{"id":17493,"date":"2024-09-24T10:53:50","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T08:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/?p=17493"},"modified":"2024-10-15T15:19:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T13:19:52","slug":"low-tech-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/en\/low-tech-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"Kris De Decker, off-grid publishing wins over hi-tech problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nFrom science freelance journalist for Flemish news outlets to now being his own publisher, Low-tech Magazine\u2019s founder Kris De Decker keeps a critical eye on how tech is being covered in mass media. He launched his online magazine in 2007 to highlight the potential of past and often forgotten technologies. Since then, he has turned it into a solar-powered website. Raising awareness on the always increasing energy demand required by content consumption.\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n

Static web design, default typefaces, dithered images, off-line reading options, among other tricks to lower energy use far below that of the average website. You might already be used to these features if you ever tried kingkong\u2019s low carbon version<\/a>. As it uses so little energy, Low-tech Magazine<\/a>\u2019s website can operate on an off-the-grid solar panel system. All year long, this self-hosted installation hangs on the balcony of its creator Kris De Decker. \u2018This means the website will go off-line during longer periods of cloudy weather\u2019, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the start of our conversation, the website status displays a half-loaded battery. The shy morning sun has not reached his solar panel yet. Fortunately, the Belgian writer no longer lives in rainy Belgium but has found a new home in Catalunya\u2019s capital. \u2018In winter, Barcelona observes four times less sunlight than in summer. In Belgium, by the way, the difference lays around ten to twelve times less. The website has been running for the past six years now, and even if I clearly notice the seasonal effect, the system only goes completely off-line for 20ish days per year.\u2019 Just as factories depended on the reliability and intermittency of windmills during the industrial era, this low-tech application on modern technology allows to rethink the question of energy demand in a time of instant gratification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Une publication partag\u00e9e par LOW\u2190TECH Magazine (@lowtechmagazine)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n