This year for Halloween, The Geek Group, decided to take a very different approach to outreach. Instead of making animatronics, or converting their giant (seriously HUGE) space into a haunted house, they held an event called “Computers Not Candy” where they teamed up with a large local company to bring 100 tablet computers to 100 youths.
If you’re not already familiar with the Geek Group, you should check them out. They’re a huge hackerspace that really seems to have their act together. They put out really cool videos regularly, our favorite being the equipment autopsies.
While we really do admire the work they did to introduce these kids to hackerspaces, we also love candy and silly spooky projects. Next year how about Computers AND Candy!
That is by far,the most amazing thing I’ve saw on HaD.
Don’t get me wrong here,some crazy hacks came by and changed the world,but giving so much out of sheer kindness to encourage people to learn,that’s a hack I’d be proud of.
i am ~proud~ to be a active member of The Geek Group and although i didn’t have a direct involvement in this particular project, i was honored to be the first member to make in person contact with Dart, i remember meeting Dave and watching with him and his staff (who treated me like a celebrity or something) a couple geek group videos, one being the first computer not candy event, where one random kid a few years back instead of candy in his bag got a laptop. it was pretty obvious that eventually, like all things TGG does, it’d grow and be something huge, and with this particular event, that dart would play a big role.
i never thought the computer giveaway would get this big, but frankly, i’m not remotely surprised. I’ve been a member for years, staff since sometime in feb 2010, and i love every minute of it. I’m a geek and proud of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEGy0rtOfEM there it is :)
I am proud to be member of The Geek Group and glad to be a part of an organization not only dedicated to science, but dedicated to putting technology into the hands of children and adults to help bring their dreams to reality. It is something amazing to bring your dreams to reality with your own hands.
I’ve been there, and honestly…..it is a joke. Nothing innovative. Was not impressed at all. Basically a warehouse where the only interesting things are built by outsiders and brought in. Completely unorganized. Nowhere near as impressive as the videos make it out to be. And the motto is completely offputting.
Are you that one guy that thumbs down every one of their videos? Here’s something interesting to note, they are somewhat unorganized because they aren’t open to the public yet, the whole project itself in that building is relatively new, and it’s a not for profit. The intent is to provide people with tools and a place to create stuff, not for them to innovate and manufacture, although some of them do that.
Unless the Craft family enjoy Winter weather, when Spring has sprung an investigative journey could be made by Caleb, To the geek group facility to get the scoop or to affirm the scoop we read. From the videos the hackerspaces that Caleb has already visited, at the physical the Geek Group really not that different from those.
I would recommend it after they actually open to the public. I imagine once they get away from the stress of fixing that building and getting things to the actual way they want it, it’ll be a different place entirely.
I know and have worked directly with this guy during FIRST robotics and never would again…while he means well and wishes to do good it is hard to be around him and the gravity of his ego. Also it is very hard to calm a home schoolers parent down after this guy pulls out his huge side arm and starts impromptu handgun 101 classes with theirchild. I REALLY hope he has ceased that. I wish him well tho as like i said, he means well…i think anyways.
They have no idea the value of that hacker space…
I would love to have that available near where I live and gladly pay the membership fee as well.
Huge thanks to TheGeekGroup.org !
Just want to say. The machines don’t look like tablet computers to me. Which tablet is more than 1 inch thick and comes with a power brick? I also don’t see any haunted house. Am I missing something?
They are an older style of tablet laptop. Did you watch the video? The screen has an ability to pivot and lay back onto itself and has a touchscreen, giving you a tablet computer.
Let’s see – replace the handing out of excess calories with the handing out of devices that
contribute significantly to a sedentary lifestyle.
Neither one a big winner from a health standpoint.
Now if you handed out pedometers (e.g. add some extra games, etc. to make them attractive for young folks), or handed out wilderness hiking opportunities.
Really? You’re dissing people giving technology to kids that will very likely help give them the skill to secure a great future?
How about you get off your fat arse (metaphorically or not as the case may be) and organize what YOU think will help kids instead of criticizing people that are doing what they think will help.
I made a courteous suggestion of one example of
more health enhancing applications of technology that
could have been employed.
As for “dissing,” well some of the comments here
give much better examples of that.
God forbid they ever handout books with the candy:) to be reinforcing a gross generalization.
Computers NOT Candy!? That’s bullshit man! No, seriously this is very generous and will hopefully get some of these kids into hacking, hey who knows maybe one of those kids will be the next Steve Jobs (hey in a group of kids there has to be one self-important dick.)
i can see this ending badly. just because half those kids have the ‘soon as im out of here im pawning this crap’ face.
Another possibility of a techie giveaway that might be more in the spirit of Halloween, how about giving out something really scary.
Like maybe copies of EasyWriter? (For maximum horror, make it version 1.0)
Or maybe PC Junior keyboards.
This was one of the many ways The Geek Group gives back to the community.
I wish we had a hackerspace as big as TGG, here in Boulder, CO.
To grengr, I don’t know what your deal is, but hackerspaces aren’t really about innovation. It’s about learning, sharing, breaking, building. The Geek Group also tries to give back to the community. They don’t have to, but they do.
Also The Geek Group has been around since the early 90’s, way before anyone ever used the term hackerspace.