Citizen Will

Tag: technology_advisory_board

  • Open Source Software: Good enough for Croatia, good enough for Chapel Hill

    As a citizen, I came to my first Chapel Hill Technology Advisory Board meeting with a list of technology-related propositions that would help our town increase transparency while improving operational effeciency. Part of my proposal hinged on the use of open source software (OSS) – software that is flexible, reliable, transparent, “evergreen” and, based on […]

  • Tapping into our community’s aggregate wisdom

    My April 26th Daily Tar Heel guest column: During the November campaign, I spoke of tapping into Chapel Hill’s “talent, innovation and creativity,” a reflection of my belief that good governance flows from maximizing citizen involvement. How best to tap Chapel Hill’s wisdom?

  • Catch the NextBus VII – Stone knives and bear skins…

    A Web 2.0 nod to Spock and Kirk. What if I endeavored “to construct a pneumonic memory circuit using stone knives and bear skins”? To wit, could I recreate the NextBus system using “off the shelf” Web 2.0 infrastructure and cheap gear? For a modestly discounted fee of $850,000? Yes! Yes! Yes! My tinkertoy Web […]

  • Catch the NextBus V – Fairly Balanced

    Near the end of my day of NextBus posting, here’s a quick overview of my and others impressions of the NextBus system.NextBus provides near realtime tracking of vehicles by analyzing their predicted movements, modeling traffic conditions, estimating location and then verifying position. In 2003, this combination of GPS, cell and computer technologies probably had a […]

  • Catch the NextBus IV – New Hope?

    Thank you town staff, Ms. Hall especially, for the assistance in assembling this information. April 24th, 2006 – two days ago – after concerns were raised about the NextBus, Inc. deal – the town signed a contract with NextBus, Inc. for their proprietary system. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope. The schedule of […]

  • Catch the NextBus III – ACTransit’s Better Deal

    Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District …an innovative, modern bus system, owned by the public of the East Bay. Its family tree dates back to 1869…the year America’s two coasts were joined by the transcontinental railroad with the driving of the golden spike. In the same year, 1869, the Suez Canal opened, linking the Mediterranean with the […]

  • Catch the NextBus

    I’m curious about both the process our town went through selecting NextBus, Inc. and the “real-world” results of other communities. I’ll be documenting more of what I find over the next couple days, including why the town’s Technology advisory board, in spite of staff knowing of our particular interest in this technology, was shut out […]