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Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

sahillavingia.com

41–50 of 119 posts

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#41
The First Law of Being a Kid states;

"If you can't break it, try harder. If that doesn't work, whack the shit out of it."

You are 100% correct in your observation that tinkering leads to innovation. I think that just means that we're going to see different kinds of tinkering in the future.

When I was growing up, that meant overclocking chips because you didn't like the speed of your machine. Today that means jailbreaking an iPhone because you don't like Apple's rules.

I would have much rather been breaking iPhones than XTs when I was growing up :)

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#42
post #23

There are multiple BASIC and Scheme interpreters in the App Store, as well as apps for writing HTML documents. If you want to write proper apps, an iOS developer certificate costs money, but so did Visual Basic back in the day, and on Android or a jailbroken iPhone it's free. Post-PC devices are inherently bad for programming because they don't have proper keyboards, but by the same token you'll likely have access to…

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Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#43
In the presence of each and every person living in an industrialized society are multiple devices running embedded software that is difficult to modify. Those devices are programmed using more flexible systems which to this very second are programmable any way you like. Where is the outrage over the hacker unfriendliness of my refrigerator? The iPad, iPhone, Android, and comparable devices are a hybrid of PC-like and embedded systems. The tradeoffs were made for reasons outside of anyone's programming/hacking needs. Should you want jailbreak a locked down device much of the work has already been done for you.

A hacker's "freedom" to poke around in the system has been traded for the freedom of an average person to use the damn thing without worry. This argument about post-PC devices and whether or not they're good for hackers is tired. Be thankful that powerful, accessible devices are being put in the hands of millions of enthusiastic people that you have a chance to influence and affect through software and services.

Finally, let's address the specter of censorship. This is brilliantly simple (in the United States at least). Address the entity censoring you. If it's a private entity then accept that they have no legal, ethical, or moral obligation to give you any access to their customers (much less complete access). Roll up your sleeves and compete. Should you be dealing with government censorship then pursue justice in whatever way your heart guides you.

But please stop whining.

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#44

Meh. Unfounded fears. There will always be computers/desktops/laptops. Just because tablets and smartphones are ubiquitous doesn't mean that they won't exist. People will always want huge monitors, and there will always be programmers. Granted, in 20 years it might not be someone sitting in front of 3 LCD screens, but it will be something.

Sure, but desktops and laptops are starting to become more and more like tablets and smartphones. Look at the changes that started in Lion, especially the Sandboxes. Look at what is in store for us with Windows 8. It seems to me that if things keep heading in the same direction, laptops will end up just as locked-down as tablets.

If you think that the market will never let it happen, realize that at least 80% of consumers only really use their computers for the web and/or for games. What do you use your smartphone for?

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#45
Obviously the author doesn't have kids. I don't think anything can prevent them from breaking and changing things. Maybe they won't do it with iPad (although I doubt it), but they'll still do it. Part of being a human child and all.

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#46

The author does sound like a retro-grouch. As I often say to hipsters on fixies, “For you it’s retro, for me it’s nostalgia.” That being said, the post-PC era does not mean that nobody has a PC, it means that people don’t have to buy PCs to do non-PC things. Imagine if you needed a PC to watch television. It’s the same thing with email, FB, and web browsing. Why do I want to know how to format a hard drive to read Ha…

the post-PC era does not mean that nobody has a PC, it means that people don’t have to buy PCs to do non-PC things.

Fewer people needing to buy PCs to do non-PC things means fewer people buying PCs. Fewer people buying PCs means fewer people exposed to the PC things early on. Fewer people who are familiar with the things that you use to make things.

Seems reasonably lamentable to me.

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#47
post #39

My first computer booted into a BASIC interpreter. That was pretty awesome, and gave me an early window into programming. On the other hand, it didn't have a lot of things. It didn't have a text editor. It didn't have anything other than a BASIC interpreter. I knew that the games I played on that machine weren't written in BASIC, but I didn't know where to go to learn how they were made. My current computer, made by…

I think the author's point is that the post-PC era implies that the golden age you're describing is dying, replaced with a clean future, wherein people don't have computers with text editors and that can run interpreters and compilers etc.

The children of the post-PC future will only have access to iPads. Or Kindle Fires, as pure a consumption device as I can imagine.

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#48
This guy needs a better metaphor. Imagine a world where Legos didn't exist? But Legos do exist. It has probably never been easier to be a Lego hobbyist.

What this guy should do is come up with an actual example of a hobby that has died out because the parts are no longer available. Used Model-T Fords. Urban horse infrastructure. Manual typewriters. Dial telephones.

What one realizes is that actual extinct things are only extinct because the demand is gone. They are still making vacuum tubes somewhere, for god's sake - audiophiles can have passionate debates about how much better the tubes were back in 1967, but apart from such quibbling 2011 is still a pretty good time to build a tube amplifier. There are lots of plans on the Internet!

So I wouldn't count the PC out yet. Aren't they just about to release a tiny PC for $25? It has never been cheaper or easier to be a PC electronics hobbyist.

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#49
post #43

In the presence of each and every person living in an industrialized society are multiple devices running embedded software that is difficult to modify. Those devices are programmed using more flexible systems which to this very second are programmable any way you like. Where is the outrage over the hacker unfriendliness of my refrigerator? The iPad, iPhone, Android, and comparable devices are a hybrid of PC-like and…

I don't think your comment to "roll up your sleeves and compete" makes sense. It may well be that it is in the interest of the majority of people to not allow people to modify the software on their devices and therefore companies might not decide to let people do so. However, it may still be valuable to let people install their own OS's on their computers, etc. The point would be that we need to correct the market to support hacker's needs since each hacker might not individually have enough market influence to do so.

Re: Why I’m scared of the post-PC era.

#50
People are afraid of technology because of the crap tech from the past 20 years. What do you think happens when those people stop being afraid? Suddenly software development feels accessible to a bunch more people.

I'd argue that people won't stop wanting to tinker, that in fact more people will start to because they no longer think it's impossible.

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