[Limor] From Adafruit To Hang Out With President [Obama]

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In a positive twist on the usual publicity events that our administration has experimented with over the years, President [Obama] will be hosting a google+ hangout with some lucky people to discuss, well, whatever matters. It is nice to see the people running the country finally getting to grips with some technology. It is still scary to hear how many people making the laws about data still don’t even use a computer.

[Limor] from Adafruit was selected as one of the few that would get to ask the President some questions. She will be focusing on manufacturing and small businesses.  We think she’s a great candidate to do so. We’ve watched her go from someone who just did some really well documented hacks to someone who runs a successful business focusing on open information and education (and gadgets of course). You can also submit your own questions, and if they get enough votes, the president will answer them.

32 thoughts on “[Limor] From Adafruit To Hang Out With President [Obama]

      1. Not of thing of course. Intentional or not Ryan with his sarcasm may have encouraged what I believe he is getting at. Whenever Obama is the topic often there will be some will take the opportunity to bring his proposed gun legislation, when there may not be any new arguments to bring to the table either way.

    1. Shouldn’t be any derogatory statements. I am a fiscal conservative (more Libertarian than anything, but more Republican than Democrat) and disagree with the President a lot. However, anything that makes our politicians more accessible is a great move in the right direction.

    1. Congratulations on this, i am very happy for you. Not a fan of the president, but its still an honor to meet one.
      Please ask him when he will stop hanging out and do his job, like everyone else who pays taxes for his spending.
      My $0.02, will not add anymore political stuff here. Just had to let it out.

  1. “It is still scary to hear how many people making the laws about data still don’t even use a computer.”

    I have heard/read many reports of different people in government security positions ( Head of DHS, CIA and a few others ) not using certain technologies such as email, text and even certain cell phones. The reasons I am aware of range from Freedom of Information Act – if there is no paper trail, there is nothing that can be released, to hacking and espionage.

    As for the google+ hangout, it would interesting to hear about laws that are being mulled over in regards to 3d printing – less would be more in my opinion. It would also be nice to hear about patent reforms, if they are even on the plate. I am all for patents and protecting your ideas, but I do think that the process could be reformed… Just look at the patent wars between the cell phone giants. There are features that Android had for years that Apple filed a patent for and won. I am not demonizing one over the other, but something has to be done.

    1. Yeah, all of these “government accessibility” things are basically a waste of time. They don’t touch any issues of importance with a 10-foot pole. I mean, look at the website equivalent of this “hangout”– all of the important issues are pushed under the rug or receive token useless responses.

      But it makes all the plebeians feel as though someone cares.
      It’s embarrassing, really, how so many people fall for these modernized distraction techniques.
      I challenge anyone to point out something useful that came out of an event like this.

      I’ll be curious to see if Fried asks any useful questions, though I doubt it since her topic category of “manufacturing and education” sounds like it’s going to be rather bland.

      Also, a google hangout with the President != “people running the country finally getting to grips with some technology”. All this shows is that his marketing department knows how to connect with the idiots that live in this country.

  2. Man, I love how reverse psych works at defusing people.
    The President is doing fine, it’s congress that needs grilled on the collective and the American peoples heads examined for continuing to re-hire them.

    But I would ask about the national security the implications of the fact that our manufacturing base pretty much resides in China.

    We give away our designs to be made by china, who can then copy those designs, they have the BOM, they have the tooling, they have everything they need not to need us.

    Our military relies on equipment that is always decades behind. To replace obsolete parts one has to go through miles of red tape, and by the time one gets it, it’s old too, probably made in China to boot, and with everything turning to embedded systems and uC’s, all that stuff is coming with pre-installed malware.

    Now the chinese don’t need to take the approach of maximum saftey, maximum red tape, they could be taking designs we send them to build out of the private COTS sector, and use them in weapons systems all day long, all without the “worms” they put in our stuff, without all the design overhead… They are quite simply going to make us obsolete with the blueprints we’ve sent them.

    We can’t even say we still own the education side of this equation either.

    I know the answer is to “bring it back home”. But how do you do that in a country that is more selfish then ever? I mean, WE wanted those cheap Chinese made goods, which meant someone in America wasn’t getting hired or was losing their job. WE wanted that foreign make car, just to spite our neighbor that worked at the GM plant and his cushy union job just because we can’t stand to see someone doing as good as we are.

    How does a President lead a country of “ME ME ME” raised on the “Jersey Shore”?

      1. I’m not sure if this is what he was referring to (probably not), but the equipment the US is using today was designed during the Cold War to fight the Soviet Union (ex. the F-22 Raptor). But we’re fighting terrorists (freedom fighters?) in urban warfare.

      2. having a son-in-law in the army…. I want to know why he doesn’t have any armor, and I have to buy it?

        Our military is an utter joke. They do not equip our soldiers the way they should.

  3. Ask him how his policies are different from that of any other Marxist. “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.”
    Then ask why he looked so disgusted when Dr. Carson laid out common sense right in front of him.

      1. Registered NP, a moderate actually, like the majority of Americans. Won’t hesitate to point out and make fun of failed conservative ideologies like deregulation, a strong dollar, corporate welfare, supply side economics, etc., any opportunity I can, though!

  4. Good for her! She deserves too. She is very well spoken, driven and I can guarantee you she faces a ton of sexism in this industry – yet she still prevails, building cool toys we can play with and teaching kids tech stuff!

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