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Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

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Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#51

Post by benj111 »

nl wrote: post #25

I read the article and sadly I think the author missed a key thing that is going on. Yes, there are few people who created cyberdecks as a counter-culture, anti-company tool (which is a lot of what the author argues). But some of the newer ones they highlight are nothing more than engagement farming reels. They are the very definition of the opposite of what the author writes here: > We want to escape the algorithmic…

If I listen to X band. Watch Y film. Am I doing it purely for myself or have I been prodded by society in some way?

Am I a 'real' fan of band X, or not, because I only got into them with there latest hit album?

This isn't a new thing. Niche thing becomes popular. Fans of niche thing try to gate keep.

My biggest critique would be that the author doesn't realise the 'algorithmic plantation' they are in. The only cyberdecks I've seen are made by white men. Not trans and black people.

Further I don't even think it's about cyberdecks per se. That's the in thing. Before that it was neo pixels or whatever. People like to make things, and people are influenced by others. The cyberdecks isn't the counter cultural element. It's the making of whatever that is. Cyberdecks are just the latest thing.

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#52

Post by [deleted] »

globular-toast wrote: post #48

> Technology was supposed to connect us[...] Was it? According to whom? The quoted phrase is pretty much a meme at this point, but I don't think it's true. This would suggest people in the 80s and 90s were sitting around feeling lonely and isolated, wishing they could be "more connected". Technology has always been about one thing: giving people more freedom. Whether it's the ability to make coffee at home, or travel…

[deleted]

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#54

Post by ma2kx »

What keeps going through my mind regarding this topic is that we have Instagram for pictures, YouTube for videos, Reddit as a forum, Twitter/Bsky as a microblogging service, and so on. But what if we focused on locality again? What if each city/region had its own virtual meeting place for pictures, videos, forums, microblogging, and so forth? I don't mean a "super app" that simply divides things regionally, but rather that each regional center builds its own Hangout.

I realize that this sounds fantastical, and I don't know how something like that could be implemented in the current situation. It's more the idea that while Facebook and similar platforms allow us to see content from people all over the world, we completely miss out on what's happening in our own local area.

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#55

Post by da_grift_shift »

hypfer wrote: post #37
sandcat_ wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure this isn’t just because it’s the “wrong” people who are building them? Instead of the typical (older) FOSS/geek/whatever crowd? It feels overly negative to me. People, mostly younger people, are building them, tinkering with them and are excited to post about them. Is it any surprise they’re doing so on TikTok or wherever? Yes, it’s a little ironic considering the anti-big-tech vibes mentioned in the art…

Nah, it's not "the wrong people" but "the wrong purpose" with the purpose being no purpose or rather just "looking good on social media". Which, don't get me wrong, is generally fine, because not everything has to be functional, art is important, bla bla bla. Problem however is when the algorithm gets involved and "being not part of the mainstream" becomes a mainstream metric to optimize for. This feels like that, an…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recuperation_(politics)

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#56

Post by goldenarm »

ma2kx wrote: post #54

What keeps going through my mind regarding this topic is that we have Instagram for pictures, YouTube for videos, Reddit as a forum, Twitter/Bsky as a microblogging service, and so on. But what if we focused on locality again? What if each city/region had its own virtual meeting place for pictures, videos, forums, microblogging, and so forth? I don't mean a "super app" that simply divides things regionally, but rathe…

Local social is one of the most attempted startup ideas of the 2010s. It is quite challenging because network effects are hard to reach at the local scale, and you need significant moderation to prevent bullying.

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#57

Post by FinnLobsien »

nl wrote: post #25

I read the article and sadly I think the author missed a key thing that is going on. Yes, there are few people who created cyberdecks as a counter-culture, anti-company tool (which is a lot of what the author argues). But some of the newer ones they highlight are nothing more than engagement farming reels. They are the very definition of the opposite of what the author writes here: > We want to escape the algorithmic…

I think both sides are true. Of course, there's a certain irony in proclaiming one's escape from the yoke of Big Tech on the very Big Tech platforms one claims to be escaping.

It's also telling that the most popular videos are about building the most visually striking Cyberdecks and not about building what a Cyberdeck is actually useful for—that's what gets engagement on short-form video platforms.

But I think it's a massively positive thing overall:

-Women, LGBTQ folks, and other underrepresented groups are finding their way to these nerdier hobbies.

-People are getting tired of technology taking over their lives, specifically attention economy and surveillance tech.

-People are learning about electronics and understanding that there are other ways of doing things.

I fail to see the negative in this. Even if none of these cyberdecks are used for practical purposes, someone learned something new. And, even if their cyberdeck gathers dust, being conscious of their tech usage might change how they use their MacBook or the internet more generally.

I think what you're saying is a bit like criticizing someone for not being a self-sustaining farmer because they only grew their own vegetables one summer and then quit.

They may not only eat their own vegetables, but that experience may lead to them buying from farmer's markets vs. Big Food. And that's a net positive.

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#58

Post by JuniperMesos »

nl wrote: post #25

I read the article and sadly I think the author missed a key thing that is going on. Yes, there are few people who created cyberdecks as a counter-culture, anti-company tool (which is a lot of what the author argues). But some of the newer ones they highlight are nothing more than engagement farming reels. They are the very definition of the opposite of what the author writes here: > We want to escape the algorithmic…

I just clicked the page and then noted that the very first visual example under the header "What is a Cyberdeck?" was a TikTok embed that I can't view because it claims to be a private TikTok (and I have no idea if that's actually the case or if my local adblocking is somehow screwing up the TikTok embed). But the broader problem is that whoever made the thing found it useful to post about it on a social media platform run by a large Chinese corporation, that probably all their relevant peer group uses. I think it's unlikely that they care that I can't see their content because TikTok is broken for me (or they set it private for a reason). Regardless of what hardware they build, they are not meaningfully escaping from corporate-controlled tech.

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#59

Post by ma2kx »

goldenarm wrote: post #56
ma2kx wrote: post #54

What keeps going through my mind regarding this topic is that we have Instagram for pictures, YouTube for videos, Reddit as a forum, Twitter/Bsky as a microblogging service, and so on. But what if we focused on locality again? What if each city/region had its own virtual meeting place for pictures, videos, forums, microblogging, and so forth? I don't mean a "super app" that simply divides things regionally, but rathe…

Local social is one of the most attempted startup ideas of the 2010s. It is quite challenging because network effects are hard to reach at the local scale, and you need significant moderation to prevent bullying.

Yes, I see scaling as the biggest problem. Instead of developing one service for potentially 7 billion users, you're building 10 services for maybe 1 to 10 million users each. It would probably come down to patching together open-source solutions like Keycloak, Immich, FreeTube, Flarum, etc. I find atproto, on which Bluesky/Eurosky are based, particularly interesting.

I'm not so sure whether bullying is really a big problem. In such a regional environment, it makes little sense to appear "anonymous." You might not want your name and address publicly available, but if you comment on the popular parties and clubs, neighborhood happenings, etc., people who know you in real life will naturally recognize you. Ultimately, it comes down to how the local population operates.

Re: Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

#60

Post by dsr_ »

goldenarm wrote: post #56
ma2kx wrote: post #54

What keeps going through my mind regarding this topic is that we have Instagram for pictures, YouTube for videos, Reddit as a forum, Twitter/Bsky as a microblogging service, and so on. But what if we focused on locality again? What if each city/region had its own virtual meeting place for pictures, videos, forums, microblogging, and so forth? I don't mean a "super app" that simply divides things regionally, but rathe…

Local social is one of the most attempted startup ideas of the 2010s. It is quite challenging because network effects are hard to reach at the local scale, and you need significant moderation to prevent bullying.

Moderation is a hard problem, period.
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