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Tech == Politics
https://gladerebooted.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=39		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Katas [ Fri Sep 04, 2009 10:04 am ]
Post subject:  Tech == Politics
John Siracusa wrote:
...

This extreme position on haxies and other system extensions is wrong for the same reason that socialism, communism, and libertarianism are, in the long run, nonviable forms of large-scale governance. It attempts to arrive at a solution by changing the nature of the participants. This will never work.

Any viable solution must work within the (often inconvenient) bounds of reality. It must be constructed in such a way that the motivations and actions of the participants—both the good and the bad...especially the bad—serve to balance the system as a whole. Suggesting that all would be well, if only certain people would act differently or alter their desires in some way is wishful thinking, not an actual solution.


So I am sure many of us are the ones who are called to remove the Bonzai Buddy from a system, or the Weatherbug, or what have you.

We're the ones who go over, look at the Notification Area (AKA System Tray) on your PC and tsk silently with our head.

Now, to his credit, Michael doesn't need that, nor does my father-in-law. I am mainly thinking about friends from back in the day whom I see only irregularly at best due to geographic differences.

However, consider for a moment the Windows / OS X / FOSS trifecta.

Windows is the most popular OS and is the most easy to customize to suit your needs. If you want a program to control your embroidery machine or a program to help with the fantasy football draft you run, you can find it and buy it. It's definitely the 'big tent' politics of the software world.

Linux is the least popular OS for consumers, though it has that same 'we can do everything', but it does everything by asking you to pitch in... whether you want to call it socialism, libertarianism, or communism may reveal more about you than Linux.

OS X is gaining in popularity but it's gaining in popularity because of the 'hassle free' computing experience. Of course, thanks to virtualization and standardization on Intel processors, you can moonlight to the other parties more easily, so if you have to work with the big-tent world or the 'grab a corner of the barn frame and heave' world, you can. This is also true in Linux, which has had a draining effect on the big tent.

Also, since so many services are provided by the cloud/internet in general now, we're living in a more 'big government' world when it comes to computing, and the big tent approach is mainly for the 'local' things like printers, games, etc.

There's been some good articles about tech standards such as this and patent reform such as this and this and a lot more from /. and boingboing.

If you think about standards bodies as the Congress of the world, you get some real stinkers (DMCA) and you get some real winners (going to let you choose your favorite bill here). USB, for example, was technically inferior to FireWire but it got more support and essentially was voted the winner by our dollars. Beta was superior but died on the floor because they spurned the porn vote and that constituency is as important as swing voters.

And patents are akin to blue laws - things that are hard to change and fight and get people to see as a big deal. Or perhaps they are the PACs, whom you either work with or try to resist their influence on getting what you need done? I don't know...

I just wanted to start a discourse on this thought and see what other's takes are.
Author:  shuyung [ Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Tech == Politics
Which thought, please? You have a number of them presented in rather scattershot fashion in your post, doing nothing to assert your position regarding your subject.
Author:  Aegnor [ Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tech == Politics
Katas wrote:
John Siracusa wrote:
...
Windows is the most popular OS and is the most easy to customize to suit your needs. If you want a program to control your embroidery machine or a program to help with the fantasy football draft you run, you can find it and buy it. It's definitely the 'big tent' politics of the software world.


A friend of mine's wife has a laptop hooked up to an embroidery machine. I've seen it work and it is really pretty nifty.
Author:  Corolinth [ Fri Sep 04, 2009 6:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tech == Politics
My mother does that, too. It's the only reason she keeps a Windows box around.
Author:  Katas [ Fri Sep 04, 2009 6:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tech == Politics
shuyung wrote:
Which thought, please? You have a number of them presented in rather scattershot fashion in your post, doing nothing to assert your position regarding your subject.


That the world of technology can be looked at as the world of politics.

That Windows to me seems a 'big tent' party and that Linux/FOSS is the 'wedge' party that some see as necessary to keep from a monopoly or dual party system.

That OS X is my preferred 'party' because I believe in the tenets of the design choices and that we should focus on security and experience.

That users tend to tack on their preferences/biases to the design and that the message from some parties, be it OS X or libertarianism, is less about a solution to the issue and more wishful thinking.

Etc.

My mind is scattershot in most cases, especially when I had something akin to a revelation in the wee hours of the morning.

I appreciate anyone who read this and tried to grok any piece of it.
Author:  Micheal [ Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tech == Politics
There is also a division in the technology, The 'New' versions versus the old versions. Is a Republican a Reagan Republican if he sticks with an old version that still works well, say 98, versus a Bush Republican for using a propped up deceitful platform that promises much more than it delivers? i.e. Vista. Is Windows 7 that new platform/politician on the horizon that will save the party?

Is it right of the party leaders to keep power in the hands of the few, like OS X, with code closed to the masses, or is the power to the people best vested in the people who can and will use the open code/power, such as Linux.

Are hackers the corrupt politicians who mess with anything as long as they can see some personal profit from it.

Will firewalls/Nanny States really keep you safe?

You can make analogies for days I'm sure. do they really have any significance or are they just clever wordplay. Do you want to vote on it?
Author:  Katas [ Sat Sep 05, 2009 1:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Tech == Politics
Micheal wrote:
There is also a division in the technology, The 'New' versions versus the old versions. Is a Republican a Reagan Republican if he sticks with an old version that still works well, say 98, versus a Bush Republican for using a propped up deceitful platform that promises much more than it delivers? i.e. Vista. Is Windows 7 that new platform/politician on the horizon that will save the party?


An excellent point! And it occurred to me, some people are socially liberal but fiscally conservative - that dichotomy must exist in people and technology, and when it does, do they use Windows with a Mac theme, Linux with a Mac theme, or something like BeOS?

Heck, would BeOS be the Perot party?

Micheal wrote:
Is it right of the party leaders to keep power in the hands of the few, like OS X, with code closed to the masses, or is the power to the people best vested in the people who can and will use the open code/power, such as Linux.


What if given the power but no central leadership, the constituents (users) are ignored in favor of pet projects like the Bridge to Nowhere?

Image

Micheal wrote:
Are hackers the corrupt politicians who mess with anything as long as they can see some personal profit from it.


A black hat is generally an opportunist, and that's the corrupt politician working the short term goals.

A white hat is at worst an honestly corrupt politician, who knows where his bread is buttered and what he can get away with and get re-elected, and at best is the truely uncommon public servant who is in it not for the fame or fortune but to better the world.

There are few grey hats in politics or technology.

Micheal wrote:
Will firewalls/Nanny States really keep you safe?


Security is the responsibility of the vendor, the user, and sometimes 3rd parties/private contractors.

Your job to lock the door and use/pay for the alarm system and your taxes and report anything suspicious to the police.

Your job to use a good password and update the system when needed and back up your information and contact the vendor(s) to inform them of any bug you find that could cause a security issue.

Micheal wrote:
You can make analogies for days I'm sure. do they really have any significance or are they just clever wordplay. Do you want to vote on it?


Analogies help us understand things - there are some people who run around putting out bigger fires than I get to deal with on this board who may be the Rahm Immanuel or the Karl Rove for their particular office/organization. I am sure there have been times they felt about some new mandate from corporate the way some beltway insiders feel about health insurance reform now or about the Iraq War back in '02-'03.

Just like the flexing of my mental faculties this analogy drafting permits me.
Author:  Rorinthas [ Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Tech == Politics
I've mentioned this before but i'll bring it up again.

Really the Tech movement is all about The American Capitalist Dream. Most of the great innovators are medicore guys who started out with their mediocre aquaintances in their garages. With only their innovation (and no help from government) they've taken themselves to the very hights of wealth and society.

People like to decry Microsoft for their "unfair advantages" in the industy, but they started with nothing and worked shrewdly for the footing they earned. Someone with the right ideas, shrewness and just old fashion sweat, could turn them into what IBM is today: just another player in the mix.
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