start

I am not a complete novice to the digital world but have found my limited knowledge a definitely hindrance in excecuting this project.The expectation is that a user of some of the software recommended, has a certain level of no-how.I have to admit that binary codes etc never excited me.
I don't add Apps to my phone because my immediate concern is more for the life of my battery .I am a kinetic learner and do, and have always found sitting in one spot for long periods of time frustrating and am prone to fidgeting, unless I am totally engaged.I have learn t to combat the fidgeting by doodling whilst for example in a lecture.
I remember when the first versions of Street-Fighter came to the local games arcade I loved it ,it was physically interactive.You had to literally punch it to play it.Subsequent versions that came after,in particular for the games consoles could not and have been able to hold my attention.
So as frustrated as I have previously found this area of expertize,I decided to approach this module from the point of view of a lay person(which I feel I am)
The lecture on Remixing ;Creative Commons and all copyrights throw up a lot of areas for research as I have said previously my inexperience in digital skills is how I am going to approach my research in an exploration into the mechanics of the software and the social ethics connected to the open source movement

Creative Commons’ licences are being used by many such as artists, business, government, science, education,they seem to agree with the principles.
This form of copyright licence gives a practioner a greater say in how they decide in which way they want you to interact with there work.I discovered some different permissions when I published my own font through Fontstruct
Some might think that the remix culture is a new phenomena ,I don't think it is . I think the point needs to made that the change in the freedom for others to build upon an idea has been stifled by traditional copyrights laws.
The existing 'traditional' laws have given corporations the permission to monopolise an idea that they themselves have been able to copy; remix from another s work.I feel the whole Creative Commons ethos is trying to rectify this.

I enjoyed the exploration into the different font makers but I think that the Fontstruct is more immediately rewarding because of its simplicity.I haven't figured out how to download my font so I can use it in other devices but I presume this to be apart of the learning process.It is frustrating to be able to achieve a certain amount of success with a tool and then come up against a wall like this.From experience even when you ask for the help,your problem might get solved.It does seem harder to get an explanation how it was fixed in great detail.That truly makes me understand the mechanics of the problem

My first hurdle while trying to get to grips with the Font Forge software was that it kept crashing.I asked a few people questions but I seemed to be asking a stupid question .Which contradicts what I have previously known that there are no stupid questions.So I set myself the challenge of educating myself in digital jargon.Which at first I will admit felt like a lost cause.After two weeks I enquired if anyone else in my class who was using windows had been able to find a stable version of Font Forge.To my relief it hasn't been developed to that stage .I suppose in theory this is where the opportunity for me or realistically others to improve this area of the software happens.I would discover a new set of codes and share them with the source community.This revelation made me question the grey area,the space between an established software such as the Adobe suite and a not so stable Font Forge.
I had been using Inkscape and Gimp and had followed a tutorial in Processing.I found them difficult at first because of the interfaces not being familiar but in some ways I preferred Gimp against Photoshop (its comparison) it has much more interesting tools available. My understanding of the copyright issue took on a new turn.
In my frustration to find a font maker that would work on my OS. I stumbled upon Fontstructor which is very easy to use and stable.It was sponsored by Erik Spiekermann and Neville Brody of Fontshop, which made me question its credentials in the open source environment .I discovered that it is not open source but it has Creative Commons copyright .They encourage you to invent develop remix your fonts. Currently the licences on the Fonstruct site allow you to use the fonts in your own projects but credit the original source.
From techniques learnt in the Dave Crossland workshop on Fontforge .I applied them while I tried to get to grips with making my own Font.

An attempt font design using inkscape

The Brief
To collate information concerning the riots various cities around England between the 6th and 11th of August in 2011 and to find a mapping system to display our findings

The Fontstruct is a free font-building tool site is easy to read and understand and is compatible with windows and Mac. This my font that I have started to develop and I have put into the public to be shared remixed with a Creative commons license.

I decided to try and download a font hacker but I was not very successful at this, but whilst researching I noticed remix posters on line which made me laugh because I had seen similar before and not taken any notice .Now it has a new context .In some examples they remind me of graffiti on a trains.
There are examples of glasses and mustaches drawn on pictures with a slogan written across them.I also found Micah Wrights site-The Propaganda Remix .He is using the remix culture to make political statements.
There are vast amounts of Software out there to enable people to join the Remix network .

This is a project called Beat the Clock.I thought this might be a template for the idea I had with a few adjustments but I wasn't sure of my skill set being able to achieve this.

This is the materials needed to make a digital clock out of an old Connect4 game.I feel more capable of getting a successful outcome with this design.I should be able to complete this without being overwelmed and hopefully gaining more confidence to move onto more complex projects.All the codes needed are included and if I am successful maybe I might be able to add to the code in some way for others to use

My initial idea stemmed from brainstorming over for my typography module .I wanted to make an installation that would have been physically interactive powered by Arduino. It was going to be a barcode reader of sorts which when you inserted a barcode tablet in to the machine and the information would display on a screen. Which type of screen was still a thought to be further thought through.

The most engaging stage of learning about Open Source softwares came,for me when in the Arduino workshop with Rob Canning .I have thought about why this is .I believe this is because it does have a much more kinetic experience to it.
I have to say I have become an advocate of the Arduino, the more I have researched into it.The projects that are evolving from it, are quite frankly amazing.From toys such as the bubble making machine or drones taking medical supplys' to places with none or very limited accessibility.
I initially saw a project that appealed to me. In some ways I believed could be adapted to my original barcode idea with more experience gained. I discovered it on a website called Instructables .Here I followed SUPERTECH_IT.We have been maintaining a friendly dialogue.I expressed my worries concerning trying out this project and he has offered me extensive help through email,Skype etc.exemplifying the enviroment that the CC wishes to promote.
In the end I decided to take on the Connect 4 project to gain confidence and develop my own skills and because I love playing Connect 4