We can import keys from our friends transported, and played back at the intended
(assuming they were sent over secure recipient's location.
channels) using the `addkey` option, including
a callsign and a public key as arguments: You can learn more about Chattervox by
visiting https://n-o-d-e.net/url/3/.
$ chattervox addkey KC3LZO
04cf3a8d53fb6f8fce248f5249bc2... Also, if you wish to share your public key with
a wide group of Chattervox users, there is a
Verified contacts will show up in chat as public key repository you can contribute to,
normal, but others will display info that might https://n-o-d-e.net/url/4/
make you second-guess their validity:

N0CALL: What's up everyone? Written by Mike Dank

KC3LZO: Not much!
J29DBA (KEY NOT FOUND): Hey it's me
Steve, good to be here for the first
time.
K4X (INVALID SIGNATURE): It's Bob!
How is everyone?
N2ASD (UNSIGNED): Alive and well!
040 / RICOCHET 101

RICOCHET: INSTANT A hidden service's address is derived from the

public key, while the private key is kept secret
MESSAGING ON THE by the service operator. If the private key and
public key don't cryptographically match, the
TOR NETWORK Tor hidden service will not function. This
architecture makes impersonating hidden
services, or the operators behind them,
Ricochet (or Ricochet IM), originally released in virtually impossible due to the cryptographic
2014, is an open-source instant messaging complexity involved with forging a new private
platform focusing on privacy. Unlike most key to match the exisiting public key.
direct peer-to-peer chat applications, Ricochet
utilizes the Tor anonymity network to facilitate
connections.
Online
Bob
HOW IT WORKS Charlie
Famicoman
Ricochet's key features include its anonymized Mike
N-O-D-E
connection layer and its unique authentication
system based on public-key cryptography.

Ricochet addresses look like this and are

derived from the address of a Tor hidden
service launched by Ricochet on the user's
machine: ricochet:pq3axign4v4nlpq5

When a Tor hidden service is set up, a public/ To illustrate how it works, here is what
private key-pair is generated for it to use. happens when Alice wants to message to Bob:
 RICOCHET 101 / 041

1. Alice and Bob exchange Ricochet 5. Behind the scenes, Alice's and
addresses through an existing, Bob's machines open a new
trusted, communication method such connection and keep it open to
as an in-person meetup. accurately determine if the other is
online at any given time.
2. Alice chooses to add a new contact
and inputs Bob's Ricochet address, 6. Now, they will each appear as
optionally adding some message text online in each other's contact lists
before pressing "Add." within Ricochet. Alice or Bob can now
instigate a new message with the
3. In the background, a connection is other over the encrypted,
made between Alice and Bob over anonymous connection that runs
the Tor network, sending Alice's between them.
contact request along with
authentication information about her Most of the technical aspects of this
hidden service. Since this connection transaction happen in the background and are
is made from Alice to Bob's hidden hidden away from the user. To anyone using
service, it is signed and encrypted Ricochet, the process of messaging a contact
with Alice's private key and Bob's resembles that of any other instant messaging
public key. This means that the application.
request can only have been sent by
Alice, and can only be read by Bob.

4. Bob now sees that he has a new COMPARISONS

contact request. Ricochet has already
verified that the request has come Compared to traditional and other
from Alice's hidden service, and Bob decentralized instant messaging applications,
knows Alice, so he accepts it. Ricochet has a few advantages.
042 / RICOCHET 101

Google Hangouts Tox Ricochet

Design Centralized Decentralized Decentralized

E2E Encryption No Yes Yes

Anonymous No No Yes

Location Visible Visible Hidden

Group Messaging Yes Yes No

Voice Messaging Yes Yes No

File Transfer Yes Yes No

For one, all messages on the platform are or operators. Connections between users are
end-to-end encrypted via public-key done P2P and do not require any additional
cryptography and authenticated, so they are messaging infrastructure.
completely private between the sender and
receiver. Lastly, Ricochet has undergone a security audit
by the NCC Group, with positive results.
The location of the sender and receiver are
also completely hidden via the Tor network.
While other applications may let you connect DOWNSIDES
through Tor, not all of them have it as default.
Being decentralized, Ricochet does not have
Ricochet is also a decentralized application, any concept of registration or login, so an
not relying on or trusting any central services attacker with physical or remote access to a
 RICOCHET 101 / 043

user's machine could assume that user's application which runs Ricochet acting like an
identity (though this is a general challenge IRC server to facilitate access through the
with all P2P software). terminal if preferred.

Much like with Bitcoin addresses, users need ricochet-irc

to perform their own backups in the event that https://github.com/wfr/ricochet-irc
their machines fail. Without a backup, Ricochet
users would have to create a new address and The Ricochet team is currently working on a
identity, then perform all of their contact new implementation of the protocol in the Go
requests a second time. programming language and appears to have
plans for new GUI and CLI versions of the
Lastly, even though Ricochet uses a binary Ricochet client.
protocol for communication, it currently only
supports text messaging. There are, however, https://github.com/ricochet-im
currently plans for file transfer in the future.

CONCLUSION
CLIENTS
So that's the basics of Ricochet. It has the
The official Ricochet GUI client is available for benefit of secure communication between
Mac, Windows, and Linux, and downloadable users, and it is completely decentralized and
as a binary from the Ricochet.im site. There is trust-less. Additionally, the application's use of
also the option to build Ricochet from source. the ever-growing Tor network helps to
enhance privacy for the users.
Ricochet
https://ricochet.im Written by Mike Dank

Alternatively, there is an unofficial ricochet-irc

044 / DIGITAL FINGERPRINTING & TRACKING

DIGITAL JS Navigator. The navigator object

allow websites to know the basic
FINGERPRINTING & makeup of your system, and is often
used as the most basic form of
TRACKING tracking. It allows websites to see
your browser type, the version
number, your operating system and
Your digital fingerprint consists of the habits, version, your CPU type, screen
hardware, and the software you use to interact resolution, color depth, language
with the Internet. settings and more.

The more points of data that can be gleaned HTML5 Canvas. The Canvas API is a
from a person, the more unique the fingerprint feature in HTML5 which is used to
is, and the easier it is to identify and track draw 2D graphics and animations on
someone, even if they think they're acting web pages. It fingerprints users by
anonymously by doing something like masking drawing a hidden canvas, and
their IP address. converting that to a hash. Since every
computer is slightly different, this
Here's an overview of some of the ways your creates a unique identifier, which can
personal fingerprint is constructed. It applies to be used to track you.
both browser-based tracking, as well as
tracking done through other apps. WebGL. Again, similar to Canvas, this
fingerprinting technique deals with
how your system renders 3D
graphics for web pages. The
combination of specific hardware and
(Further fingerprinting techniques are always drivers will result in a different,
being developed, so this list is not exhaustive.) trackable hash.
 DIGITAL FINGERPRINTING & TRACKING / 045

Timezone. Websites can find your WebRTC. This plugin, which allows
time zone in two ways. First by using for P2P web applications through the
your IP address, and second through browser, can leak both your public
Javascript functions which read the and local IP addresses, even if you're
regional settings of your operating using a proxy.
system. If you use a proxy or VPN,
this second method can reveal your Fonts. If you've installed custom
real time zone, and the discrepancy
Aa fonts on your system, these can be
between your real time zone and the read by websites, making your
proxy time zone will make you stand fingerprint much more unique.
out further.
Media Devices. Another feature of
Audio Context. Similar to HTML5 WebRTC is that in order to
Canvas, the AudioContext fingerprint successfully connect users through
is based on your system's physical P2P connections, a hash of the media
hardware capabilities. In this case, the devices, such as cameras,
unique hash relates to your audio microphones and audio hardware, is
stack and settings. required. This is called Device ID, and
it can be used as a way to identify
Browser Storage. Browsers store a users across the web.
variety of local data related to your
browsing habits, such as cookies, Battery Level. The Battery Status API
browser history, extensions, settings, allows for over 14 million different
local storage and more. Depending on values for a battery's current state,
your browser and personal settings, giving a very unique fingerprint. This
websites may have open access to can allow ad tracking scripts to track
this storage, making it a good way to the same person over completely
track you. unrelated websites.
046 / DIGITAL FINGERPRINTING & TRACKING

Plugins. Similar to fonts, if you have Ultrasonic Sounds. Some ad trackers

custom plugins installed, especially have been found to emit unique
old versions, then this will make your codes through ultrasonic sounds,
fingerprint more unique. which are outside of human hearing
range, but can be heard by other
Usage Patterns. If you visit the same phones or computers. This means
handful of websites every day, at the other devices in the area running the
same times, then you have a same ad tracking scripts can pick up
trackable pattern. If the traffic is the code, establishing another data
unique enough compared to other point and tentative connection to
users, it means even if you changed a your fingerprinting profile.
variable, like your location, or
hardware/software used, you could Keyboard/Mouse Patterns. You may
still reasonably be identified. not realize that you have a certain
keyboard typing cadence or quirk to
Wifi Router in Range. If an app has how you move a cursor on a screen,
the correct privileges, it can analyze but JavaScript tracking scripts will be
which Wifi access points are in range able to record this for analysis.
of your device. When combined with
other data points from other users, File Metadata. When you upload files
this can track your location, even if to online services, the metadata in
you're moving about, offline, or them can be analyzed and stored. For
switching between IP addresses. example, photos and videos can store
data about the camera or phone used
Consolidation. If a company buys to take the picture, the GPS
another, and you've used both of their coordinates where they were shot,
products, those data profiles can be the date and time of creation, and
consolidated. lots more.
 DIGITAL FINGERPRINTING & TRACKING / 047

Facial Recognition. It's not just file File Fingerprinting. When you
metadata though, the actual content download files from apps or
can be tracked, especially with faces. websites, they may insert unique
data into them which can be tied to
If you upload photos to large you, so if someone else uploads the
companies like Facebook or Google, same file down the line, the service
or if you use services which utilize will know where it came from,
their APIs, this face data is stored. creating a new data point.
Even if you randomly appear in the
background of a stranger's photo, the Movement Tracking. Even if you have
combination of metadata can still link location tracking turned off for your
you to people, locations, usage phone, the accelerometers can see
patterns, etc. when you're up and about, and create
a movement profile, so phone
Hardware Fingerprint. Apps installed manufacturers or app developers can
on your devices have greater control still track you over different devices.
over what data is gleaned, so they
can see exactly what hardware you
are using. If you a have non standard,
custom setup, this will set you apart CONCLUSION
from others.
These are just a handful of the ways we're
Both your computer, and network fingerprinted and tracked online. It's impossible
interfaces have unique identifiers to completely get rid of your unique fingerprint,
(serial number and MAC addresses), but you can aim to blend in with the crowd.
meaning if some apps are made by
the same company, or use the same Written by NODE
APIs, they can identify you.
048 / PI-HOLE ON THE NANO SERVER

PI-HOLE ON THE Next, we need to set up the WiFi connection.

Insert the micro SD card you just burned
NANO SERVER: BLOCK Raspbian to into your computer (not the Pi).

ADS & TRACKERS Create a blank text file, name it ssh, then drag
it into the micro SD volume's root directory.

This short guide will show you how to install Now create another text file, and name it
Pi-Hole (https://pi-hole.net), a wpa_supplicant.conf. Add the following
network-wide ad blocker, on a NODE Nano text, replacing the SSID and Password with
Server. your WiFi details:

Obviously, this will also work fine on a regular country=us

Pi, but the compact size and always-on nature update_config=1
of the Nano Server makes it a perfect match. ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant

This allows all devices on your network to get network={

the same ad block features, just by changing scan_ssid=1
DNS settings on your devices. ssid="YourWifiSSID"
psk="PasswordGoesHere"
}
SETTING UP THE PI
Save it, and drag that into the micro SD volume
First, we have to download and burn the latest too. Eject the micro SD card, and insert it into
lite version of Raspbian to a micro SD card. If the Zero W.
you're a beginner, visit:
When you turn on the Pi for the first time, it'll
https://raspberrypi.org/downloads connect to your WiFi, and SSH will be enabled
 PI-HOLE ON THE NANO SERVER / 049

INSTALLING PI-HOLE

Installing Pi-Hole is super simple, just open a

terminal, and SSH into your Zero W, replacing
192.168.1.10 with your Pi's IP address:

ssh [email protected]

The password is still set as the default

raspberry, so we should change that too.
Type sudo raspi-config into the terminal,
press Enter, and change your password.

When that's done, run the Pi-Hole installer by

typing the following (all on one line):

curl -sSL
https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

This automatically downloads and sets

everything up for you. It will ask you a few
questions about how you want your system to
be configured, so pay attention. Once finished,
it’ll tell you what the address and admin
password are.

You now can unplug the Zero W, screw it into

the Nano Server, and plug it into the outlet.
050 / PI-HOLE ON THE NANO SERVER

BLOCKING ADS & TRACKERS

To get the Pi-Hole working on your computers,

tablets, and phone, you simply change the
DNS settings on your device by adding the Pi
Hole's IP address (the one it gave you earlier).
You may need to restart your browser, but ads
should automatically be blocked from there
onwards.

If you play around in the admin interface, you

can check out the realtime stats for blocked
requests, set up whitelists and blacklists, and
do all sorts of other useful configuration. This
is a great way to mitigate ads and tracking on
a wide range of devices. Obviously it's not
going to catch everything, but it's a good start.

If you're more advanced, also check out

https://pi-hole.net for guides on how to
set up a VPN on the device, allowing you to
use it while you're away from your home
network.

Written by NODE
PI-HOLE ON THE NANO SERVER / 051
052 / LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200

LIBREBOOTING THE potential boot-related backdoors, and that's

what I'm going to show you how to do.
THINKPAD X200
(Shout out to /u/T-400/ on Reddit for bringing
together a lot of the info used in this guide.)

The problem of increasing hardware and

software complexity in modern computers has MATERIALS
led to a greater loss of control and freedoms
from a user's standpoint. For example, it's safe - ThinkPad X200
to say all new CPUs have secret backdoors, - Raspberry Pi 2, 3 or Zero
and perhaps other nefarious chips running on - A SOIC-8 or SOIC-16 clip (depending on the
their motherboards, as well as built in chip you have)
microphones, cameras, and software that - Female to Female jumper cables (or regular
spies and tracks users in 1000 different ways. wires if you manually solder them)
- A separate computer to SSH from
Enter the ThinkPad X200. This little beast was
state-of-the-art when it was released in 2008.
It sports a 12.1" 1280x800 pixel screen, an MAC ADDRESS
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.40 GHz CPU, 4GB RAM
(I believe it can go to 6GB), an excellent Ok, so before we get started, we'll need to
keyboard, and all the other features you'd make a note of the MAC address for the
expect from a ThinkPad workhorse. You can laptop. It looks something like this,
easily find them on Ebay going for $50-$100. 0A:0B:0C:0D:0E:0F, and is a mixture of
letters and numbers. You can usually find it on
What's more interesting is that this model has a sticker on the bottom of the laptop, but if it’s
a separate BIOS chip that you can reflash with not there, you can boot into a Linux based OS,
Libreboot (libreboot.org), to remove any and use the ifconfig command to find it.
1 2

4 5
 LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200 / 055

PREPARING THE X200

1. Remove the battery, then all the screws

shown from the underside of the X200.

2. Place a flathead screwdriver under the front

of the keyboard, and gently pry it up. Then
disconnect the cable which connects it to the
motherboard. Put it to one side.

3. Remove the cable to the fingerprint sensor,

3 then lift off the palm rest

6 4. There, you'll see the BIOS chip. It will either

be an 8 or 16 pin chip. If it has a sticker on it,
remove the sticker, and use rubbing alcohol or
similar to get rid of the residue.

5. We need to write down the numbers that

are on the chip. This will help us identify it in a
later stage. For example, mine says
"MX25L6405".

6. While we’re here, we can disconnect the

CMOS battery too. It's the yellow coin cell
above the chip.

Continued...
056 / LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200

RASPBERRY PI SETUP and make a note of it. Enter ifconfig into the
console and look for an interface with a local IP
Alright, now we need to set up the Raspberry address. It will usually be something like
Pi so it's able to flash the BIOS firmware. I 192.168.0.10.
used a Pi Zero (with GPIO headers), but a Pi 2
or 3 should also work. 7. Now, you can do the rest by SSHing into the
Pi from your main computer, so you can
1. Download and burn the latest lite version of disconnect the monitor/keyboard, etc. Open a
Raspbian OS to a micro SD card and insert it terminal on your computer and type in:
into the Pi. Refer to the official RPi page for a ssh [email protected] (replacing the IP with
how-to (raspberrypi.org/downloads) if the one you wrote down). Type in the
you've never done this before. password to log in.

2. Hook the Pi up to a monitor, add a keyboard, 8. Let's install what we need. Type in (all on the
and power it on. same line):

3. Log in using the default credentials sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get
(username: pi, password: raspberry). install libftdi1 libftdi-dev
libusb-dev libpci-dev subversion
4. In the console, type sudo raspi-config flashrom
and press Enter.
9. Once everything is installed, turn the Pi off,
5. Go into Interfacing Options and enable SSH, and wire up the SOIC-8 or SOIC-16 clip
SPI and I2C. adapter, depending on which one your X200
has. Use the diagram on the next page for
6. If you haven't already, connect the Pi to WiFi reference. Female jumper cables are much
or ethernet so it's connected to the Internet. easier to work with, but you can just solder the
Once done, find out the Pi's IP address and wires directly if you don’t have any.
 LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200 / 057

Now scroll all the way down to the bottom of

A the page, and download one of the following
E files. (the 4MB file if you have the 8 pin chip,
B E and 8MB for the 16 pin)
D
4MB C
A F
B libreboot_r20160907_grub_x200_4mb.tar.xz
C
D F libreboot_r20160907_grub_x200_8mb.tar.xz

C
E F It's up to you how you do this, but get those
8MB newly downloaded files onto the Pi, and place
B A
them in the home folder.
D

(Note: I've also included them in the zine dat folder,

in case the official site is unavailable in the future.)
GETTING THE X200 FILES

First, go to libreboot.org, and click on FLASHING THE BIOS CHIP

Download. Click on one of the HTTPS mirror
links, then click Stable. Now click on the Now we need to generate a custom ROM file
'20160907' link. to go on our BIOS chip. Turn on your Pi again,
and SSH into it from your other computer.
Download the util file:
1. Extract the Libreboot rom tarball we
libreboot_r20160907_util.tar.xz downloaded in the last section (all on the same
line):
OK, now we need to find the correct rom files.
Click the 'rom' directory, then navigate to the tar xf

'grub' directory. libreboot_r20160907_grub_x200_8mb.tar.xz

058 / LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200

Then do the same for the Libreboot util file 6. Let's create a new 'x200' directory, and copy
(again on the same line): the bin file into it. Remember to change the
number depending on your X200 BIOS chip:
tar xf
libreboot_r20160907_util.tar.xz mkdir ~/x200
cp ich9fdgbe_8m.bin ~/x200/
2. Now, navigate to the new util directory:
7. Now we need to grab the .rom file which
cd libreboot_r20160907_util corresponds to the keyboard layout on your
particular X200. Again, remember to change
3. Go into the 'ich9deblob' directory: the '8mb' to '4mb', depending on your chip. Go
to the rom directory, then list the files.
cd ich9deblob
cd ~/libreboot_r20160907_grub_x200_8mb
4. Navigate to the 'armv7l' directory: ls

cd armv7l 8. Copy the particular rom file you need to the

'x200' directory we made earlier. I'm using a
5. Now run this command, replacing UK keyboard layout, so I chose the
00:00:00:00:00:00 with the MAC address x200_8mb_ukqwerty_vesafb.rom file. Type
you wrote down at the start: the following (on the same line):

./ich9gen --macaddress 00:00:00:00:00:00 cp x200_8mb_ukqwerty_vesafb.rom

~/x200/
This creates a bunch of new files. You will need
either the ich9fdgbe_8m.bin or 9. Now there should be 2 files in our 'x200'
ich9fdgbe_4m.bin file depending on the directory. We now need to write the generated
BIOS chip you have. .bin file into the .rom to create our new rom
 LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200 / 059

specific to our X200 laptop, so first go back to Multiple flash chip definitions
the 'x200' directory: match the detected chip(s):
"MX25L6405(D)",
cd ~/x200 "MX25L6406E/MX25L6436E",
"MX25L6445E/MX25L6473E"
Then run the following (all on one line): Please specify which chip
definition to use with the -c
dd if=ich9fdgbe_8m.bin <chipname> option.
of=x200_8mb_ukqwerty_vesafb.rom
bs=1 count=12k conv=notrunc 12. Find the chip name closest to the one you
wrote down earlier, and repeat the process,
10. The *vesafb.rom file is now updated and now with your specific chip number. (Replace
tailored to your X200 laptop. 'MX25L6405' with your chip)

11. Connect the SOIC clip to your BIOS chip. flashrom -p

Make sure it is the correct way around, and linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0,spispeed=128
attached firmly. We need to back up the -r factory1.rom -V -c MX25L6405
existing data on the chip, but first we have to
find out the specific name flashrom gives your This process takes around 10-15 minutes.
chip. Run the following (again, all on one line):
13. Once complete, we need to repeat this
flashrom -p step two more times:
linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0,spispeed=128
-r factory1.rom -V flashrom -p
linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0,spispeed=128
This will output a bunch of text talking about -r factory2.rom -V -c MX25L6405
multiple flash chip definitions, and that you
need to specify the exact chip: And once more:
060 / LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200

flashrom -p flashrom -p
linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0,spispeed=128 linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0,spispeed=128
-r factory3.rom -V -w ~/x200/x200_8mb_ukqwerty_vesafb.rom -V
-c MX25L6405

14. You've now backed up the factory firmware

3 times ('factory1.rom', etc.). To make sure
everything is being read correctly, we'll This process takes about an hour. Don't be
compare the shasum of each of the rom files. alarmed if it initially spits out errors, just keep
waiting. Eventually if it says 'verifying
sha512sum factory*.rom flash...VERIFIED', the process will be
completed! Make sure not to move the SOIC
If the characters match, we're good to go. If clip at all during this process, and if it does fail,
not, turn the Pi off, remove the SOIC clip, then keep trying.
try the backup steps again.
16. If all's good, turn the Pi off, disconnect the
I originally had problems with my clip not being SOIC clip, and power up the X200. You should
in place securely enough, so double check all see the Libreboot BIOS page. Put everything
the connections. back together, and you're good to go.

15. Now it's time to flash the chip. Run the You now have a laptop with dodgy boot
following command, and remember to change backdoors mitigated. Next steps would
the chip number to your specific one. Also note obviously include installing a FOSS operating
the .rom file specified is the one we made system.
earlier in our 'x200' directory.
This leaves you with one of the freest laptops
Again, keep it on one line (sorry, lack of space you can own these days. For web browsing,
writing this!) coding, writing, light editing, etc, it's more than
capable. Enjoy!
LIBREBOOTING THE THINKPAD X200 / 061
062 / DECENTRALAND

DECENTRALAND: will change everything for everybody, and

nothing will ever be the same again. As soon
BUILDING THE NEXT as you have an idea that changes some small
part of the world you are writing science
VIRTUAL WORLD fiction. It is always the art of the possible,
never the impossible." -- Ray Bradbury

Decentraland’s mission is to create a social When laying down the concept for
and 3D virtual world that is owned and Decentraland, we definitely were inspired by
managed by its users. various fictional virtual worlds, such as in
Ready Player One (2011) and Snowcrash (1992).
This virtual world is, at its essence, a platform As an organization, our goal is to provide the
including the open source tools to create foundations for a world without owners, a
dynamic 3D content, games, and applications; platform that can eventually become
the infrastructure to host and distribute that self-sustaining, like the web: free from the
content in a decentralized fashion (without control or oversight of a central organization,
relying on central servers); and a web-based with a set of open standards to which
app through which users can access and everyone can contribute.
interact with that content.

We’re excited to share our vision, our journey, FINDING A PATH FORWARD
and what we’ve learned along the way.
We’ve been experimenting with different P2P
architectures needed for a truly decentralized
INITIAL INSPIRATION platform, all while trying to cater to very
different use cases. On one side, the network
"Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the has to be resilient. We cannot let any particular
head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and node become a single point of failure. On the
DECENTRALAND / 063

Map of Decentraland’s
‘Genesis City’
064 / DECENTRALAND
 DECENTRALAND / 065

other side, we want to enable hundreds of We eventually created an entirely new

users to connect at the same time. interface for IPFS nodes that resembles a
more traditional HTTP API. This gave LAND
Even given these constraints, we’ve arrived at owners the control they needed. With a better
a solution where LAND owners become separation of concerns (what to display on
brokers of messages sent over the network: each parcel and how to transport it over the
this prevents the very problematic quadratic P2P network), "seeders" can provide a far
increase in the number of connections better service to developers building scenes
between clients. In a pure P2P network (where (the 3D environments in Decentraland) and to
everybody connects to everybody else) one the clients (or users) accessing that content.
hundred interconnected clients results in
roughly five thousand individual connections! We’ve been waiting to open-source this code
only because of how heavily and frequently
However, if each node is operated by a parcel we’ve been iterating on the underlying
owner (who serves as the "message broker"), architecture. Once we pass this milestone, the
then the number of connections falls to only Decentraland community will be able to start
one hundred connections for each parcel. building on some very solid ground.

CURRENT SOLUTIONS CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY

We saw IPFS (the InterPlanetary File System) With such an ambitious vision, we weren’t
as the clear solution for our unusual use case, surprised to encounter some challenges.
but we quickly ran into some problems. We We’ve ended up making different trade-offs
knew that we would have to allow members of and compromises, but we’ve worked to stay
the network (LAND owners) to have control true to our mission of building a distributed
over the particular content they want to serve, network, free from centralization of resources
a task that IPFS doesn’t lend itself to easily. and power.
066 / DECENTRALAND

Navigating through the Ethereum ecosystem people actively using VR headsets is very low
and discovering just what we can build in this compared to these platforms, so completing a
space has been a phenomenal experience. true VR experience isn’t our first priority.
We’ve met similar, and very inspiring, projects
all working to cultivate a network of people Having said that, we do have some
who value our unique opportunity to redefine experimental builds that work on the Vive and
the information networks of today. Rift through WebVR!

Virtual Reality at scale hasn’t been an easy egg

to crack for anyone. VR development is still BUILDING A TEAM
very difficult in its current infancy, much as
when we first started Decentraland. Tackling these challenges requires a small
army of passionate innovators. The team at
We strongly believe that the high bandwidth of Decentraland is a global group of likeminded
information that one can process (and engineers, artists, designers, thinkers, and
generate) with a VR headset and hand writers spread around the globe.
controllers is very likely to create the best
personal information processor we can build in Since we first started the organization in late
the next decade. However, for the time being, 2017, we’ve grown to include 35 members
and given the small number of VR systems dedicated full-time to the project, mostly
installed at home, our first focus is to ship a engineers, artists, and product designers.
mobile and a desktop version of Decentraland.

Since Decentraland is a project with MANA: HOW WE GOT STARTED

inclusiveness at the core of its beliefs, we
want the world explorer (or Client) to not only The funding for Decentraland was raised back
to work on VR headsets, but also on desktop in late 2017 through an initial coin offering
computers and mobile devices. The number of (ICO) in which we issued the MANA ERC20
 DECENTRALAND / 067

Screenshot from the upcoming Decentraland client

068 / DECENTRALAND
 DECENTRALAND / 069

token. MANA was first used to buy LAND, the targeting web desktop browsers, with a client
ERC721 tokens representing the parcels of re-written (but compatible) for the Unity
virtual real estate in Decentraland, during the Engine. This’ll allow us to compile to WASM
Terraform Event. All of the MANA exchanged and benefit from a better memory
for LAND in the Terraform Event was burned, management system, among many other
removing it from circulation. goodies. This is going to be a major milestone
for our project. By Q3, the mobile client should
Today, MANA can used to buy and sell LAND in be released.
the Marketplace, it can be burned in exchange
for LAND in our public auctions (like the second Once these milestones are behind us, the
public auction we held in December of last golden age of iterating over features and
year), and it can be used to weight votes in adding more value to the users of the virtual
Agora, our community voting platform. We world will be our guiding star.
intend for MANA to eventually be used in
many of the "in-world" transactions conducted Finally, I want to extend our sincerest thanks
within Decentraland. to all of the district leaders, community
members, and colleagues who have helped us
to get here.
WHERE WE’RE HEADED
We’ll see you in the metaverse!
We’re going to release our open source client
Q1 2019. Up until now, we’ve chosen to Check the project out at decentraland.org
develop the client below the radar, to give
ourselves more room to maneuver and make Written by Eric Schallock & Esteban Ordano
breaking changes. (Screenshots provided by Martin Shibuya under
CreativeCommons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
We’re preparing to release the client to a International license.)
wider, more "mainstream" audience in Q2, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
070 / BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS TODAY

BEAUTY OF THE BAUD: connected and got your turn. If the BBS
System Operator, the SysOp, only owned this
BULLETIN BOARD one computer, the machine could go offline if
the SysOp needed to use it for another task. If
SYSTEMS TODAY there was a hardware failure, the machine may
never have come back up.

In the '80s and '90s, back before the Internet Most bulletin board systems you would dial
became the de facto form of digital into were local to you (to avoid long distance
communication, Bulletin Board Systems charges), but some BBSes were famous
(BBSes) were how computer enthusiasts could around the world. Cities could have hundreds
connect, chat, play games and share files with of them, diligently fostering unique
one another. Bulletin Board Systems were communities while they tried to make names
rarely run with elaborate hardware. In fact, for themselves. Many systems had their own
most BBSes were simple, commodity personal distinct goals, offerings, or general feel, akin to
computers outfitted with one or more modems the diversity of websites we see today. Bulletin
and special software that could accept Board Systems were revered for their ability to
incoming calls from other, inquiring computers. spread information, not just through message
These connections were one-to-one--each forums, but through an abundance of text files
modem on the host BBS could only talk to one (or "philes") that were traded from board to
calling computer at a time. When a computer board. Sure, there may have been pirated
connected, they were greeted with an warez like applications and games, but small
interactive, textual menu that might display text files written by hacking/phreaking groups,
colorful ANSI art and direct a caller to a chat anarchists, crackers, and general computer
area, a forum, a games section, or even a files enthusiasts went worldwide. You and your
directory with downloads. If all the lines on the friends could write a zine full of interesting
system were busy, you'd have to wait until information and upload it to a local BBS. Then,
someone logged off before you successfully overnight, people would download and
 BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS TODAY / 071

Amiga 3000 Desktop System, running a 2 line BBS, 1994

Photo by ‘Acp~commonswiki’ (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
072 / BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS TODAY

distribute it to other BBSes all over the world. ACTIVE BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS
There really wasn't anything quite like it before,
and some may argue there hasn't been There are many BBSes out there that you can
anything like it since. still access today. Some stick around, but most
live, die, and fade away in a short amount of
These days, BBSes have mostly died off. Those time. Here’s a list of a few popular modern
that survive are often accessible over the Bulletin Board Systems you can check out.
Internet using protocols like Telnet or
SSH--something that your modern computer Please remember, Telnet is a plaintext protocol,
probably supports out of the box. A few BBSes meaning any eavesdroppers can see your
still tie into the phone lines and are accessible traffic. Most BBSes allow you to visit with a
via modem, but those are few and far between. guest account, but if you decide to register an
Why would anyone still want to use or run a account of your own, use a unique password!
BBS these days? While retro-computing
hobbyists make up a large group of modern
BBS users, bulletin board systems can still be
useful in specific situations. For example,
consider a warring country with its Internet
shut off, or a remote area where bandwidth is
limited. Maybe there is a community that has
no telephone access, and decides to
communicate through a BBS via packet radio.
Many low-bandwidth environments, including
amateur mesh networks or darknets like Tor, PIRANHA: UNDER THE BLACK FLAG
could benefit from bulletin board systems as a telnet - blackflag.acid.org
lightweight way to distribute data.
Aside from that, they are a fascinating if This BBS is run by the ANSI artscene group
obscure way to communicate over the wire. ACiD, and showcases a lot of early computer
 BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS TODAY / 073

graphics artwork. Aside from the impressive connect over phone lines. The Level 29 BBS is
interface, Black Flag also connects to the located in Fair Oaks, CA, USA.
FidoNet network, a store-and-forward system
for inter-BBS communication that allows for
the exchange of forum messages and email.
Black Flag has been operating since 1995 and
is located in Hudson, FL, USA.

THE CAVE
telnet - cavebbs.homeip.net

The Cave is a Windows-based BBS running the

popular SynchroNet BBS software. It features a
LEVEL 29 live chat system and many classic DOS door
telnet - bbs.fozztexx.com games such as Trade Wars 2002 and Legend of
phone - 916.965.1701 the Red Dragon (LoRD).

Level 29 is a popular BBS, drawing in many Originally operating between 1992 and 1998 in
retro computer owners who attempt to Raleigh, NC, USA, The Cave was completely
connect from a variety of older hardware. rebuilt in 2004.

Unlike most currently-running BBSes, Level 29

runs its own custom software, and features an
old-school dial-up number if you want to Continued...
074 / BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS TODAY

CONCLUSION

Additional BBSes are actively indexed at the

Telnet BBS Guide, an online directory of bulletin
board systems, at telnetbbsguide.com. As
of this writing, there are 451 Bulletin Board
Systems listed on the site with 38 new ones
listed in the last 30 days alone! There are many
to explore, far exceeding what's been
ALCOHOLIDAY showcased here.
telnet - alco.bbs.io
If you are itching to run your own BBS, there is
Alcoholiday is a BBS featuring a lot of great plenty of software available to set one up such
artwork, but it isn't your traditional art-focused as the classic Mystic (mysticbbs.com) or x84
BBS. Instead, Alcoholiday focuses on (github.com/jquast/x84).
messaging and user communication,
connecting up to 12 different store and Bulletin Board System software has a relatively
forward networks! small footprint, and can run comfortably on
small, low-power, single-board computers like
Originally established in 1995, Alcoholiday was the Raspberry Pi.
revived in 2001, and again in 2015 where it
currently runs off of a Raspberry Pi in Have an old or underpowered computer laying
Columbia, SC, USA. around? You might have the perfect BBS machine
right under your nose!

Written by Mike Dank

 BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS TODAY / 075

BBS on a Raspberry Pi
Photo by Mike Dank (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
076 / MAINTAINING PUBLIC SPACES IN P2P NETWORKS

MAINTAINING PUBLIC neck brace, and beside that, a photo of a

person, arrested, wearing your very own
SPACES IN P2P product. Buzzfeed says maybe it's time to ban
electric personal transport on city grounds.
NETWORKS
This ain't good. Because of the actions of a few
poorly-socialised brutes, your invention, which
Suppose you create something for other legitimately improves the lives of the vast
people to use; let's say some sort of a personal majority of regular people that use it, is in danger
transport. "Electric rollerblades." So, you have all of being nuked from orbit. Not only in the
these cool kids whizzing around in your thing. books of law, but also in the eyes of people. It's
It's a new way of transport, it's green, it's cementing itself as a tool for crime the more
useful, and it helps with congestion in cities. they see it in the news.

Then one day, a bank robbery happens. It turns This is a good moment to stop and think about
out the thieves brandished their electric why this is happening.
rollerblades prominently, and their escape was
aided by the fact that your rollerblades were Your thing is new. It is not a car--no one thinks
able to zip around and move in places that no of cars primarily as vehicles for crime. People
police car could possibly go. have little experience with your thing, however,
so their impression is vulnerable to a few bad
Two weeks later, another robbery happens. incidents on the news. There is no established
Also on rollerblades. precedent. Consider how smoking is a known
danger, yet allowed on personal liberty grounds,
Three weeks on, a woman is assaulted by but e-cigarettes get banned left and right.
someone trying to take her bag and whiz
away. On the front page of New York Times, We want our work to reach as many people as
there's a photo of a badly injured woman in a possible to help improve lives. But, even with
 MAINTAINING PUBLIC SPACES IN P2P NETWORKS / 077

our best intentions, we ended up in a place This isn't a theoretical problem either: this is
where the tech is tarnished to the point that something that I faced with Aether, and this is
no respectable person would ever touch it. the thought framework that I came up with to
handle these kinds of issues. To make for a
This is a contrived example. But the point is, better, real-world example, here's an actual
while in theory the technology stands on its issue and how I ended up with a way out.
own, in practice, new technologies aren't just
judged by their merits, but also by how they
interact with the rest of the society. THE GREATER GOAL

Aether is aimed at the mainstream: the goal of

P2P PARALLELS the project is to improve the privacy of the
average user while using mass
This has a decent few parallels with that new communication, and the best way to improve
P2P project that you might be thinking about the 'privacy quotient' of the whole planet is to
starting: likely it involves people; likely it reach out to as many people as possible. This
involves people interacting with each other. is the ultimate goal, and the success of the
potential solution is judged by this.
The point is, even if you can design your
system in a way that it does not give you any
power of decision-making, the very act of PROBLEM
designing the system in the first place, is the
ultimate kind of decision-making that you can For some unknown reason, on P2P networks,
never really waive. people tend to post a lot of porn. That makes it
impossible to have a mainstream appeal; there
You might as well get better at making these is nothing wrong with porn, but no one wants
kinds of calls, because any halfway successful to open up an app downloaded from the
project is going to have to contend with this. Internet, at 3 p.m. the afternoon, at work.
078 / MAINTAINING PUBLIC SPACES IN P2P NETWORKS

Arbiter Of Good Taste, you can expect to be

doxxed, if you're lucky, every other month at
most. Ouch. This is a bad idea for other
reasons, such as you having to review a lot of
content every day just to keep up with it.
Attempt 1. Block Porn!

What happened? Not only did it not work,

technically, it's also that the whole thing about
P2P networks is to give people more free
choice, not less. In other words, you've burned
the house to get rid of the bed bugs. Yes, Attempt 3. Implement a SFW list, having it
you've achieved your first goal (via magical enabled by default, also with the option for
tech that doesn't exist, somehow), but then users to disable it.
you've killed the whole product to be able to
do so. Not cool. Eh. Some people are complaining that this is
effectively censorship because they can't
immediately see NSFW content without
flipping a switch, and that disabling the SFW
list is relatively hard for beginners (you have to
edit a config file for this one).

Attempt 2. Mark NSFW content, and remove This is getting better though. You're still
it from the front page. receiving complaints, but they're now starting
to be more about what you're trying to
Heil dictator! You just inadvertently installed accomplish (a friendly, safe-for-work
yourself as an arbiter of what is safe and what front-page for beginners) and not about you
is unsafe. With your new job as The Ultimate being a tyrannical dictator.
 MAINTAINING PUBLIC SPACES IN P2P NETWORKS / 079

Attempt 4. Keep the SFW list, but let users Attempt 5. Keep everything from previous
know when NSFW content is there, and have attempts, but now introduce custom SFW and
them click if they want to view it. block lists that users can make and share.

This is getting better, but also more complex. Now this makes a lot more sense--you have a
How do you know that? Because now you're 'feature' that you can plan and build around,
getting people confused about what the SFW and you're no longer building a specific,
list actually does. They seem to think it also exception case. That's good. People still
applies to threads, posts, or people, instead of complain, but they now complain about the
only communities--they believe it is now more actual thing you want to do (have a beginner
granular than it actually is. friendly homepage), and not the things you
don't want (becoming a dictator via deciding
Explaining takes too long, and that alone is a on what can be said).
sign you have to simplify the mental model
needed to understand it. Also, you haven't This can go on for a sixth attempt, but I want
fixed the garden variety dictator issue: you are to stop here to make obvious the basic pattern
still the only person in control of that SFW list. we are following. The main purpose of what
we're doing with these iterations is to allows
While the list is optional, and further, us, the builder, control over the amount of
temporarily overridable even when enabled, it complexity we are willing to trade for a better
does help with not binding people by your solution. From the most naive to the most
personal wishes. It does not, however, fix the complex, this makes more visible what
single point of decision issue. amount of complexity you're adding in each
 MAINTAINING PUBLIC SPACES IN P2P NETWORKS / 081

step, and to what improvement. Not all couple iterations on the app that (I believe)
problems need complex solutions, but all improved things.
problems can have them. It is up to you, as the
maker, to determine how complex, thus For the problem in question, I'm afraid I have
surgical, of a solution you're willing to build for no great answers other than a solution being
that particular problem. You will find that dependent on the type of community you're
many problems can be solved to 80% by interested in building. Some communities
something very simple, and you'll feel below a certain size might not need this kind
personally responsible for solving the others of design method. An example of this would be
to 99.8%. That is up to you. Just pick your if you're creating an app that handles private
complexity battles carefully, because I can communities like Discord, or Slack, where each
almost guarantee that there is some part of community would have their own reputation,
your application that would appreciate your and it wouldn't affect the app itself. But, if
attention more. you're building something like Mastodon, then
most things in large communities are going to
affect how your app is perceived by the public,
CONCLUSION fairly or unfairly. This happens whether you
accept it or not, so the practical way of
I hope this ends up being a useful method that handling it is to be aware of this happening
you can utilise when you're building your own and be conscious about it. You might decide to
project, as well as being informative for users, not care, and that is fine as well--so long as it
to explain the thought-processes behind is an explicit decision to do so.
making these kind of systems.
Feel free to try out my project, Aether, at
For this method, it's not a be-all-end-all way getaether.net. We're a small, friendly
of thinking but I've found it helps more often decentralized community.
than not. By applying this concept to a
problem that I've had, I've ended up with a Written by Burak Nehbit
082 / MESH NETWORKING BASICS

MESH NETWORKING given geographical region. That said, it isn't too

hard to bootstrap a new mesh network by
BASICS yourself using off-the-shelf hardware and
open-source software.

Whether for fun or necessity, numerous

groups around the world have been creating BUILDING A MESH
wireless mesh networks to provide Internet
access to local communities. The core component of a mesh network is the
router. Any machine capable of wirelessly
Mesh networks are easy enough to grasp in moving data is suitable for the task. Some
concept: nodes within a network connect groups choose to use standard wireless
directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to routers available in retail stores from brands
as many others as possible for the purpose of like TP-Link or Ubiquiti while others may runs
routing data to/from various clients. custom, white-box Linux machines or
Raspberry Pis and similar SBCs.
In contrast to a star or tree topology you might
see in Local Area Network (LAN) or Internet Router hardware within a network can be
Service Provider (ISP) infrastructure, mesh configured to only route packets between
networks lack centralization, so no one node nodes, or additionally act as Wireless Access
becomes a single point of failure. Meshnets Points (WAPs) to allow client connections
are often praised for their resiliency and locally--much like how you might think of the
scalability as they self-heal when a node goes all-in-one wireless router on your home
offline, and can experience bandwidth network (which usually consists of a router,
increases when new nodes are added. switch, and wireless access point combined).

Modern mesh networks are often run by Routers do all the heavy lifting for the
technical, grassroots groups that thrive in a network, forwarding traffic from node to node
 MESH NETWORKING BASICS / 083

Guifi.net Supernode Installation in Spain

Photo by Lluis tgn
(Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
084 / MESH NETWORKING BASICS

Freifunk Antenna Installation, Berlin 2013

Photo by Boris Niehaus (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

so it can reach its final destination. Choosing constraints when constructing paths for data
router hardware mostly comes down to to follow. Further, some protocols rely on the
hardware compatibility and availability; if the origin router determining the whole path for
hardware is closed off or scarce, it will be the data across the network while others allow
harder to configure and deploy. individual routers to pick the next hop
themselves, so each router determines the
But how does the traffic actually get from one next link within the chain. Routing protocol
node to another? Mesh networks use their choice can often come down to personal
own routing protocols to send packets across preference, ease of set-up, or performance
the network. These protocols might take in to goals. Different protocols can have different
account number of hops to a destination (sum trade-offs, and it's difficult to switch packages
total of the routers that the traffic has to pass once hardware is deployed in the field. Popular
through), signal quality, or even bandwidth protocols you might hear about include
 MESH NETWORKING BASICS / 085

Freifunk Antenna Installation, Berlin 2013

Photo by Boris Niehaus (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

B.A.T.M.A.N. Advanced (commonly referred to wireless routers is OpenWRT, an open-source

as batman-adv), OLSR, cjdns, Babel, bmx, OS forked from the WRT software that
Yggdrasil, and others, with batman-adv being originated with the once-popular Linksys WRT
one of the most popular. Through a simple line of devices. OpenWRT can accommodate a
install command and a few properties set variety of use cases, including mesh
within configuration files (network name, IP networking, and is considered much more
address, etc.), many of these protocols can be mature than alternative packages such as
up and running in minutes. DD-WRT and Merlin. Some wireless routers
offer their own first-party software to perform
Routing protocol choice goes hand-in-hand mesh networking, but this is usually not robust
with operating system software that runs on enough for a wide, public deployment when
any given piece of router hardware. The most compared to the use-case of a home network
popular third-party operating system for setup. Some hardware companies like Ubiquiti
086 / MESH NETWORKING BASICS

and MikroTik have first-party software with peer with one another using an older protocol
robust mesh networking support, but bear in known as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
mind that this is proprietary and BGP is responsible for routing Internet traffic
closed--geeks trying to run their own routers all over the world through a series of
will have to buy specific hardware and the point-to-point links between two entities and
network will rely on the Original Equipment their respective networks. Taking a step back,
Manufacturer (OEM) for support and updates. BGP itself creates links to form a type of mesh
Hardware that directly supports and runs a network, and the more connections a node on
Linux variant can be incredibly flexible, but the Internet has, the better.
more difficult to setup and maintain. A
standard distribution such as Debian can
easily support a wide variety of mesh
networking protocols given it has compatible
wireless radio hardware.

Some networks may also choose to allow

Internet access for clients connecting to nodes
(in addition to mesh-only sites and services),
but they usually don't rely on standard
residential or business connections. These
networks will often set up a Point of Presence
(PoP) at an Internet Exchange (IXP), which is
essentially a physical location for different
organizations, companies, and providers to Many of these links are done without money
connect with one another for network access. trading hands, and it is easy to understand
When two entities want to connect directly how two companies like Comcast and Netflix
with each other, usually for the mutual benefit might want to peer so customers will have
of easy access to the other's network, they better (faster) access to content they want.
 MESH NETWORKING BASICS / 087

CURRENTLY OPERATING NETWORKS to support TP-Link and Ubiquiti devices. Much

like the differences in firmware deployment,
So let's take a look at how some existing mesh routing protocol choice can differ from region
networks operate. to region as well. Some communities rely on
the older OLSR protocol, while others are
moving to the more modern batman-adv.
While batman-adv is now preferred for
routing, some groups push the envelope and
use more experimental protocols like
bmx6/bmx7.

The Freifunk Project originating in Germany

aims to establish free, independent and
non-commercial network access for local
communities. Over 400 communities in and
around Germany, boasting over 41,000 access
points, make up the sprawling network.
Freifunk uses fairly standard off-the-shelf PittMesh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
wireless routers for their access points, as USA, is a community wireless mesh network
several communities within Freifunk build and run by the MetaMesh organization. PittMesh
maintain their own firmware images based off nodes are primarily deployed by MetaMesh,
of OpenWRT. consisting mostly of GL.iNet devices to form a
network of over 60 devices. GL.iNET devices
The exact firmware distribution used will are manufactured to run OpenWRT out of the
depend heavily on the region, but most seem box, making them easy to use with custom
088 / MESH NETWORKING BASICS

software. PittMesh nodes run OLSR to route

within the network, and any device can
become a node provided it also runs OLSR.

The Guifi.net project in Spain aims to create a

free, open, and neutral network for all to use.
Over 35,000 nodes (and counting) are
currently deployed on four continents.
Toronto Mesh, located in the city of the same
name, is a community mesh initiative working Initially, Guifi.net used commodity hardware
to not only build its own network, but create and their own "dd-guifi" firmware (based on
tools and documentation to allow others to do DD-WRT), but now mostly use MikroTik
the same. routers running RouterOS firmware along with
proprietary routing protocols.
Nodes are primarily created with single board
computers like the Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi,
and ROCK64. These nodes leverage separate
WiFi dongles for 802.11s networking between
nodes, and cjdns software running on Linux to
provide routing. Toronto Mesh only has a
handful of nodes deployed, but they are
constantly refining their software and testing
new hardware that may suit their network.
 MESH NETWORKING BASICS / 089

Ninux, a mesh network project in Italy, is a changing how we can access the Internet.
free, open, experimental network. Ninux Wireless mesh networks are a
follows many principles established by other community-focused way of creating an open,
European mesh networks, and shares testing neutral network, and more of them are
information to improve mesh networking starting up all the time. There might already be
practices as a whole. Ninux has over 340 one in a city near you!
nodes deployed which run their own
FirmwareNG firmware based on OpenWRT,
utilizing the OLSR routing protocol. LINKS

The network has a diverse mix of devices https://open-mesh.org

running as routers, but currently https://openwrt.org
recommended devices are manufactured by https://olsr.org
TP-Link and Ubiquiti. https://github.com/cjdelisle/cjdns
https://freifunk.net
https://pittmesh.net
CONCLUSION https://guifi.net
https://tomesh.net
Mesh networks are a simple concept that are http://ninux.org
highly customizable and relatively easy to set
up. With a small investment in commodity
hardware, anyone can get a multi-node mesh Written by Mike Dank
network up and running in an afternoon with
open-source software that is readily available.

These days, many are worried about increased

government meddling and threats to net
neutrality as service providers consider
090 / 3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS

3D PRINTING
WIFI ANTENNAS
This guide will show you how to create two
different long range Wifi antennas, using
cheap, readily available parts, and a 3D printer.
Both antennas cost a few dollars each to PARTS
make, and have the potential to reach maybe 2
miles when pointed accurately with good - 3D Printed Antenna Parts
line-of-sight. - USB Wifi Dongle with SMA adapter
- 14AWG Flexible Silicone Wire (~1m length)
I've seen similar instructions online, but they - Male to Female Reverse SMA Cable
involved a lot of manual measurements and - M6 x 6mm Screw
assembly. Making the antennas 3D-printable - M6 x 10mm Hex Standoff
removes a lot of those steps, and makes the - Small rubber band
process more streamlined and precise.

(All files needed for these projects are in the ASSEMBLY

dat mentioned at the beginning of the zine)
1. 3D print all the antenna pieces, and snap the
two halves together.
MINI YAGI ANTENNA
2. Insert the wire into the spaces (they should
This little yagi antenna is built with size in fit snuggly), and cut the ends so they're flush.
mind, and can be assembled/disassembled
easily by simply clicking everything together. 3. Push the two halves of the driven element
 3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS / 091

1 2

3 4
092 / 3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS

into the antenna. Make sure the top half has

the opening facing toward the back of the
antenna.

4. Wind the wire around the driven element,

making sure it starts at the opening, and ends
a little after the end of the opposite side.

5. Cut the wire, strip 5mm off the end, and tin
the end with solder.

6. Take the female end of the reverse SMA 5

cable, cut it to about 5cm, and strip the end so
the inner core is exposed. (Make sure to cut 6
the outer shielding away). Then solder the
SMA cable to the wire on the driven element.

That’s basically it! You just screw in the tripod

mount, connect your USB wifi dongle, and
you’re good to go.

This yagi design is pretty decent as a general

antenna, and does a good job at both boosting
signals, and finding more access points. Not
bad, consdering it’s super low cost.

Turn over to see the helical antenna design.

3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS / 093
094 / 3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS

HELIX ANTENNA ASSEMBLY

This design is bigger, and works better 1. Print out all the parts, and assemble the
outdoors, so it should be good for meshnets tube sections. The three parts are numbered,
and the like. It's kind of like a more polished with "1" going at the bottom. Make sure all the
Pringles "cantenna," in that it uses a helical eyelets are lined up.
design to catch the WiFi waves.
2. Now we need to wind the 14AWG wire
(This design is an iteration of the one around the antenna tube. Make sure that the
documented at ab9il.net/wlan-projects tubes remain aligned, and make sure there is
so check that out for more advanced details on enough excess wire at the bottom.
the construction.)
3. Take the PCB, and with the NODE logo at the
back, align it up with the antenna tube. Like
PARTS the other antenna, you'll need to cut and strip
about 5mm off the end of the wire, but the
This design uses many of the same cheap, and exposed part needs to line up with the PCB.
easy to find parts as the yagi antenna. (As shown)

- 3D-Printed Antenna Parts 4. Take the female end of the reverse SMA
- 14AWG Flexible Silicone Wire (~2.5m length) cable, cut it to about 5cm, and strip the end so
- USB Wifi Dongle with SMA adapter the inner core is exposed. (Make sure to cut
- Male to Female Reverse SMA Cable the outer shielding away)
- M6 x 6mm Screw
- M6 x 10mm Hex Standoff 5. Solder the 14AWG wire to the SMA cable,
- 4x M2.5 x 15mm Screws through the hole in the back of the PCB.
- 110x110mm Groundplane PCB (or standard
single-sided copper clad board) 6. Once complete, use the 4x15mm, and screw
 3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS / 095

1 2

3 4
096 / 3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS

the mount through the back of the PCB and

into the bottom of the tube base. If you have a
M2.5 thread tap, this would make it much
easier. Add the tripod mount screw and hex
nut, and you can now connect up the USB
dongle, and start using it.

I connected mine to a larger tripod for accurate

directionality, but you could also make some
sort of bracket for the back if you wanted to
screw it directly into a wall. If you're using it
outside, also remember to waterproof the 5
SMA connector and USB dongle somehow.
6

CONCLUSION

So those are the 3D-printable yagi and helix

antennas. Like I said, both of these should
reach a mile or two, at 2.4GHz, depending on a
clear line of sight. The helix design is a little
more temperamental, and needs to be pointed
exactly in the correct position, but apparently
they work much better outside, and through
environmental factors such as rain & snow.

If any antenna experts have ideas on how to

improve these, email [email protected].
3D PRINTING WIFI ANTENNAS / 097
098 / THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS

THE RISE OF SMART support a limited number of ways to program

its native currency and contracts, Ethereum is
ORGANIZATIONS able to natively support any kind of program
that can be imagined. This has led
programmers and enthusiasts to re-imagine
In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the bitcoin entire industries as trust-minimized series of
genesis block, setting off a revolution in the smart contracts, automating away
interdisciplinary fields of cryptocurrency and inefficiencies and disintermediating
smart contract design. Initially marketed as a middle-men along the way.
"peer-to-peer electronic cash system," bitcoin
and the blockchain data structure that secures
its transactions have gone on to be used for THE SMART ORGANIZATION
applications as diverse as crowdfunding,
document time-stamping, and virtual reality. In 2013, entrepreneur and investor David
With the advent of decentralized digital Johnston began describing bitcoin as a
currency controlled by rules encoded in smart "decentralized company" that uses its own
contracts came the possibility of internal currency to incentivize rational
trust-minimized, programmatic transactions economic actors to provide value back to the
of all kinds. network. The idea was that, using only smart
contracts encoded in software, bitcoin was
In 2015, the ultimate realization of this able to coordinate humans and machines to
possibility came to life with the launch of construct a global, trust-minimized,
Ethereum, a cryptocurrency based on the censorship-resistant payments network to
same blockchain data structure as bitcoin but rival centralized companies like PayPal or Visa.
featuring a virtual machine for computing This view was later expanded on by Dan and
Turing-complete smart contracts. In plain Stan Larimer, and then popularized and
terms, this means that while some taxonomized by Vitalik Buterin. The concept of
cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are only able to the "decentralized autonomous
 THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS / 099

organization"--or "DAO" for short--soon are secured by smart contracts and executed
sparked the imaginations of many in the by machines, rather than being secured by
growing cryptocurrency movement. paper contracts and executed by humans. With
smart contract-based security comes the
Fast-forward to 2017. Ethereum was not even benefit of increased auditability, reliability, and
two years old yet and it had not even been one transparency of transactions in a smart
year since the infamous failure of "The DAO", organization.
the first major attempt to launch a DAO on
Ethereum. The first alpha version of Aragon, a For example, a traditional organization may
platform for creating DAOs, was deployed to have a contract with an employee that says
Ethereum's Kovan test network, and the every 30 days, the employee will be paid
movement to realize the powerful concept of $5000. Every 30 days, the company will pay
decentralized organizations was revitalized. the employee--or not, if there are internal
With the new, modular architecture of power struggles or the financial infrastructure
aragonOS, it became possible to program any of the company is compromised. If the
kind of organization on Ethereum and use company doesn't pay as expected, the
Aragon apps to extend their functionality. A employee may be forced to pursue a remedy
new term was needed to describe these through a lengthy and expensive lawsuit.
organizations, one that encompassed both
centralized and decentralized organizations A smart organization, by contrast, may use a
that were built using smart contracts. The payroll smart contract to give employees a
"smart organization" was born. higher degree of certainty that they will be
paid what they are owed on time as specified
in the contract. So long as the network that
FEATURES OF SMART ORGS executes the smart contract is online and has
capacity to process the transaction, the
The defining feature of a smart organization is employee will get paid as expected. An
that its operational and governance processes additional benefit is that, because the
100 / THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS

How to organize many people in a decentralized way?

Photo by Midori Kha Han (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
 THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS / 101

payments are executed autonomously, the Another important benefit of smart

employee can choose to get paid at any organizations is the possibility for distributed
interval during which transactions are governance. Governance over resources or
processed by the network; in smart contract processes that have traditionally been
networks that use a blockchain, this would controlled by one or a few people due to
mean the possibility of getting paid every block technological limitations can be distributed
rather than monthly or bi-weekly. over many entities in a smart organization, up
to and including every member of the
With a higher degree of trust between smart organization having a say in how resources
organizations and employees or vendors due and processes are governed.
to the reliance on smart contracts, transaction
costs drop. Less overhead is necessary to For example, rather than giving only one or
ensure the security of transactions, and two employees authorization to spend funds
disputes are resolved efficiently or eliminated from the corporate treasury, a smart
completely by the autonomous execution of organization can require authorization from
shared agreements in smart contracts. the entire board, or even all shareholders, to
make transfers from the main treasury
Where there is ambiguity, an arbitrator (or account into smaller, department-owned
decentralized network of arbitrators) can be accounts.
relied upon to ensure the faithful execution of
the smart contract. These department-owned accounts can then
themselves be controlled by groups of
These cost-cutting features may lead to smart employees in each department, rather than
organizations being more competitive than one executive or manager. This can prevent
their traditional counterparts. And all of this embezzlement and other abuses of power that
can be accomplished without any permission traditional organizations are vulnerable to.
from or interaction with intermediaries such as
banks or governments. Continued...
102 / THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS

EXAMPLES OF SMART ORGS A decentralized package manager solves these

problems by distributing control over the
Smart organizations may sound great in package manager to members of a smart
theory, but what do they look like and how do organization. The members are required to
they behave in practice? While it is still early in come to consensus according to the smart
their evolution and development, some contracts governing the organization before a
models are beginning to emerge that show new software version can be published to the
how smart organizations can be governed and package manager.
used in the real world.
If the package has a name, it can also be
owned and governed by the smart
THE DECENTRALIZED PACKAGE organization, again requiring the members to
MANAGER come to consensus before the name can be
changed or swapped with a different package.
In software development, a package manager This makes compromise of the software more
is a program that is used to deliver the latest difficult since multiple entities have to be
version of a piece of software to its users. compromised instead of just one.
Traditionally, these package managers are
hosted by a centralized organization and
operated by a single user account (which is THE SMART COMPANY
often controlled by a single developer).
The joint-stock company was invented as a
This can lead to problems where a means of aggregating capital and labor, using
compromise of either the package manager profit-sharing contracts to incentivize
investment and employment contracts to
host or the package manager operator results
coordinate workers. In "The Nature of the
in a compromised piece of software being
Firm" (1937), Ronald Coase asserted that firms
published. Alternatively, package names can
such as companies arise when the transaction
be swapped, leading to confusion for users.
 THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS / 103

costs of aggregating labor under one Some processes (such as hiring or dispute
organization are lower than the cost of resolution inside the company) are still carried
outsourcing to a third-party supplier. This has out manually, but once a certain outcome
led to different types of firms emerging, all of involving the transfer of resources inside the
which have been traditionally composed of organization is required, it can be encoded in a
paper contracts that are executed by humans smart contract to ensure reliable and
and secured by a State-run legal system. transparent execution.

As powerful as the modern company is as a

form of organization, it still relies on many THE DECENTRALIZED ALTRUISTIC
third parties to operate, including banks to COMMUNITY
store funds and governments to incorporate
the company and resolve disputes. The smart Charities today are both loved for their
company has employees, investors, suppliers, altruistic missions and maligned for the
and customers like a traditional company, but amount of wasteful overhead that some have
many or all of its resources and processes are relative to the benefit they bring to the world.
secured by smart contracts. While charities are often required to produce
detailed reports about how they spend money,
Instead of a bank account, the funds of a they aren’t required to measure the impact
smart company are held by a smart contract they are having, leaving donors wondering
with programmatic rules over how the funds whether their money is really being allocated
can be transferred and who is authorized to effectively.
transfer them. Similarly, the smart company
does not use lawyers to draw up a cap table There are efforts to increase transparency and
and employment contracts on paper. Instead, measure impact, but donors are still often
smart contracts are used to issue digital treated as passive sources of funding rather
shares to shareholders and make payroll so than active participants in the charity’s
everyone gets paid as expected. decision-making.
104 / THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS

A Decentralized Altruistic Community (DAC) is they could try to pass a proposal that sends all
a smart organization with a charitable mission of the funds that belong to the organization to
such as feeding the homeless, curing diseases, their own private address. Using fiduciary
or maintaining a public park. With a DAC, agreements that are judged by a neutral
donors get the altruistic benefits of charity arbitration system, honest minority
with the transparency and control offered by tokenholders in a smart organization can be
smart contracts. protected from a malicious majority trying to
pass proposals that are harmful or contrary to
Donors allocate funds to campaigns proposed the purpose of the organization.
by members of the DAC and can see exactly
how their funds are being spent. If during the The Aragon Network is a digital jurisdiction for
course of the campaign the donor feels that smart organizations. Smart contracts made in
their funds are being misallocated, they can this jurisdiction can be arbitrated by jurors in
reallocate what is left towards a different the network’s decentralized court system.
campaign using a liquid pledging smart
contract. This ensures that there are checks The benefit of using the system to arbitrate
and balances to prevent waste by those disputes is that the Aragon Network itself is
carrying out the campaigns. smart contract-native and can resolve
disputes even when all parties are
pseudonymous. This is in contrast to regular
THE ARAGON NETWORK private arbitration or State-run court systems
that require participants to disclose their legal
What happens if there is a dispute between identity and do not yet have a means of
tokenholders in a smart organization over the interfacing directly with smart contracts.
legitimacy of a proposal that appears to have
popular support? For example, if a malicious The Aragon Network is itself a smart
entity gains supermajority control of the organization governed by holders of ANT, the
tokens that govern a smart organization, Aragon Network Token. ANT holders set the
 THE RISE OF SMART ORGANIZATIONS / 105

rules and parameters that govern the network, functionality in their organizations. And as the
vote on finance allocations, and participate as Aragon client evolves, it will be possible for
jurors in the court system if they have users who prefer a graphic interfacesI to have
expertise that’s helpful in arbitrating disputes. the same level of control over their orgs as a
programmer with direct access to the smart
Customers of the Aragon Network court who contracts would.
have a lot of value depending on honest
outcomes in the court may also hold large For the first time in history, it is possible to
amounts of ANT to use as collateral for experiment with governance and
agreements and to participate in the organizational forms at the speed of software
governance of the court system. rather than the speed of law. Despite the
technology being less than two years old at
the time of this writing, we are already seeing
THE FUTURE OF SMART ORGS new forms of organizations with advanced
functionality never seen before.
It’s early days for smart organizations, yet it is
already possible for anyone to create them for As the tech advances there will be a Cambrian
less cost, in less time, and with greater ease explosion of experimentation in smart
than traditional organizations. organization design, and more people will be
freed from the constraints of traditional
Aragon is a decentralized application that was organizations, unleashing waves of activist
designed to make the process of creating and entrepreneurial energy on the world as
smart organizations as easy as creating a people begin to exercise their newfound
profile on a social networking app. freedom to organize and transact. Smart
Programmers can interact with their organizations, with all their power and
organizations by interfacing with aragonOS potential, are here to stay.
and Aragon app contracts directly, even
creating their own apps to enable new Written by John Light
106 / THE PI ZERO W SECURITY CAMERA

THE PI ZERO W PI ZERO W SETUP

SECURITY CAMERA 1. First, download the latest Raspbian Lite OS

from raspberrypi.org/downloads and
burn it to a micro SD card.
One annoying aspect of the 'Internet of Things'
is that almost all products rely on shoveling 2. Set up your WiFi and SSH access. Check out
tonnes of data back to random servers owned the Pi-Hole article in this zine for steps to
by the manufacturers. Internet-connected accomplish this if you don't already know how
security cameras are a perfect example of this to set these up.
kind of thing, so I thought I'd make my own.
3. Plug the Zero in, and find its IP address. You
This design uses a Raspberry Pi Zero W and can do this either by connecting a monitor and
camera module as the brains of the device, typing ifconfig, or check your router admin.
and a custom 3D printed case, which is
modular, that can be manually panned or tilted 4. Now, SSH into your Zero (replacing the IP
to point in the exact direction needed. address with your own). The default password
is raspberry:

MATERIALS ssh [email protected]

- Pi Zero W 5. Open up the config utility:

- 5MP Pi Zero Camera Module (Mine is an
unbranded, cheap one, Rev 1.3) sudo raspi-config
- 3D Printed Case Parts
- 2x M2.5 x 8mm Machine Screws Now change the default password, and also
- 4x M2.5 x 12mm Machine Screws enable the camera interface.
- Suction cup (Optional)
 THE PI ZERO W SECURITY CAMERA / 107

6. Alright, before we install the software

needed, let's do the update command to make
sure we have the latest versions of everything:

sudo apt-get update

7. Now we can install Motion, the utility which

we'll use to control the camera. This may take
a little while to get through:

sudo apt-get install motion

8. Next, we need to turn the Motion daemon

on. In the terminal lets open the daemon
config file:

sudo nano /etc/default/motion

Then change start_motion_daemon=no to

start_motion_daemon=yes

Once finished, save and close.

9. Now we have to change a few things in

Motion itself to make sure the video streaming
works well on the Zero. I've created a custom
configuration file to replace the existing one
located at /etc/motion/motion.conf
108 / THE PI ZERO W SECURITY CAMERA

This will make a bunch of changes so Motion HARDWARE SETUP

works well on the Zero W. You can find my
motion.conf file in the “Pi Cam” folder of the 1. Attach the camera FPC cable to the Pi Zero.
zine dat. The quickest way to get the file onto
your Pi is to use a graphical SFTP client and 2. Slide the camera, face down, into the
drag it to the target directory. camera holder printed piece.

The config file sets the video to stream at 3. Now place the camera holder into the case,
30fps, with a resolution of 640x480. with the FPC end directed towards the bottom.
Alternatively, you can check out the config file
for yourself and change it to whatever best 4. Screw the camera holder in, with the 2x
suits your situation. M2.5 x 8mm screws.

The final thing to do is edit the file 5. Place the Pi Zero W in the case, with the
/etc/init.d/motion so the correct drivers Micro SD Card side pointing towards the top.
are loaded during the boot process:
6. Secure the backplate with the 4 screws.
sudo nano /etc/init.d/motion
7. Now you can choose the bracket or hook
Then add the following line after the first line attachment to fix it into place. I added a
that says "chown" a bit further down: suction cup to stick mine to a window.

sudo modprobe bcm2835-v4l2 8. Once affixed, simply power it on, and it

should automatically begin streaming. To view
Save and exit, reboot the Pi, and that’s the the live video, use a browser to connect to
software side of things complete. Motion has 192.168.0.10:8081 (replacing the IP with
tonnes of options, so look through their docs if yours) from any phone, tablet or computer
you want to set your cam up differently. connected to your network.
 THE PI ZERO W SECURITY CAMERA / 110

1 2

3 4
5 6

7 8
THE PI ZERO W SECURITY CAMERA / 111
112 / OPEN BAZAAR

OPEN BAZAAR: aren’t forced to share their identities. All

communications between users is encrypted
DECENTRALIZING for added privacy too.

ONLINE COMMERCE We knew from the start that the online

commerce platforms weren’t the only
companies which monitored and censored
Back in 2014 a small group of people, myself user transactions.
included, didn’t like seeing online commerce so
tightly controlled and monitored. We decided Payment processors such as PayPal or credit
that we needed a platform for trade that isn’t card companies do the same thing. That’s why
controlled by companies or any middlemen at payments in OpenBazaar use cryptocurrencies
all. That’s why we built OpenBazaar. including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Zcash
and Ethereum.
OpenBazaar is a decentralized marketplace.
It’s a network of people running peer-to-peer Dispute resolution and escrow are also built
software--similar to BitTorrent or into the platform. Buyers and sellers agree on
Bitcoin--who connect directly to each other in moderators (escrow agents) who will settle
order to buy and sell goods and services. Since disputes that would arise if something goes
everyone in the network is connected wrong. These moderators are available on an
peer-to-peer, there are no middlemen open marketplace, and are able to charge fees
involved, and that means there is no one to in order to settle disputes.
collect fees, collect user data, or censor trade.
The software is open source, and has been
We decided to build OpenBazaar to give the through several major revisions over the past
user as much control over their own data as five years. The latest versionis built on top of
possible. OB only stores data locally on your IPFS so all data is distributed across the
computer, so users don’t create accounts, and network, and is highly censorship-resistant.
 OPEN BAZAAR / 113

While we built this for desktop initially, there’s

now a mobile application you can use to
access the OpenBazaar network called
"Haven," which is available on iOS and Android.

It’s been an exciting journey over the past few

years trying to build and gain adoption for the
world’s largest decentralized marketplace.
Since anyone can sell anything they want,
there is an extremely diverse range of
products and services for sale. People have
even used OpenBazaar to rent out their
apartments and offer taxi services instead of
using Airbnb or Uber. They’ve sold their
homemade hot sauces and their DIY
electronics creations.

Several hundred thousand people have

downloaded and run OpenBazaar over the
past few years. You can view what is on the
network directly in a browser by visiting
openbazaar.com, or you can download the
software and become part of the network
yourself by visiting openbazaar.org.

Written by Sam Patterson

114 / THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP

MNT REFORM: hardware release. Making hardware feels a bit

like reconnecting with my childhood where I
AN OPEN SOURCE DIY experimented with soldering and read
electronics books without understanding
ARM LAPTOP anything, but I always loved the aesthetics."

MNT Research, lead by Lukas embarked on the

Ever since the Raspberry Pi launched in 2012, Reform project in 2017. By December of 2018,
people have been trying to bodge and couple ten beta units were shipped out to curious,
SoCs with various lapdocks to create adventurous people who had pre-ordered the
something akin to a makeshift laptop. While experimental machines and ultimately got the
many of these designs worked and resulted in chance to test out Lukas' dream-come-true.
usable systems, they didn't necessarily work Currently, Reform development is ongoing to
well, or were otherwise fragile and roughly put make design improvements and take in
together. A lot of the ideas were there, but feedback from the beta design.
nobody was actively trying to build a complete
laptop from the ground up using an ARM SoC. "I wanted a device that is easy to understand,
That would be crazy, right? comes with schematics (like a Commodore 64
did), invites you to tinker and customize, and
Lukas F. Hartmann is changing all of that with would be a great typing machine," Lukas says.
Reform, an open-source laptop he's
developing under his MNT Research company
based in Berlin, Germany. "Before starting HARDWARE
Reform, I released an open-source FPGA
based graphics card for vintage Amiga The real star of Reform is, in my opinion, the
computers (VA2000)," Lukas explains. "This custom chassis that houses all of the
was my first real product with open-source components. Borrowing design queues from
components and at the same time my first early home microcomputers (like the Sinclair
THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP / 115
116 / THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP

ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga 500) illustrates through its lack of needing various
as well as early laptops (I feel a strong NDAs or registration requirements.
influence from early IBM ThinkPads, myself),
the chassis aims to be the core of a modular 5x USB2.0, HDMI, 1000Mbps Ethernet, 3.5mm
system, allowing for parts to be easily audio, mPCIe, WWAN, mSata, SPI, I2C, and
repaired, replaced or upgraded as needed for GPIO interfaces are all offered from a custom
years to come. motherboard that also houses 4GB of DDR3
RAM, a SIM card slot, and a microSD card slot
"Case parts should be replaceable using a 3D (bootable). The battery, currently composed of
printer and electronics fixable with a soldering a single 10Ah LiFePo4 cell, is a safe and
station," Lukas explains. Reform invites users durable power-source that can be charged
to open up the hardware to hack and with a 5-volt DC adapter.
experiment. Mess up something while making
a modification? Print out a replacement. The display is a 11" IPS panel that can output a
At home. For free. 1366x768 resolution. The swappable keyboard
is built using Cherry ML switches, while the
The brain of the system is the NXP i.MX6 pointing device is a custom trackball with two
QuadPlus SoC, boasting four ARM Cortex-A9 buttons (also using Cherry ML switches), a
cores running at up to 1.2 GHz. The i.MX6 also rarity in laptops these days.
offers a Vivante GC2000 GPU that has
completely open-source drivers within
mainline Linux (etnaviv) and OpenGL (mesa). SOFTWARE
Lukas shares that he "wanted to use a
CPU/SoC that is as open as possible and The i.MX6 is completely blob-free, and fully
doesn't require any closed source drivers." supported by mainline Linux. Currently, a
Debian-based image is available for Reform,
Each part of the machine is intended to be as but any other Linux distribution should be
open as the chassis, which the i.MX6 further easily supported. Other OS ports are planned.
THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP / 118
118 / THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP

PROJECT GOALS In the spirit of security and privacy, Reform

ships with no built-in camera or microphone.
Reform is built to be the ultimate hackable, You don't have to worry about these
repairable, and customizable laptop computer. components as attack vectors, unless you
Though the processor may not be comparable decided to add them yourself later.
to a top-of-the-line amd64, a lot of care was
taken to balance performance with privacy and
openness. "I don't want to pretend that FUTURE
Reform is better than all other laptops," Lukas
elaborates. Many design improvements are planned for
the chassis in the next Reform iteration,
"What I wanted is a strong alternative, a including increased ergonomics, a new
machine that goes against many established keyboard layout, cooling changes, and
trends. Miniaturization makes many modern consolidated mechanical switches.
laptops hard to service for average people, or Additionally, there are plans for a multi-cell
you get soldered-in batteries or SSDs. It is battery and support for more screen options
hard to understand what the individual (as people may want to use a higher resolution
components do." display, or even E-Ink).

Valuing function over form is important for Considerations have been made to change the
Lukas. "MacBooks are treated like expensive SoC to something more performant, such as
fashion accessories that you wouldn't crack the more recent i.MX8, but it currently utilizes
open and put your own modifications in," he binary-blobs, has poor documentation, and
says, adding that "the ergonomics of incomplete GPU drivers. Alternative options,
keyboards are suffering from the dogma of like a RISC-V chip, are not available at a low
making everything ultra slim." That said, enough price-point to make them
though Reform focuses on openness, it economically feasible. All hope for RISC-V is
exhibits good design as well. not lost, however. "As soon as affordable and
THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP / 119
120 / THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP
 THE MNT REFORM LAPTOP / 121

fast chips will become available, I'd like to developing, writing, and general computing
move to the RISC-V platform (which has an tasks, we may one day see the Reform
open instruction set architecture) and do some platform expanded for other purposes.
experiments of connecting it to our open
source graphics tech developed for VA2000 There is no current release date for the next
and now ZZ9000," Lukas shares. iteration of the Reform laptop, but the
price-point is likely to be similar to that of the
Having ports of other operating systems beta unit (and the initial estimate) at around
besides Debian Linux is also in the pipeline €500-700.
according to Lukas. "Next to the BSDs, I'd also
like to see ports of Plan9, RiscOS, and BeOS. I MNT Research has also recently moved into a
chose Debian GNU/Linux as the first OS new location. Lukas explains, "the first version
because this is what I'm most familiar with. I of Reform was mostly assembled in our (Greta
also wrote my own toy OS 'Interim' that I'd like & my) shared flat, but we just moved to a real
to port one day." studio space in Berlin Friedenau to focus on
OSHW and other projects (like clothing)." With
We may also see Reform hardware outside of any luck, a larger space will allow more room
the laptop form factor as Lukas discloses that for Reform to grow.
"Reform is supposed to be a family of open
devices of all sizes." Reform is still a work in progress, check for
updates at https://mntmn.com/reform

CONCLUSION Written by Mike Dank

The Reform laptop project is a fresh take on (Photos provided by Lukas Hartmann under
creating an open computer, and it has already Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
produced a tangible, working beta unit. While International license)
the current specifications should be suited to creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
122 / DECIPHERING THE LEXICON

DECIPHERING THE Asymmetric Cryptography. Also

known as public-key cryptography,
LEXICON Asymmetric Cryptography schemes
have encryption and decryption
performed by separate keys.
With constant development of decentralized
networks and digital currencies, it is easy to Data may be encrypted with a user's
get lost when trying to figure out exactly how public key (generally available to
something works or what it is trying to everyone), so it can only be decrypted
accomplish. by that user holding a corresponding
private key (only known by the
There are a lot of concepts, new and old, that recipient). Conversely, data may be
may be considered common knowledge when encrypted with a user's private key
they are actually anything but. (and decrypted by anyone with the
user's public key) to digitally sign
Here are just a few terms or phrases that are data and show it could only have
easy to understand, but often glossed over in come from that user.
documentation.
Blockchain. A growing linkage of
Written by Mike Dank blocks, where each block contains a
cryptographic hash of the previous
block, a timestamp, and any
transactional data.

Blocks are cryptographically linked

using Cryptographic Hash Functions,
and generally rely on a Proof of Work
algorithm.
 DECIPHERING THE LEXICON / 123

Bloom Filter. A space-efficient data DApp. A decentralized application.

structure, usually used for quickly DApps are run by many users on a
looking up data. Bloom Filters are Decentralized Network, and store
commonly used to combat the space data on a Blockchain. They are
and time requirements to traverse a designed to be trustless,
large set of the data. autonomously managed, and devoid
of a single point of failure.
Ciphertext. Encoded data that is not
user-readable. Ciphertext may be DAO. A decentralized autonomous
intercepted by bad actors in a organization. DAOs are organizations
network, but it cannot be deciphered built to follow a specific set of rules,
by anyone but the intended recipient. carried out via software.

Cryptographic Hash Function. Usually financially oriented, rules are

A mathematical algorithm that programmed to broker transactions,
converts one piece of data into which are recorded in a Blockchain.
another of fixed size.
DAOs are meant to be independent
Cryptographic Hash Functions are and transparent; their rules are public
designed to be "one-way functions" knowledge, and they respond to
meaning it is mathematically shareholders instead of a central
infeasible to invert the resulting hash government.
back into any original data. This
makes the functions suitable for Decentralized Network. A network
proving work accomplished between topology where multiple servers are
multiple actors, without revealing a linked together, allowing clients to
solution upfront. connect to any server and still be
within the same network.
124 / DECIPHERING THE LEXICON

Distributed Hash Table. A paired End-to-End Encryption. A system

key/value data structure, usually where data is encrypted by a sender
used in routing algorithms for and decrypted only by the
Distributed Networks. Nodes in a recipient(s). The data will remain
network might keep a table of their encrypted and tamper-proof no
local peers, but have no other matter what network, server, or
information about the rest of the other third-party it might pass
network. through as only a recipient will
possesses the decryption key.
If a node needs to send data to
another in a network that it isn't Federated Network. A network
directly peered with, it can consult its topology consisting of smaller, more
local table to find a peer that is closet centralized self-governed
(based on address) and forward the organizations (usually one server and
message. many clients) that elect to share data
with one another.
That next peer then repeats the
same process, which continues until Key Exchange. A method of
the data reaches the destination. No transferring encryption keys between
single node has a complete view of two or more parties. For two actors
the whole network. to communicate in an encrypted
conversation, they must each share
Distributed Network. A network keys to properly encrypt and decrypt
topology where all actors connect messages to one another. Some key
and communicate with one another, exchange methods, like
forming a peer-to-peer network. Diffie-Hellman, allow for keys to be
Each actor is both a client & a server. securely exchanged over an insecure
channel.
 DECIPHERING THE LEXICON / 125

Merkle Tree. A tree-like data Oracle. Middleware that connects

structure, containing chunks of data real world events to a Blockchain
chained together. Every node in the through Smart Contracts. If a certain
tree is either a "leaf," labeled with the set of criteria in the real world is met,
hash of a data block, or a "non-leaf," a Smart Contract may execute a
labeled with the hash of the labels of transaction within a Blockchain.
its child nodes. Merkle Trees are used
to verify large amounts of data. Overlay Network. A network that is
securely encapsulated within a larger
Mesh Network. A network topology network. An overlay network may be
where all infrastructure nodes private in nature, and tunnel over a
connect directly (without hierarchy) more public network like the Internet.
to as many other nodes as possible.
Each node works with others to Proof of Stake. An algorithm found in
route data through the network. cryptocurrencies where the creator
of a block is chosen by a stake in the
Onion Routing. A layered encryption network, sometimes coupled with
routing method where data in a random selection.
network is encrypted multiple times
by the originator, using public keys of Proof of Work. An algorithm found in
nodes the data will pass through on cryptocurrencies where a block is
its way to a recipient. When the data mined by a computationally intense
is sent out, it is partially decrypted by process used to validate transactions
the next node in the chain, revealing
only enough information to pass the Smart Contract. A self-executing
data on until it reaches its recipient, software contract, that executes
who can decrypt it as intended. when the terms of an agreement
between parties are satisfied.
PRODUCT
DIRECTORY
 PRODUCT DIRECTORY / COMPUTERS & SERVERS / 127

BITSEED 3 BITSEED 3
Plug and play Bitcoin full node. Fanless Plug and play Bitcoin full node. Fanless
COMPUTERS & SERVERS
design with 4GB RAM and 1TB HDD. design with 4GB RAM and 1TB HDD.
$359.00 $359.00
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CASA NODE NODE NANO SERVER

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NODE MINI SERVER TECHNOETHICAL T400

Turn your Raspberry Pi 3b+ into a P2P Refurbished Thnkpad T400 Laptop with
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TECHNOETHICAL X200S TECHNOETHICAL D16

Refurbished Thnkpad X200s laptop Linux workstation with 2x AMD 2.6Ghz
with custom Libreboot BIOS. CPUs, 128GB RAM, Libreboot BIOS
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VIKINGS D8 VIKINGS X200

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128 / PRODUCT DIRECTORY / COMPUTERS & SERVERS

LIBREM 13 V4 HELIOS 4
Modern Linux laptop. Intel i7 CPU, up to Open NAS server. 2GB RAM included,
16GB RAM, hardware switches + more. and space for 4 external SATA drives.
FROM $1399.00 $195.24
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GNUBEE PERSONAL CLOUD 2 MNT REFORM

Open NAS server. 512MB RAM. Space Open source and modular DIY laptop.
to attach up to 6 3.5" SATA drives. ARM CPU, 4GB RAM, 3D Printed Parts
$249.00 $TBD
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SKYMINER TECHNOETHICAL X200S

Node for Skycoin alt Internet. 8 CPUs, Refurbished Thnkpad X200s laptop
16GB RAM, & OpenWRT switch built in. with custom Libreboot BIOS.
$1999.00 €478.00
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TECHNOETHICAL X200S TECHNOETHICAL

C@RD MARK II D16
Refurbished Thnkpad X200s laptop Linux workstation
Low tech with 2x AMD
card for generating and2.6Ghz
DIGITAL
with SECURITY
custom Libreboot BIOS. CPUs, 128GB
recalling RAM,
complex Libreboot BIOS
passwords.
€478.00 €3700.00
$6.99
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USB CHARGING KEYCHAIN NFC KEY

Open hardware keychain that stops 2x 8KB chips for storing data. Only
USB data transfer, for safe charging. transmits when button is pressed.
£8.75 (2 pack) £15.00
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 PRODUCT DIRECTORY / DIGITAL SECURITY / 129

WEBCAM SLIDER STICKER RFID WALLETS

Cover the cameras on your devices. Protect your tap to pay cards from
Can slide open whenever needed. passive activation with these wallets.
£3.50 (3 pack) £2.50 (5 pack)
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YUBIKEY 5 NFC PURISM KEY

USB/NFC authenticator. Supports USB authenticator designed at verifying
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MOOLTIPASS MINI P@SS MARK II

Smartcard based password manager / Low tech keychain for generating and
auth. Works with multiple platforms. recalling complex passwords.
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GL-B1300 ROUTER
Dual-band homw mesh router. Comes
COMMUNICATIONS with OpenWRT firmware.
$89.00
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GL-MIFI 4G ROUTER WNDR3800 ROUTER

4G Router that transfers 3G/4G LTE Re-branded Netgear WNDR3800 with
signal to wifi at 150mbps. OpenWRT LibreCMC firmware.
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130 / PRODUCT DIRECTORY / COMMUNICATIONS

LIMESDR HACKRF SDR

Open source SDR. Send/receive UMTS, Open source software defined radio.
LTE, GSM, LoRa, Bluetooth, Zigbee, RFID Send/receive from 1MHz to 6GHz.
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uBITX MOBILINKD TNC

Arduino-based high frequency radio Battery powered packet radio TNC.
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SKYMINER OPENDIME
Node for Skycoin alt Internet. 8 CPUs, USB credsticks that let you transfer
CRYPTOCURRENCY HARDWARE
16GB RAM, & OpenWRT switch built in. Bitcoin offline and in person.
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COLDCARD WALLET GENESIS1

BIP174 Bitcoin wallet that can be used 2-way BTC ATM. Buy / Sell BTC for cash.
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LAMASSU SINTRA LAMASSU DOURO II

2-way Cryptomat for buying and selling The original Bitcoin ATM. Buy / Sell BTC,
currencies (BTC, BCH, ETH, DASH, ZEC) BCH, ETH, DASH, ZEC
€7500.00 €5200.00
https://lamassu.is https://lamassu.is
 PRODUCT DIRECTORY / CRYPTOCURRENCY HARDWARE / 131

COVAULT MODEL X TREZOR ONE

Freestanding Bitcoin ATM, with 1500 Hardware wallet that supports more
bill capacity. than 700 different cryptocurrencies.
$4999.00 €83.49
https://covaultbtm.com https://shop.trezor.io

CRYPTOSTEEL TREZOR MODEL T

Steel backup for your crypto seed. All in one wallet that stores multiple
Resistant to fire, water, and corrosion. currencies, passwords and digital keys.
$79.00 €180.29
https://cryptosteel.com https://shop.trezor.io

KEEPKEY CRYPTO KEY STACK

Multicurrency hardware wallet, with Low tech steel wallet. Use the included
built in Shapeshift integration engraver to record your 12 word seed.
$129.00 $45.00
https://www.keepkey.com https://cryptokeystack.com

LEDGER NANO X GL-B1300 ROUTER

Bluetooth enabled hardware wallet. Can Dual-band homw mesh router. Comes
store up to 100 assets simultaneously. AUGMENTATIONS
with OpenWRT firmware.
£109.00 $89.00
https://ledger.com https://store.gl-inet.com

GENETIC ENGINEERING KIT CYBORG BEAST KIT

The Odin's genetic engineering home lab Parts kit for the 'Cyborg Beast' 3D
kit. Includes DIY CRISPR kit. printed prosthetic hand.
$1699.00 $35.00
http://the-odin.com http://enablingthefuture.org/shop
132 / PRODUCT DIRECTORY / AUGMENTATIONS

ATOUN MODEL Y PAIN MANAGEMENT KIT

Powered exoskeleton. Alleviates strain A collection of materials biohackers use
when the user lifts heavy objects. to manage pain during procedures.
$POA $39.00
http://atoun.co.jp https://dangerousthings.com

EMOTIV INSIGHT EMOTIV EPOC+

5 Channel brain computer interface, 14 Channel mobile EEG designed for
designed for self-quant & device control. human brain research & device control .
$299.00 $799.00
https://www.emotiv.com https://www.emotiv.com

SKYMINER DEXMO
Node for Skycoin alt Internet. 8 CPUs, Wireless haptic glove system that lets
VIRTUAL
16GB RAM, REALITY
& OpenWRT switch built in. you feel VR/AR worlds.
$1999.00 $3000.00
https://store.skycoin.net https://dextarobotics.com

HAPTX GLOVES VRGLUV

Feel size, weight, and impact in VR. Accurately sense users' hands and
Applies up to 4 lbs of force feedback. finger movement in real time.
$POA $POA
https://haptx.com https://www.vrgluv.com

CYBERITH VIRTUALIZER ROTO VR CHAIR

Omnidirectional treadmill for VR. Steam Motorized chair with 360 degree
"touchpad locomotion" support. movement, and head tracking.
$POA $999.00
https://www.cyberith.com https://www.rotovr.com
 PRODUCT DIRECTORY / PERSONAL MANUFACTURING / 133

UNLIMITEDHAND VRFREE GLOVE SYSTEM

Sensor which attaches to the forearm, Mobile VR gloves with hand/finger
and reads hand/arm muscle signals. tracking & full degrees of freedom.
$319.99 $390.00
http://unlimitedhand.com/en http://www.sensoryx.com

TESLASUIT TREZOR MODEL T

Full body VR clothing. Features haptic All in one wallet that stores multiple
feedback, motion capture, temp control. PERSONAL MANUFACTURING
currencies, passwords and digital keys.
$POA €180.29
https://teslasuit.io https://shop.trezor.io

3DRAG KIT LULZBOT MINI 2

Open source dual extruder 3D printer One of the original open source 3D
kit. 170x200x200mm build size. printers. 160x160180mm build size.
€516.50 $1500.00
https://store.open-electronics.org https://lulzbot.com

SQUINK PCB PRINTER CIRQOID

Single side PCB printer. Print traces, Mill PCBs, dispense solder paste, and
dispense solder, and pick/place. populate boards with this.
$3999.00 $2000.00
https://botfactory.co https://cirqoid.com

PRUSA I3 MK3S KIT P400 CUTTING PLOTTER

Excellent printer. 250x210x210mm Hot wire cutter used to accurately cut
build size. Supports almost all filament polystyrene sheets/blocks.
$906.29 €249.00
https://shop.prusa3d.com https://store.open-electronics.org
134 / PRODUCT DIRECTORY / PERSONAL MANUFACTURING

NOMAD 883 PRO MINIMILL KIT

Desktop CNC machine. 8x3" Work area. Open source CNC. 5x5" Work area.
Cut/engrave plastics, woods & metals. Cut/engrave plastics, woods & metals.
$2499.00 $353.75
http://shop.carbide3d.com https://openbuildspartstore.com

LEAD CNC 1010 KIT C-BEAM KIT

Accuarate lead screw based CNC mill Open source CNC mill with
with large 40x40" work area. 350x280mm work area.
$946.30 $521.79
https://openbuildspartstore.com https://openbuildspartstore.com

CREALITY ENDER 3 KIT CREALITY CR-10 KIT

Open source 3D printer kit with Aluminum based 3D printer kit with
220x220x250mm build size. large 300x300x400mm build size.
$209.00 $399.00
https://creality3donline.com https://creality3donline.com

X-CARVE VRGLUV
Modular, customizable CNC mill, with Accurately sense users' hands and
highly scalable work area. BOOKS in real time.
finger movement
$1349.00 $POA
https://inventables.com https://www.vrgluv.com

INFORMATION SECURITY FOR WIRELESS NETWORKING IN THE

JOURNALISTS DEVELOPING WORLD
Practical information security handbook Free ebook about designing,and building
aimed at journalists, but useful for all. low-cost wireless networks
https://arjenkamphuis.eu/book http://wndw.net
 PRODUCT DIRECTORY / BOOKS / 135

MAKING IT THE KNOWLEDGE

Manufacturing techniques for product How to rebuild the world after an
designers/inventors. Valuable apocalypse. Described as the blueprint
knowledge for hardware hackers. for rebooting civilization.
http://chrislefteri.com http://lewisdartnell.com

CRYPTOGRAPHY: A VERY SHORT MESSING AROUND WITH

INTRODUCTION PACKET RADIO
A great overview of the various Free zine on how to make TCP/IP
fundamental concepts in cryptography. ('internet') connections using radios.
http://amazon.com http://archive.org

THE ART OF ELECTRONICS COMPUTER LIB

(3RD EDITION) DREAM MACHINES
The ultimate handbook for electronics 1974 books by Ted Nelson outlining the
designers. Covers almost everything. computer revolution.
https://artofelectronics.net http://amazon.com

HACKING THE XBOX SERIOUS CRYPTOGRAPHY

Bunnie Huang's masterful book on A technical book for understanding and
reverse engineering, complete with implementing modern cryptography
detailed, step-by-step examples. methods.
https://nostarch.com/xboxfree https://nostarch.com/seriouscrypto

HACKING: THE ART OF

EXPLOITATION (2ND EDITION)
A no-nonsense guide to understanding
various hacking techniques.
https://nostarch.com/hacking2.htm
OPEN SOURCE
DIRECTORY
 OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY / 137

P2P / COMMUNICATIONS

Adamant Blockchain-based anonymous messenger https://adamant.im

Aether Decentralized pulic communities https://getaether.net

Afari Blockstack based social network https://afari.io

Akasha IPFS/Ethereum based social network https://akasha.world

Matrix An open network for secure P2P communications https://matrix.org

RetroShare Cross-platform, secure, P2P communications http://retroshare.us

Ricochet Encrypted instant messaging routed through TOR https://ricochet.im

Secure Scuttlebutt Decentralized secure gossip platform https://scuttlebutt.nz

Sigle Create decentralized blogs https://sigle.io

Tox P2P audio, video and text communications https://tox.chat

Unwalled Garden Dat-based social network github.com/beakerbrowser/unwalled.garden

VoluntaryNet Browser-based P2P social network https://voluntary.net

P2P / DATA

Airlock IPFS/Ethereum based file storage/sharing https://github.com/slothbag/Airlock

ClearSkies Dropbox-like file sync program https://github.com/jewel/clearskies

Dat Project File storage/syncing protocol https://datproject.org

IPFS P2P data distribution and storage https://ipfs.io

OnionShare TOR based tool for anonymous file sharing https://onionshare.org

P2PVPS Decentralized VPS network https://p2pvps.org

138 / OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY

P2P / DATA

Radicle P2P stack for code collaboration http://radicle.xyz

Storj Decentralized cloud storage https://storj.io

P2P / ENTERTAINMENT

Bittube IPFS based video platform https://bit.tube

Decentraland Decentralized virtual reality world https://decentraland.org

D.Tube Steemit/IPFS base video platform https://d.tube

LBRY Community run digital marketplace https://lbry.io

Livepeer Ethereum based video platform https://livepeer.org

P2P / MONEY

Bisq Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange https://bisq.network

Bitcoin A peer-to-peer electronic cash system https://bitcoin.org

Lightning Network Scaling network for Bitcoin transactions https://lightning.network

Litecoin Peer-to-peer internet currency https://litecoin.org

Monero Privacy-focused P2P digital currency https://getmonero.org

Open Bazaar A decentralized ecommerce platform https://openbazaar.org

Origin Marketplaces on the blockchain https://originprotocol.com

 OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY / 139

P2P / NETWORKING

Althea Mesh Incentivized mesh networking https://althea.org

Cjdns E2E encrypted IPv6 mesh networking https://github.com/cjdelisle/cjdns

DN42 Decentralized private networking https://dn42.net

Hyperboria P2P, encrypted private networking https://hyperboria.net

LibreRouter Project to design multi-radio routers https://librerouter.org

Open Garden Decentralized wifi sharing platform https://opengarden.com

RightMesh Ad-hoc mobile mesh networking platform https://rightmesh.io

Yggdrasil E2E encrypted IPv6 mesh networking https://yggdrasil-network.github.io

P2P / NEW INTERNET

Beaker Browser Browser for Dat based decentralized web https://beakerbrowser.com

Blockstack Platform for building decentralized apps https://blockstack.org

Enigma Privacy layer for the decentralized web https://enigma.co

Ethereum P2P network for smart contracts https://ethereum.org

Maidsafe Creating a new alternative internet https://maidsafe.net

Namecoin Blockchain based naming system https://namecoin.org

Solid Project Project to create a new decentralized web https://solid.mit.edu

SkyWire Decentralized platform to build a new internet https://skycoin.net/skywire

Swarm Serverless hosting, and P2P data distribution https://swarm.ethereum.org

YaCy Decentralized, user-run search engine http://yacy.net/en

140 / OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY

P2P / NEW INTERNET

Zeronet Open, free and uncensorable websites https://zeronet.io

AUGMENTATIONS

Fable Electronic prosthetic hand github.com/openbiomedical/OBM-FABLE

InMoov Hand Robotic hand build guide http://inmoov.fr/hand-and-forarm

Enabling the Future 3D printed prosthetics http://enablingthefuture.org

OpenBCI Open source brain computer interface https://openbci.com

OpenAPS Automated pancreas system https://openaps.org

StarCat Open source bio signals https://starcat.io

Neuroon Open sleep/neuro tracker https://github.com/inteliclinic

SPACE

Ultrascope Automated robotics observatory http://openspaceagency.com

Tiny Radio Telescope DIY radio telescope https://hackaday.io/project/161556

Loop Antenna Small loop antenna guide https://opensourceradiotelescopes.org

Horn Antennas Two horn antenna guides https://opensourceradiotelescopes.org

SatNOGS Global network of satellite ground-stations https://satnogs.org

UPSat QB50 cubesat by the Libre Space Foundation https://upsat.gr

 OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY / 141

SPACE

Space Decentral Building a decentralized space program https://spacedecentral.net

Blockstream Satellite Satellite based bitcoin transactions https://blockstream.com/satellite

HOUSING

Wikihouse Open source house building designs https://wikihouse.cc

Open Building Inst. Open source furniture plans and more https://openbuildinginstitute.org

No Throw Design Downloadable furniture plans and instructions https://nothrowdesign.com/you-make/

Open Source Ecology Plans for building an entire village https://opensourceecology.org/gvcs

Divine on the Road Plans for building your dream van https://divineontheroad.com/build-a-van

The Vanual DIY Campervan Conversion https://thevanual.com

Obrary Furniture designs requiring CNC mill/laser https://obrary.com

COMMUNICATIONS

LibreCMC Embedded OS, supporting a range of routers https://librecmc.org

OpenWRT Open Source wireless router firmware https://openwrt.org

DAPNet Decentralized Amateur Paging Network https://hampager.de

OpenVPN VPN software for secure data communications https://openvpn.net

LimeSDR Open source software defined radio board https://github.com/myriadrf

142 / OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY

COMMUNICATIONS

HackRF Low cost open source SDR platform https://github.com/mossmann/hackrf

Project Byzantium Linux-based emergency mesh networking http://project-byzantium.org

Doge Microsystems Build Your Own Dial Up ISP dogemicrosystems.ca/wiki/Dial_up_server

Low-Tech Magazine How to build a solar powered website https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com

Subnodes Turning Raspberry Pi's into access points http://subnodes.org

Disaster Radio Solar powered, disaster-resistant comms network https://disaster.radio

OpenWISP An open management system for wireless ISPs http://openwisp.org

MANUFACTURING / LASER CUTTER

LS-Laser Full guide for creating a CO2 laser cutter openbuilds.com/builds/ls-laser.7304

Lasersaur Build guide for Lasersaur cutter https://github.com/nortd/lasersaur/wiki

Laser V Smaller footprint laser engraver openbuilds.com/builds/much4-laserv-printed-version.937

LaseDuo Large, heavy duty laser cutter http://laserduo.com

MANUFACTURING / 3D PRINTING

Creality Ender-3 Hardware and software plans for Ender-3 printer github.com/Creality3DPrinting/Ender-3

Creality CR-10 Hardware and software plans for CR-10 printer github.com/Creality3DPrinting/CR-10

Falla 3D Open source 3D printer that uses maglev system https://github.com/3dita/Falla3D

 OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY / 143

MANUFACTURING / 3D PRINTING

Indie i2 Small footprint 3D printer openbuilds.com/builds/indie-i2.1976

Infinite 3D Printer Design for an automatic, conveyor 3D printer https://hackaday.io/project/114738

C-Bot Core XY style 3D printer with large print bed openbuilds.com/builds/c-bot.1146

3Drag 3D printer which uses the RepRap philosophy https://reprap.org/wiki/3drag

MANUFACTURING / CNC MILLS

C-beam Sphinx Large aluminium based CNC router openbuilds.com/builds/c-beam-sphinx.3605

OpenBuilds OX CNC Extremely detailed CNC build guide openbuilds.com/builds/openbuilds-ox-cnc-machine.341

OpenBuilds MiniMill Small footprint desktop CNC openbuilds.com/builds/openbuilds-minimill.5087

X-Carve Popular modular CNC designs x-carve-instructions.inventables.com

Maslow CNC Community driven large format CNC https://maslowcnc.com

AE1 CNC Small footprint engraver/CNC github.com/Chris-Annin/AE1-CNC-engraver-router

Shapeoko The original open source desktop CNC https://wiki.shapeoko.com

MANUFACTURING / 3D SCANNING

MakerScanner Open source 3D laser scanner http://makerscanner.com

Ciclop Printable 3D scanner project https://github.com/bqlabs/ciclop

FabScan Raspberry Pi based laser scanner http://fabscan.org

144 / OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY

MANUFACTURING / VACUUM FORMING

Vacuum Former Open source vacuum former build guide https://labs.tcbl.eu/projects/32

ELECTRICITY

OSSI Open source solar inverter project https://github.com/transistorgrab/OSSI

Green Optimistic Various generator design guides greenoptimistic.com/category/green-tech-2/how-to

Wind Generator 55 watt 3D printed generator design https://hackaday.io/project/87345

Portal Point Generator Compact 100+ watt generator https://hackaday.io/project/159568

FARMING

FarmBot Automated agriculture platform https://farm.bot

Food Computer Desktop food growing system http://openag.media.mit.edu/hardware

Farm Hack Various farming tool projects http://farmhack.org/tools

CRYPTOCURRENCY

Firefly Airgapped Ethereum hardware wallet https://firefly.city

RaspiBlitz Easy to use Lighting Node on RPi https://github.com/rootzoll/raspiblitz

 OPEN SOURCE DIRECTORY / 145

DRONES

Flone Complete plans for building a drone http://flone.cc/comprar-flone

Paparazzi UAV Open source drone autopilot systems http://paparazziuav.org

ArduPilot Open source autopilot http://ardupilot.org

Dronecode Open source platform for UAVs https://dronecode.org

VIRTUAL/AUGMENTED REALITY

HardlightVR Open source haptic feedback suit https://github.com/HardlightVR

Relativity Headset VR Headset that costs ~$100 https://relativty.net

Project North Star Leap Motion's AR headset github.com/leapmotion/ProjectNorthStar

OSVR The original open source VR headset http://osvr.org

Pupil Modular eyetracking platform https://pupil-labs.com/pupil

HoloKit Lost cost mixed reality platform https://holokit.io

COMPUTING

MNT Reform Open source, modular laptop computer https://source.mntmn.com/MNT

146 / THE SATOSHI MINDSET

IN CLOSING: THE that--ALL which I might add, never achieved

any of their desired outcomes--he dared to
SATOSHI MINDSET create an alternative, and asked permission
from no-one.

Satoshi Nakamoto is a symbol of hope. Even though we still live in this imperfect
Not because the pseudonymous creator of world, with many of the same corrupt forces,
Bitcoin birthed a brand new currency, a you could argue that Bitcoin has already
payment system, or even that he solved an succeeded in that it:
ages old computer science problem, no it's
much deeper than that. - Created a censorship-resistant system used
by millions of people
On January 03 2009, block 0 of a new - Created the most powerful computer
distributed system was mined. Contained hashing network in existence
within, was a message, "The Times - Created a market valued at multiple billions,
03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second all from nothing
bailout for banks", revealing some of the - Has been used as a safe haven by citizens in
thinking behind its genesis. failed states around the world
- Spawned a whole raft of other important
Taking into account that this was in the midst software innovations
of the financial crisis, and combining that with
later writings, we can infer that Satoshi wasn't As Peter Thiel would say, that is a 0 to 1
happy with the economic system he found development. Satoshi started all of this when
himself in. he sat down and figured out how to solve a
seemingly unsolvable problem.
What's interesting though, is that instead of
moaning, begging, lobbying politicians, voting, He's quoted as once saying "I'm better with
protesting, occupying wall street, or any of code than with words", and this is the core of
 THE SATOSHI MINDSET / 147

the mindset: creating new technological "What can I build that will be so good that
alternatives, instead of just complaining. others will voluntarily abandon their old ways
Echoing this sentiment back in 1993 with the for this new thing?"
Cypherpunk Manifesto, Eric Hughes famously
declared, "Cypherpunks write code." Our civilization's heavy reliance on electronic
technology means that now more than ever,
This amalgam of recognizing problems, having you have a chance to come up with real
technical skills to potentially fix them, and then technological solutions and nudge our species
taking personal ownership for trying to do so in a better direction.
is probably one of, if not the most important
qualities our species has. So in closing, I just want to get across that it is
down to YOU, and no one else. Stop shaking
Human history is littered with these your fist at the sky, and shift your mindset.
feats--monumental forces of will which flip
the script, change reality, and reveal new Satoshi took on the responsibility of an
pathways for being. impossible task, and succeeded. You can too.
Pick a difficult problem, and go after it. If you
Another example is Linux. Do you think the need help, find like-minded people, and if you
operating system would be used on the have gaps in your knowledge, learn.
majority of phones, tablets, and servers today
if not for Linus Torvalds deciding one day to This is how we improve things--everything
create and release his own kernel, even when else is a distraction.
it seemed like a insane undertaking?
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for reading NODE
It's not about idolizing Satoshi or others. The Vol 01, hope you liked it. Now it’s your turn to go
point is that in order to solve big problems, we out there and build something.
must first look inwards and take responsibility.
Think: "What can I create to solve this?", and NODE
SUBMISSIONS
We’re going to open up submissions to the community for the
next issue, so if you are working on something unique, new,
and/or generally interesting, get in touch.

GUIDELINES:

- Original, unpublished content only

- Priority is on do-it-yourself, engineering, and those who are
building interesting hardware and/or software
- No politics
- No illegal material
- We reserve the right to say no

If you’re interested, email Mike: [email protected]

See you next issue!