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> personal computers were decentralization of computing power, back in the days when the Mainframe (centralization) was dominating This "decentralized" computi
by zbentley 8y ago
> personal computers were decentralization of computing power, back in the days when the Mainframe (centralization) was dominating
This "decentralized" computing power as an accidental side effect. Personal computers (and open protocols) caught on because they were thought, by consumers, to fulfill a need. The number of people for whom that need was "decentralize $x" is a rounding error.
- staltz 8y agoOne very basic value proposition of decentralization for consumers in the context of the internet is offline usage. When you're in an airplane, that's when the need to have the capability at the end device becomes most obvious, and decentralization directly fulfills that need.
- majewsky 8y agoLocal caches fulfil that need just as well. Otherwise cloud products would not have been as successful as they are.
- landryraccoon 8y agoBlockchain isn't decentralized in that sense is it? What can you do offline with BTC or other crypto?
- projektfu 8y agoIndeed, it's possible that if Multics had caught on with its apparent long-term vision, personal computing could have been delayed for a decade or more because people's needs could have been met.