3 ms·

I wonder if there are two reasons: 1. there is a generation coming to age now that never got to know these computers first hand. 2. More and more "computers"

I wonder if there are two reasons: 1. there is a generation coming to age now that never got to know these computers first hand. 2. More and more "computers" are getting locked down, supposedly for our own good. Even FOSS is bitten by this bug.

mmjaa 8y ago
Could be both, I think.
dogma1138 8y ago
80’s computers are also much simpler both in hardware and in software. You can actually fix a computer beyond say redoing caps on a motherboard and more importantly you can fix it in a lot of creative ways for example if you have a buggy IO chip you can bypass it, and while you lose some functionality it will work. The software is also much simpler both in concepts/design and implementation due to the limits of the hardware. I think this make it much more approachable to many people as a hobby.
TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
I’m old enough to have used everything from a ZX81 onwards. The appeal used to be the sheer excirement of having a relatively simple machine do clever thinga in a way that felt open and which promoted imagination - a bit like Lego, but in code. They encouraged you to get involved, learn, and have a go. Modern systems can do a lot more, but the cost of entry in money and especially time is so much higher. They’re more like closed appliances optimised for consuming experiences created by others than playpens for creating your own experiences. The play and imagination element has largely disappeared from modern computing. Most experiences are trying to sell you something, and if you make something new you’re supposed to sell it - and sell it hard - too. Even FOSS projects are measured mostly by stars and forks and not by fun and enjoyment. IMO the nostalgia for old hardware can’t recreate the culture that surrounded it. It might be more interesting to design new software that has more of that just-for-fun feel to it - although it’s not obvious what that would look like today.
- mmjaa 8y ago
  >It might be more interesting to design new software that has more of that just-for-fun feel to it - although it’s not obvious what that would look like today. PICO-8: https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
Worse, my read is that most people in computing these days fetishize complexity. Why do solve problems the simple way when we can keep adding layers of abstraction?
- Annatar 8y ago
  Your read is correct; they want the world to know how smart they are, but are going about it in the wrong way. As it turns out, those who “fetishize” complexity know deep down that they aren’t smart enough to make those things simple, because that is too hard for them. Hence the computer industry and IT and particular have gone to shit.

mmjaa 8y ago

Could be both, I think.

dogma1138 8y ago

80’s computers are also much simpler both in hardware and in software. You can actually fix a computer beyond say redoing caps on a motherboard and more importantly you can fix it in a lot of creative ways for example if you have a buggy IO chip you can bypass it, and while you lose some functionality it will work. The software is also much simpler both in concepts/design and implementation due to the limits of the hardware. I think this make it much more approachable to many people as a hobby.

TheOtherHobbes 8y ago

I’m old enough to have used everything from a ZX81 onwards. The appeal used to be the sheer excirement of having a relatively simple machine do clever thinga in a way that felt open and which promoted imagination - a bit like Lego, but in code. They encouraged you to get involved, learn, and have a go. Modern systems can do a lot more, but the cost of entry in money and especially time is so much higher. They’re more like closed appliances optimised for consuming experiences created by others than playpens for creating your own experiences. The play and imagination element has largely disappeared from modern computing. Most experiences are trying to sell you something, and if you make something new you’re supposed to sell it - and sell it hard - too. Even FOSS projects are measured mostly by stars and forks and not by fun and enjoyment. IMO the nostalgia for old hardware can’t recreate the culture that surrounded it. It might be more interesting to design new software that has more of that just-for-fun feel to it - although it’s not obvious what that would look like today.

mmjaa 8y ago
>It might be more interesting to design new software that has more of that just-for-fun feel to it - although it’s not obvious what that would look like today. PICO-8: https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago

Worse, my read is that most people in computing these days fetishize complexity. Why do solve problems the simple way when we can keep adding layers of abstraction?

Annatar 8y ago
Your read is correct; they want the world to know how smart they are, but are going about it in the wrong way. As it turns out, those who “fetishize” complexity know deep down that they aren’t smart enough to make those things simple, because that is too hard for them. Hence the computer industry and IT and particular have gone to shit.