I joined some of my colleagues on Al Jazeera this week to discuss a project that was highlighted in last Sunday’s New York Times. A new type of tool for democratic organizing, the project will develop software to create device-as-infrastructure networks that uses off the shelf computers, routers, and cell phones.

Nighttime feeding: The latest from Sherwood Forest

Nighttime feeding:

The latest from Sherwood Forest

Joy of spring: A baby robin is looking for food on at the start of May.

Joy of spring:

A baby robin is looking for food on at the start of May.

Baby robin on the first day of May

Yesterday my attempt to exit the Metro hit a wall

Yesterday my attempt to exit the Metro hit a wall

Cherry Blossoms: Absolutely at their peak

Cherry Blossoms:

Absolutely at their peak

This week we hosted Vint Cerf for an event demoing visual tools for data collected by Measurement Lab. Over the last two years, M-Lab has collected over 300 terabytes of data and the tools are pretty fun to explore. This chart ranks worldwide broadband speeds. Because speed is affected by the number of tests and distance to test servers, this data is available as well.

Wireless versus Wireline Broadband and the Digital Divide

With all the talk of wireless broadband and the digital divide I became curious what the price difference was between wireless and wireline broadband access. After all my Computer may have cost $1000 when I bought it three years ago, but my phone, with the mandatory service I barely use like Voice, ran nearly $3000 over two years. Granted a phone with a data plan is cheaper, but my next computer will likely run $400.

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Watching Gnomeo & Juliet in 3D

Watching Gnomeo & Juliet in 3D

The Wireless Generation Gap

If you’ve followed broadband discussions in Washington, DC, then you’ve heard that wireless is the future of communications. The National Broadband Plan offers wireless as the competitive solution to the broadband duopoly dilemma, and in the recently released White House Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative, President Obama reiterated his State of the Union commitment to helping “extend next-generation wireless services to at least 98% of Americans.”

If you watch TV, you might think this is a good thing. The whole country is moving to 4G—next generation wireless—and according to some carriers, this is our chance to beat the world in broadband. For Obama, it’s a chance to Win the Future.

It will certainly help us win a future—but if this, as Obama said, is our “Sputnik moment,” we are not reaching for the moon.

Keep reading at Ars Technica.