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MIT's Stata Center Dedicated
AJL writes "On Friday, the long-in-coming, $280M Stata Center was dedicated at MIT. Featuring some pretty cool technology (including a row of Linux computers proclaiming 'Welcome to the William H. Gates Building' by Tux, the Linux Penguin), amazing design, and some pretty neat use of space, Stata is among the first of some high-budget, high-tech buildings being put on campuses these days. See some
Pictures
or go to the Main Stata Site for more details. Richard Stallman is now less than pleased that he has to work in the Gates Building, as well as having some other problems with his new office in general."
Aside giving him free office space in metro Boston... just what resources does RMS get out of being with MIT that he can't get from the FSF anyway?
I can't believe that he would complain about something like this! Oh wait, yes I can, because he's a fruit cake.
Seriously, I don't understand the privacy concerns with this. Do you need to scan in and out of the bathroom or something? Is he afraid they're going to track his bowel movements?
What I can understand is why they want this info. If there's equipment that goes missing.. it's quite usefull to know who is in the building, or who opened the door to the room.
He has grants to sit on his ass, fiddle with software, pretend to work on the Hurd, and in general talk about things in such a way that its obvious he doesn't have a real job, and he still complains about the free ride. Its a good thing that personalities don't mean much when choosing software otherwise he'd alienate a lot of people that are actually interested in the software he's associated with.
No I don't have any proof he pretends to work on the Hurd, but its been 20 years since the GNU project was set up to replace Unix and its still not in a usable condition, and quite probably never will be. I have a great deal of respect for the developers that make GNU software so good, such as the gcc team, but I have no respect at all for RMS and wouldn't stop to give him the time of day.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
Ironically, Fox 25 in Boston just ran a report about how insecure college dorms are because even with the magnetic-stripe or RFID based ID cards, somebody with a hidden TV camera could on every attempt get in simply by walking behind another student. In most cases, that other student even holds the door...
This really isn't the strongest security measure, but at least its better than not having any at all.
I've passed by the building a few times on my way back home from the MIT Swapfest. Not only is the architecture itself pretty ugly, but it's surrounded by typical buildings. It's incredibly annoying to be walking down a street full of brick and stone buildings, and then, out of nowhere, you come upon this thing with random chunks of metal coming out at all angles. The design may be "modern" and "chic" (or whatever you want to call it), but I wish they'd picked a design that fit in better. Hell, there are zoning restrictions on height that say you can't have a 40-story building right in the middle of 1-story ones, so why not restrictions on design? Luckily, I rarely have to pass buy it, but I'd hate to live or work right next to it. Frankly, it's the only MIT building I can think of that looks that out of place...
It does look remarkably like architecture done by the artists Hundertwasser,
here is an example of his house he did in Vienna
Hundertwasser House Vienna
"Nimis exaltatus rex sedet in vertice - caveat ruinam!"
I had two disparate thoughts about this article. First, looking at the exterior made me think that the designer had made the initial sketches under the influence of something like LSD. Architecture meets Jell-O(tm). But wait, I've seen that kind of hurts-my-head-to-look-at-it design before. Sure enough, Frank Gehry strikes again with a repeat of his design for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. It would seem that this time he's added color to give an even more cartoon-ish appearance.
Then again, we have the petulant RMS who threatens to make "the big sacrifice" of leaving MIT because they used RFID badges for building security. Please. Grow the heck up. Don't threaten, leave or shut up.
RMS isn't in the Gates Building. He's in the "warehouse" section. I've a friend who works on His Majesty's floor. The place might be dramatic to look at, but it's a pain to work in. When I visited it there were way more bizarre problems than any other half-constructed building I've ever seen. And it's really, really easy to get lost in it. I haven't gotten really lost at MIT for over 20 years until I set foot on the main floor of the Stata Center. The building's denizens are hiring architects to help fix it. I think that's part of Gehry's plan for participatory design. Leave it so unfinished that the inhabitants have to make their own nests!
FWIW, I really like the building. I wasn't sure at first, but after having worked in there for about a month now, it's quite nice for the most part.
When you've written half as much quality free software as RMS, I'll give you a grant to sit on your ass.
Until then, STFU!
The Boston colleges taken as a group have considerably more females than males.
Guys at MIT actually behave pretty decently in comparison to others the same age.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
In the article it says RMS is willing to move his research elsewhere,
_ ________
just out of interest what is his research centered around? and why
does he think leaving MIT will be such a big sacrifice?
Arash Partow
_________________________________________
http://www.partow.net
Arash Partow's Philosophy: Be a person who knows what they don't know, and not a person who doesn't know.
I am graduating this upcoming weekend with a Computer and Systems Degree from RPI. I personally consider RPI to be an excellent Engineering school (although the city of Troy leaves something to be desired). Judging from Graduate Schools and Companies that are interested in my I would say so does industy ;-).
... well, let's just leave it at not being a jerk. I haven't met the man personally, but I have heard horror stories from those who have about his interpersonal skills. So I'm going to venture a guess and say that he has never attended any such class, and if he has, he failed it misserably.
First, I (and all my friends) are able to talk to girls without looking at their cleavage. *Shock* Quite possibly because we look at them as people instead of objects. I have a number of (female) friends attending MIT, and from what I understand they get treated ok by folks there as well.
Secondly, I'm pretty sure that Richard Stallman is not an Engineer. I say pretty sure because I was unable to find his resume online and I don't really care enough to look harder. Engineers (as apposed to Computer Science majors) typically need to take a number of professional development classes where we learn such things as conflict resolution, how to work on a team, and
Now, before anyone gets mad at me, I'm not trying to say that all computer science majors are like Richard Stallman. Far from it! I understand how much it stinks to be associated with him, because the whole reason for my post it to refute the claim that he is an Engineer. He is in a class almost entirely by himself; with the possibly exception of Jon "Maddog" Hall (who I can personally attest to having no people skills) and a few others.
-paridel
Although personally I don't mind Gehry's buildings (in small amounts), you would have thought that MIT would have been more interested in a building by one of the more engineering-orientated architects...someone that designs buildings by 'hacking' materials, structure, & construction.
Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners would have been prefect for the job - designers of the really really cool Eden Project.
I agree. While I think the thing he did at Bilbao works for an art museum, the "Gehry bandshell" at the over-budget Millennium Park here in Chicago looks excessive and needless. The overall area isn't too bad, with a canopy over the grassy area from which speakers are hung, eliminating the need for towers, but the actual bandshell looks ridiculous in the Windy City. 20 years or so down the road people will look at his stuff and think "wow, that stuff is ugly."
Thankfully, Gehry is in his in his mid-70s so hopefully he only has a few more years of design left in him.
But was that because it was the best or because because it was the best of the free ones, the only free one, or good enough. Your right, it would be hard to prove. I still don't like RMS anyway.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
Firstly, the card reader access on camput is pretty minimal. Many outer doors have card readers and are locked after hours, but there are plenty of unlocked doors that grant access to almost all of campus.
More of a problem is that the RFID system has almost no security. No challenge-response, the cards just send out their data when queried. And can be read from a distance. And can be linked to things like student financial accounts. I can't blame Stallman for being a little paranoid.
-InsaneFolder
My other char is '!'
Trustee 1: "Hey, how can we waste a lot of money really fast?"
You know: I just don't understand where that attitude among university administrators and boards of * comes from. The college I just graduated from spent a large sum of money rehabing an old industrial building on campus into a really nice lab/classroom building. The money was well-spent, except for one item: They insisted on replacing the existing brick facade with a red brick which matched the color and type of brick used on the rest of the campus. Apparently, this was a significant portion of the budget for rehabing the building, and was not required from a structural standpoint. It makes even less sense when one considers that the building predates the near-by campus buildings which it just had to match by over twenty years and that the existing brick facade matched the other nearby non-campus buildings.
Come test your mettle in the world of Alter Aeon!
I was thinking about this when I was at the watercooler, so I took the RFID access card I use to open the server room in my workplace, and one of those small steel ( I think they're steel ) business card "wallets" from a managers desk, and to my not very great surprise, once inside it was unable to interact with any of the RFID sensors in my office, even when placed flush against the readers front plate.
This is a possible compromise if Stallman wants to be able to open the doors, but not be remotely scanned as he moves about the campus. You can open the "door" on the wallet to scan the card, and then latch it and slip it back into your jeans. I'm not a physics man, so I have no idea if this defense would be easily broken down by simply pouring more juice out of the reader, however.
One god, one market, one truth, one consumer.
Does anyone have a clue about what kind of research Richard Stallman does today at MIT?
I couldn't find him on eecs.mit.edu/people.html
I can tell you, being at another university that uses swipe cards, it causes lots of wear and tear on cards and on readers. If you have a reader getting swiped 100 times a day, which isn't uncommon for one that controlls access to an area with lots of people, it wears out quick. Cards likewise. I've replaced my card 2 times at the university, both while I worked in a building with card access. Before and after that aren't a problem since it sits with my other cards in my wallet most of the time.
RFID is a better idea since you don't have any physical contact so much less wear. I don't imaging the readers should ever wear out, barring a random failure or accidental damage.
> He doesn't publish any papers
You're right, no papers, just books and essays.
Most importantly, he's the closest thing to a "leader" in the Free Software movement.
The difference between architecture and painting is that whereas the aesthetic sensibilities of a painter dictate the appearance of a wall, or at most a single room, the architect has the power to shape the appearance and atmosphere of an entire neighborhood. Such power, used wisely, can be a Good Thing. Indeed, many of the examples you linked to demonstrate that.
However, what the Guggenheim and the Sydney Opera House have that Gehry's Stata Center lacks is class. It doesn't take a trained architect's eye to get a feel for what it would be like to live near or in a building. I live near Cambridge, and when I walk or drive by the Stata center, I get one distinct impression: Fisher Price on crack.
For better or for worse, the Stata looks like a toy - a quirky, disturbing, funky looking toy. Now, perhaps that is just right for a place like MIT's AI lab. In my opinion, though, there is much to be said for the sheer elegance of a building like MIT's own Dome. Modernism is fine (and even Frank Gehry has designed some cool buildings), but that doesn't mean the Stata is a place where I would want to work, or even see on a regular basis. All I can say is Bleah.
Somewhat more interesting is the Gnu on the screen, who's saying "Thanks for the new home!"
Then the corporations (in those days we called it the military-industrial complex) came in and saw what we were doing with the Lisp machine and created Symbolics to lock down the IP. Thus died an era of unfettered innovation and laid the foundation for Stallman's GNU project and the Free Software Foundation.
It's sad to see that a school as committed to getting education right as M.I.T. bowing to continued corporate pressures, but that's what's going on. What the suits are worried about is IP getting out. A stolen computer can be replaced, but if J.C. Penny's embedded advertising tech got out to a competitor, well, that could cost millions in grants.
The antidote for misuse of freedom of speech is more freedom of speech.
-- Molly Ivins