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Hi Alan, We know you are not a big fan of web. Regardless how we got here, what is your view on how we should address the real world decentralization problems

• alankay1 10y ago
  One of several major mistakes with the web has to do with thinking that the browser is some kind of application "with features" -- if you think of the actual scale of the Internet (and they didn't) you realize that at the very least, the browser, etc, has to be more like an operating system, and with as few features as possible: really to safely run encapsulated modules and deal out resources. It is crazy that after more than 20 years of the web that this CS101 principle still can't be done ... and it runs on machines that can do it....
  • ontouchstart 10y ago
    Thanks for the insight. In your point of view, on top of the current hardware infrastructure, how do we build a decentralized network operating system (contrary to the old centralized timesharing system)?
    • alankay1 10y ago
      Take a look at the Internet itself -- and then take a look at Dave Reed's 1978 PhD thesis at MIT (can be found via the CSAIL website) -- we used many of these ideas in the Croquet project
      • ontouchstart 10y ago
        Thanks Alan, will dive in http://publications.csail.mit.edu/lcs/specpub.php?id=773 http://publications.csail.mit.edu/lcs/specpub.php?id=773 http://worrydream.com/refs/Smith%20-%20Croquet%20-%20A%20Collaboration%20System%20Architecture.pdf http://worrydream.com/refs/Smith%20-%20Croquet%20-%20A%20Col...
      • ontouchstart 10y ago
        Alan, is this the right direction we are looking at? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet_Project https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet_Project https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Cobalt https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Cobalt
        • alankay1 10y ago
          I think you can find much of what is worth knowing about these projects starting there.
          • ontouchstart 10y ago
            Now we feel like Steve Jobs visiting PARC. :-)