Avec des projets tels que FON, l’intégration d’un Internet pervasif, collaboratif et gratuit au quotidien de nos villes a pris de l’aile. Le dernier projet de l’artiste berlinois Aram Bartholl pourrait bien être le prochain pas vers une ville peer-to-peer.
“Dead Drops” est une installation de supports de stockage intégrés dans la ville. Commençant en Octobre 2010 avec l’installation de cinq clés USB à New York, Bartholl a par la suite lancé un appel à participation afin de cimenter toujours plus des clefs USB dans les murs des villes du monde entier, pour permettre la diffusion, l’échange et la rélocalisation de données de façon anonyme et déconnectée.
“Un-cloud your files in cement!”, invite Bartholl sur le site du projet, qui est ainsi présenté: “‘Dead Drops’ is an anonymous, offline, peer to peer file-sharing network in public space. USB flash drives are embedded into walls, buildings and curbs accessable to anybody in public space. Everyone is invited to drop or find files on a dead drop. Plug your laptop to a wall, house or pole to share your favorite files and data. Each dead drop is installed empty except a readme.txt file explaining the project. ‘Dead Drops’ is open to participation. If you want to install a dead drop in your city/neighborhood follow the ‘how to’ instructions and submit the location and pictures.”
Le site inclut également un Manifesto qui invite à repenser notre conception de domaine public:
“Dead Drops is an anonymous, offline, peer to peer file-sharing network in public space. Anyone can access a Dead Drop and everyone may install a Dead Drop in their neighborhood/city. A Dead Drop must be public accessible. A Dead Drop inside closed buildings or private places with limited or temporary access is not a Dead Drop. A real Dead Drop mounts as read and writeable mass storage drive without any custom software. Dead Drops don’t need to be synced or connected to each other. Each Dead Drop is singular in its existence. A very beautiful Dead Drop shows only the metal sheath enclosed type-A USB plug and is cemented into walls.You would hardly notice it. Dead Drops don’t need any cables or wireless technology. Your knees on the ground or a dirty jacket on the wall is what it takes share files offline. A Dead Drop is a naked piece of passively powered Universal Serial Bus technology embedded into the city, the only true public space. In an era of growing clouds and fancy new devices without access to local files we need to rethink the freedom and distribution of data. The Dead Drops movement is on its way for change! Free your data to the public domain in cement! Make your own Dead Drop now! Un-cloud your files today!!!”
Ainsi qu’une liste et cartographie des Dead Drops installées jusqu’ici. Où sera la prochaine?
