Yup, there’s a cycle between centralization and edge. Started with centralization, mainframes, went edge with the first PCs (and game consoles) and ever since corpos have been trying to pull it back to the center in waves. Thin client, cloud compute, arguably phones (as apps processing in the cloud), Geforce Now, AI. So far it’s always gone back to the edge for most of the population, except for niche cases (or not in the case of phones). As internet gets faster and more reliable the chance of it sticking longer in the central zone increases (IMO).
As internet gets faster and more reliable the chance of it sticking longer in the central zone increases
It also allow the opposite, the fediverse is a living example of it, the more internet is faster the more we can organize better to decentralize, it’s harder that someone get in contact with the decentralized internet but it’s more probable that it happen now than 7 years ago
Some companies also would still continue to sell consumer hardware (like Framework, probably)
I see it as a fight, companies are currently winning sadly but we have the power to win too
Heartily agree. I was trying for objectivity, personally you’ll take my general purpose computers from my cold dead hands, and I will encourage everyone I can to support it.
I take some solace from the general pendulum nature of the process (and societal evolution in general), this too shall pass. Doesn’t mean we don’t need to fight. Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.
Yup, there’s a cycle between centralization and edge. Started with centralization, mainframes, went edge with the first PCs (and game consoles) and ever since corpos have been trying to pull it back to the center in waves. Thin client, cloud compute, arguably phones (as apps processing in the cloud), Geforce Now, AI. So far it’s always gone back to the edge for most of the population, except for niche cases (or not in the case of phones). As internet gets faster and more reliable the chance of it sticking longer in the central zone increases (IMO).
It also allow the opposite, the fediverse is a living example of it, the more internet is faster the more we can organize better to decentralize, it’s harder that someone get in contact with the decentralized internet but it’s more probable that it happen now than 7 years ago
Some companies also would still continue to sell consumer hardware (like Framework, probably)
I see it as a fight, companies are currently winning sadly but we have the power to win too
Heartily agree. I was trying for objectivity, personally you’ll take my general purpose computers from my cold dead hands, and I will encourage everyone I can to support it.
I take some solace from the general pendulum nature of the process (and societal evolution in general), this too shall pass. Doesn’t mean we don’t need to fight. Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.