Beta: Will Computing Ever Be As Invisible As Electricity
Daniel Hallac
· 3 years ago
It is has already happened. At least for the younger generations.
My son is 4 years old. He already knows how to use a computer and loves to surf the itunes music store and a few 'approved' websites. Living in nyc occasionally my wifi network goes down due to interference. He just doesn't get why he can't access the store. The same thing happens when we travel with our laptop.
The concept of not having access to the Internet is one that he just doesn't get. It is the kids like this that will make computing invisible, because for them, it is.
ouriel
· 3 years ago
I guess the triger to your vision will be democratisation of very high speed internet.
Brave New World? Maybe Brave New Generation, as globally there’s more transparency & democratisation than here in the USA, where we have fallen behind the curve.
Technology or Cultural shift? That is for the future to access. In the Arpanet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) days, there was no explaining where it went, so engineers used a cloud metaphor. That's where the invisibility is, in the cloud of the original Internet inventors.
Peter Bowen
· 3 years ago
You're absolutely right, but the real keys are standardized descriptors AND cheap computing power. If the iron breaks, I get a new one and it works (while being better and less expensive than the last one). I don't need to think about the voltage etc... computers need to get this way - information has to be available without having to jump through hoops. If you want a song, why do you have to go to iTunes, Amazon, Rhaopsody, and finally buy it used? Because there is not a common music search. When information providers unite, information will be as common as electricity.
Hans Omli
· 3 years ago
The web as power outlet will require a monetization system similar to an electicity bill.
Ads work for search and other traffic generators. Subscriptions work for larger discrete applications. Commissions work for al applications. Premium Services work when users understand the company incurs a larger cost. But for the vast majority of Web 2.0 applications, a new model that treats the web like a utility is required. Are you ready to help build it?
michael
· 3 years ago
Brad, you seem to be channeling David Gelernter. You might want to read his late-90's book "Machine Beauty" on aesthetics and technology, specifically on how technologies blend into environments (as opposed to just becoming accepted or commonplace).
Jeremy Higgs
· 3 years ago
I think you're talking about the article by Nicholas G. Carr, "IT Doesn't Matter" (2003).
All Comments
It is has already happened. At least for the younger generations.
My son is 4 years old. He already knows how to use a computer and loves to surf the itunes music store and a few 'approved' websites. Living in nyc occasionally my wifi network goes down due to interference. He just doesn't get why he can't access the store. The same thing happens when we travel with our laptop.
The concept of not having access to the Internet is one that he just doesn't get. It is the kids like this that will make computing invisible, because for them, it is.
I guess the triger to your vision will be democratisation of very high speed internet.
There are those “Born Digital”© and those not. (My son uses his "V-Cast" all the time, for the most basic of needs.) Convergence, like all major shifts, has been taking place for awhile (the last 3 decades). This generation has invisible technology. As video and mobile and everything converge, it will be pervasive and ubiquitous; we will be unaware. It is a part of the fabric, like electricity.
Brave New World? Maybe Brave New Generation, as globally there’s more transparency & democratisation than here in the USA, where we have fallen behind the curve.
Technology or Cultural shift? That is for the future to access. In the Arpanet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) days, there was no explaining where it went, so engineers used a cloud metaphor. That's where the invisibility is, in the cloud of the original Internet inventors.
You're absolutely right, but the real keys are standardized descriptors AND cheap computing power. If the iron breaks, I get a new one and it works (while being better and less expensive than the last one). I don't need to think about the voltage etc... computers need to get this way - information has to be available without having to jump through hoops. If you want a song, why do you have to go to iTunes, Amazon, Rhaopsody, and finally buy it used? Because there is not a common music search. When information providers unite, information will be as common as electricity.
The web as power outlet will require a monetization system similar to an electicity bill.
Ads work for search and other traffic generators. Subscriptions work for larger discrete applications. Commissions work for al applications. Premium Services work when users understand the company incurs a larger cost. But for the vast majority of Web 2.0 applications, a new model that treats the web like a utility is required. Are you ready to help build it?
Brad, you seem to be channeling David Gelernter. You might want to read his late-90's book "Machine Beauty" on aesthetics and technology, specifically on how technologies blend into environments (as opposed to just becoming accepted or commonplace).
I think you're talking about the article by Nicholas G. Carr, "IT Doesn't Matter" (2003).