Watching everything that goes on in the tech and computer world –well as much as I can-, here some thoughts.
Just so nobody can’t say nothin’
Closed/Open technologies and monopole.
It’s an endless loop I guess. Usually at first we use the closed ones because they are better and when the technology is mature enough –when people really need it while the tech reaches stability- we move to alternatives to the point where we’re almost totally free to use this technology seeminglessly and endlessly. And then a new closed tech comes etc
So there’s nothing wrong using closed tech. Opera offers a great browser experience and it’s a closed tech. The only thing to do with closed technologies is to not giving up everything on them. Using them to get things done and have a boost of productivity is fine.
Adobe Flash is an excellent example of a great productivity tool for which we tend to give up everything, building a monopole based on a proprietary technology where only a giant company like MS can compete with (Silverlight). But Flash is cool –though not as fast as the Grandmaster-, it is used by visual designers. They are the coolest guys of the entire universe they can’t be wrong!
That’s weird. The stability of the open source alternative should be here and competing. I can’t wait to have the open source equivalent of the PDF format, without any restriction and gazillion of devices capable of reading it while offering perfect performances, feeding great apps.
I see some people complaining about the monopole of iTunes these days and people going away from a market so tightly controlled by the California based company that apps are refused arbitrary.
Well, Apple is known for that –just having to install iTunes to see the music catalog is the first step-, it’s closed closed closed. The size of the iphone market is now enough to make people think twice before being stuck.
It’s like the cooler you seem, the more you can fuck people. Open or closed technology doesn’t even count. That’s why I don’t want Chrome. Way too nice Google, and you already have me with mail and rss.
OS/Apps and updates.
They all fail at some point. Whatever it is, from Snow Leopard to WordPress to Windows, a major update on a major system has to break some stuffs. That’s why 7 is impressive for me, it didn’t break anything and everything worked out out of the box on three very different computer. Because doing an operating system is one of the most complex task in the world, sometimes it doesn’t deliver. Hopefully it’s less and less the case whatever the flavor of what is running your computer on.
Also the more the app is used, the more it’s vulnerable and needs updates. WordPress and Firefox come in mind. It’s just like that. And no system is unbreakable so.. All this noise on news about what is normal in the software world is pretty annoying because during that time, they don’t talk about great apps and services that would be worth the word.
Patents & lock-in.
Well, I agree with Raph Koster on this one. You have a great idea, you did work hard on it, it seems fair that you want some revenue from it. The point is to what degree. It seems that people always want to abuse that, largely. The lack of competition because of abusive patents especially on hardware is slowing the spread of progress so hard (multitouch mess).
Anyway the only way to prevent abuses or slow generalization of great tech things seems to make sure to be in the middle of it. No sides, just going here and there, getting the one that fits your need without compromising your freedom.
3 replies on “Nerdy choices”
Great note, again. The more I read you the more I feel smart, seriously!
But I’ll keep my Chrome browser, bro’ ;)
Sorry Harold, but you’re talking out of your ass on this one. But it would take too long to debunk you here and there’s plenty of great arguments on the net already. Check http://www.ffii.org/Home and http://www.gnu.org/…/philosophy.html for a start.
Cheers,
O.
Hey thank you beaucoup Tibö :)
Olivier, that’s true that this is really random thoughts, not really well explained I give you that.
But these are not exclusive to your hardcore free point of view :)
I mean I agree with you and your links but it’s more the absolute and I’m more talking about the now and what apps you use to get work done.
Of course software should be free nobody can’t argue against that, it’s like being against renewable energy. Still, if you really need a car now, you’re gonna end up with one working with gas.
This is a bit what happened at the GGJ: you want to get things done and the best way sometimes is to use closed tech. We did not and it was a pain in the ass.
In my case I tend to use as much free and open alternatives as I can. I installed Ubuntu on my netbook and everything worked except wifi. After reading tutorials and using command lines I still could not get it (wrong package or something). I tried Windows7 and 40mn later everything was working perfectly.
That doesn’t mean I’m using MS apps all the way in fact, beside the OS and some .NET dev I use open/free software a lot. And I know that in a couple of years I’ll be fully on open and free software because I see the quick progress. I look around.
Software is fluid and free software is a strong value, I’m not afraid of his future.
Hardware lock-in are way worse because not easy to get around, if not at all. When the stereo can only receive an ipod while there is a generic digital port called USB to do the same, I’m mad. When I have a multitouch trackpad -which in terms of usability is a huge feature- on a laptop serie and that the upgrade doesn’t because of patents war, I’m mad and feel fucked.
Cheers and good dev,
h.