Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#101

Post by AnimalMuppet » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 9:56 PM UTC

tjansen wrote: post #89

vzaliva wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In short: Yes. In many cases having solid formal foundation allows to fomulate high-level properties which would allow to catch even bugs like recent log4j. There is alreay a lot of work on formalization of ISA/CPU definitions which could allow to catch low-level bugs/expoloits.

"catch even bugs like recent log4j" How could it help with that? JNDI lookups were a documented feature of log4j. An incredibly dangerous one, but it was intended to work like that.

Well... it might have raised a red flag about how incredibly dangerous the feature was, because there would be no way to make the verification shut up about the code that implemented the feature (if the verification did a good job).

I don't know about log4j, but in the case of many such features, there would be a PM or somebody insisting that you have to implement his pet idea, no matter how much the tool screams.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#102

Post by clpm4j » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 9:57 PM UTC

throwaway24124 wrote: post #48

Not personally excited for this, but I think the next big thing will be the internet and computers becoming "hyper-transactional" through crypto. I believe this is what companies like Facebook are really pushing toward when they talk about Web 3.0 and the metaverse. It will still, for the most part, be the same internet accessed through phones and computers, but videogame-style micro-transactions powered by crypto wi…

I wonder if this starts to pan out whether it might lead to something like the below comment regarding reduced consumption of digital media. I can see a scenario where the majority of businesses/apps/sites that implement this see a significant drop in traffic. Generally, people like stuff for free, and even though the expression of anti-advertising is in vogue, I find it hard to believe that the majority of people would choose paying any amount over a free/ad-induced version.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#103

Post by willcipriano » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:00 PM UTC

Homomorphic encryption, if perfected would revolutionize cloud computing. Imagine if you didn't have to trust the nodes, people could sell spare clock cycles from their personal machines.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#104

Post by AnimalMuppet » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:04 PM UTC

RedBeetDeadpool wrote: post #79

Hyper IOTization. I'm coining the term. - pots that tell you when they are hot. - bikes that say their tires are flat. - weights that track how many reps you did. - shoes that tell you: stop landing on your heels so hard. - pillboxes that shove pills down your throat. - pillboxes that shove politics down your throat. - chargers that tell you their pronouns are he/him. - coffee mugs that tell you weather. - pants that…

> pots that tell you when they are hot.

Tell you how? Send you a text? Yeah, no. Do not need.

Tell you verbally (because they expect that you're within earshot of the kitchen)? Maybe.

> bikes that say their tires are flat.

Useful, even if they do it by text.

> weights that track how many reps you did.

Marginally useful. I can count fairly well.

> shoes that tell you: stop landing on your heels so hard.

Useful, but most people won't want them.

> pillboxes that shove pills down your throat.

Pillboxes that remind you to take your pills are useful for those who are forgetful.

"Shove"? Not my pills. I presume that was sarcasm, but if it wasn't, I own a sledgehammer.

And that's my answer to most of the rest of your list. I won't buy it; if I can't buy something without it, I'll disable it if at all possible.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#105

Post by wbsss4412 » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:15 PM UTC

xchaotic wrote: post #82

WA wrote: post #14

2022? Probably focus on the big things of 2021. Not much will change within a year. 2032? Hard to say, but it is quite possible that software and the web will actually look quite similar to what we have now. I found the concepts in this presentation quite intriguing [1]. Some stuff like airplanes haven't changed THAT much in the last 50 years, because they are good enough for their purpose. [1]: https://idlewords.com…

airplanes haven't changed much because safety is paramount and every crash is big PR fiasco so planes have not changed much because the industry is heavily regulated and there are duopoly players in the commercial space (Boeing/Airbus). But I concur with some of your thesis...

Not that you’re wrong, but there seems to be this implicit assumption on hn of unbounded potential for innovation, when it stands to reason that most things are going to hit asymptotic growth at some point.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#106

Post by mjlee » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:20 PM UTC

jose-cl wrote: post #77

skadamat wrote: post #13

Real personal computing, that benefits end-users on their terms. In the Future of Coding community, we often use the analogy of "home cooking". As in, we have restaurants & professional chefs but not enough home cooks in computing. Tools & processes are super different when you're cooking for yourself / family vs for a restaurant! There are a few trends that are tiptoeing on the edges here: - tools for thought / crea…

check this jose (personal reminder)

It's not very obvious, but if you click the "5 hours ago" next to the username you get the option to favourite a comment.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#107

Post by ivan_gammel » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:21 PM UTC

Regulatory technology will dominate for the rest of 2020s, while we are trying to replace the Wild West of unregulated Internet with something that has less negative effects on society and less overhead.

Privacy and accessibility are extremely difficult and challenging tasks. Fake news, disinformation, echo chambers and cultural bubbles are growing problems. We basically need to rebuild plenty of things that are part of our daily life, and this will distract significant resources from the „next big things“. More likely digital society 2.0 is the next big thing, that will replace Meta and Google.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#108

Post by maxlamb » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:23 PM UTC

kristov wrote: post #70

I am possibly alone in thinking the biggest thing to happen in computing in the 80s/90s was the spreadsheet. Having an immeasurable affect on the productivity of organizations large and small, to this day. So what does the 21st century version of the spreadsheet look like?

Airtable?

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#109

Post by ivan_gammel » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:30 PM UTC

emteycz wrote: post #2

VR/AR will be big one day.

In 2030 we will be finally talking about going to mass market with AR and wider adoption by professionals and it will take another 10-15 years for it to become ubiquitous.

VR will never be a thing outside of gaming, porn and education.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing in computing / programming?

#110

Post by _8j50 » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 10:42 PM UTC

Confidential computing and Web 3.0 type computing where servers never touch user data. I also predict apps being developed to support non-ad revenue stream. And I don't think the IoT hype is done yet, especially if you include things like wearables.