Permacomputing NYC is a newly brewing meetup and community of practice centered around principles of permacomputing, meeting in New York City.
We have an email announcement/discussion group.
In a time where computing epitomizes industrial waste and exploitation, permacomputing encourages a more sustainable approach, maximizing hardware lifespans, minimizing energy use and focussing on the use of already available computational resources. Permacomputing asks the question whether it is possible to rethink computing in the same way as permaculture rethinks agriculture. --permacomputing wiki
Attending this meetup does not require you have any specific previous knowledge or experience. We are a friendly and broad community of people with many interests, though we are quite nerdy.
Upcoming meeting dates: March 10, April 14, May 12, at 6pm - 8:30pm.
We will be meeting on the second Tuesday each month at Ridgewood Commons, a community space at 585 Woodward Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens.
Our guest is Alex Nathanson, an educator, artist and designer focusing on practical and experimental applications of sustainable energy technologies, particularly photovoltaic solar power. Alex runs the design studio Energy Transition Design LLC and education platform Solar Power for Artists. He co-created the Solar Protocol project, with Tega Brain and Benedetta Piantella. His book A History of Solar Power Art and Design, was published by Routledge in 2021. His next book Make: Solar Circuits for Artists will be published by Make this year.
At this meetup Sam Heckle will lead us in a demo of “jailbreaking” to get old devices hampered by planned obsolescence up and running again (think old phones, media players, game consoles). We will be looking for ways to play around with the existing hardware and re-incorporating them back into serviceable devices, running a web server, media player, and more. We'll also continue our discussions on permacomputing and ways we can hack existing devices to extend their longevity and limit our own production of e-waste. Devices are planned to become obsolete, and it is our job as soft(ware) custodians to maintain, cultivate, and care for these old and forgotten tools. Please bring your old devices/phones/game systems. The talk will demonstrate jailbreaking iOS devices but you are welcome to bring what you have.
At our March meeting we'll be joined by editors and organizers of locally-organized community calendars, including Theo Ellin Ballew and Haider of Red Calendar (https://cal.red), Jessica Hallock of NYC Noise, and KC of the people's circuit. Launched in April 2025 "Red Calendar is an arts and action calendar that helps NYC gather without big tech middlemen." It is managed by a team of community editors, does not cost money and....is Big-Tech-free. No Meta/Facebook events, No Amazon Web Services, No Google Calendar, etc. Almost a year into its launch is the perfect time to learn more about why and how they did it, what they've learned, and what other initiatives can learn from them. NYC Noise is an open source site dedicated to presenting, promoting, and documenting NYC's experimental (slash avant-whatev, DIY, weirdo) music & artists; Primary Goals include making sh*t accessible, performance against corporate interests, & finding ways to make this last. the people's circuit project is an attempt to disrupt and circumvent Meta/IG's monopoly on our social practices, attention, and ability to commune, spread and receive information.
We'll also discuss the topic of Degrowth, including What might degrowth computing look like?
Hosted by Lee.
For more information: permacomputing.net
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