A cool development from Public Resource:

WASHINGTON, D.C. / SEBASTOPOL, CA—November 14, 2007—Public.Resource.Org and Fastcase, Inc. announced today that they will release a large and free archive of federal case law, including all Courts of Appeals decisions from 1950 to the present and all Supreme Court decisions since 1754. The archive will be public domain and usable by anyone for any purpose.

Law and legal opinions aren’t copyrightable, but for too long, access to them in bulk has been restricted behind contractual firewalls. Courts have begun publishing their opinions electronically, but much of the historical information our common-law system is built around isn’t there yet. Lawyers have access to Lexis or Westlaw, and law students get that access for free (with the cost of a legal education), but contractual terms on those databases prevent sharing the contents more widely.

Furhter, this new effort will be Law 2.0:

Public.Resource.Org intends to perform an initial transformation on the federal case law archive obtained from Fastcase using open source “star” mapping software, which will allow the insertion of markers that will approximate page breaks based on user-furnished parameters such as page size, margins, and fonts. “Wiki” technology will be used to allow the public to move around these “star” markers, as well as add summaries, classifications, keywords, alternate numbering systems for citation purposes, and ratings or “diggs” on opinions.

The One Laptop Per Child program has opened its give-one get-one campaign. For a limited time, members of the general public can get in on what’s otherwise a kids-only affair: get a rugged hackable meshable laptop.

The OLPC could be the next generation’s erector set — finished product yes, but even more building-block for further creativity. The computers are built on open-source software, designed for rather than against their users. As the FAQ indicates, in response to questions about technical support: “One goal of the project is that children will learn to troubleshoot the XO themselves and subsequently use their experiences to help others.”

Get yours while you can!