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The list of reasons for using new technology seems reasonable: 1. It should be cheaper than the one it replaces. 2. It should be at least as small in scale as

The list of reasons for using new technology seems reasonable: 1. It should be cheaper than the one it replaces. 2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces. 3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces. 4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces. 5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body. 6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools. 7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible. 8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair. 9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, including family and community relationships.

dredmorbius 1y ago
Is much as I appreciate Berry's work and writing, I'd actually look to that list as a foundation of counterarguments, and possibly, alternate rationales. Many (though not all) innovations benefit by scale. This would include freshwater viaducts, transportation canals, sewerage systems, and mechanised agriculture (even at modest levels). Many technologies are less expensive at scale. Berry's beloved typewriter is more expensive than a quill pen, as one of his respondents notes. Computers rather famously have fallen tremendously in price:performance (though we've also bumped up the minimum acceptable performance level). Some technologies are truly transformational. Going back before computers, and in the realm of information storage, retrieval and distribution, I could point to the lowly index card, reversable bindings (which made subscription updates to information possible, as with encyclopedias, business directories, manuals, specifications, and the like), and the printing press and moveable type themselves. Computers fit into this continuum, to which we could add telecommunications (signal flares, optical and electrical telegraphs, the telephone, broadcast and cable radio and television, packet-switched communications, as well as automated data systems, databases, revision control systems, and wikis). Reparability is fine, and I'm strongly opposed to unnecessary additional barriers to repair (as the Right to Repair folks are correctly fighting). But again there are cases where the complexity and maintenance costs are offset by the increased capabilities. It's ironic to note that the computers of 1985 which Berry writes of are extremely repairable by contemporary standards (presuming you can find, or fabricate, replacement parts). I could go on. Mind that I'm sympathetic to Berry's points, and I'd be inclined to make similar arguments against much current technology. As Douglas Adams said: Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things. (As quoted by Cory Doctorow: <https://www.frankenbook.org/pub/ive-create-a-monster/release/1 https://www.frankenbook.org/pub/ive-create-a-monster/release...>, also at <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams>.) I'm also in general agreement with Berry's meta-argument: we should be mindful of what technologies we introduce into our lives. And as much as I like typewriters, I'm typing this on a computer. But not one of those newfangled mobile abominations.
al_borland 1y ago
While those things may not have been true in 1987, many of them are true today, now that computers have had several decades to evolve. 1. Cost is arguable today, as cheap computers exist, and quality typewriters have become more expensive. A cheap computer will work better than a beat up old typewriter. 2. A modern laptop, tablet, or phone is much smaller than a typewriter. 3. A computer is demonstrably better than a typewriter, by several orders of magnitude, assuming the user has electricity and a printer (if one of their goals to end up with a printed page). 4. The typewriter still wins here. Though, one could argue, that it takes less physical energy to transport and use a computer vs a typewriter. 5. A computer could be powered by solar energy today, with enough solar infrastructure behind it. I’m also thinking back to the OLPC that had a crank to charge its battery. 6. The typewriter still wins here, though I don’t think the average typewriter user is doing their own restoration or major repairs. 7. Computers now win here, simply due to popularity. 8. This seems to go hand and hand with number 7. A few lucky people may have a local typewriter shop, but they are few and far between. 9. I don’t think the computer inherently creates this disruption. I didn’t notice a shift here until the internet really exploded in popularity. The computer has also attempted to solve the division it created, and has been used to keep families together. I’m thinking of times where I had to travel for work, and I’d get a FaceTime call to bring me into a birthday party happening thousands of miles away.
- xandrius 1y ago
  Please explain where I can locally fix more than a few components of either my phone or laptop. For instance, the GPU of my gaming laptop died, what do I do to fix it from a local store?
  - al_borland 1y ago
    Most people take their computer into Best Buy or the Apple Store when something goes wrong. I also see small PC repair places around many towns near me. I’m sure very few of them are fixing PCBs, if that’s the problem, but PC repair businesses exist. I had the board in a MacBook Pro go bad. I took it to the Apple Store. Maybe they sent it out for the repair, or maybe not, but all my interactions were with the local store. I wasn’t shipping anything myself or calling anyone on the phone.

dredmorbius 1y ago

Is much as I appreciate Berry's work and writing, I'd actually look to that list as a foundation of counterarguments, and possibly, alternate rationales. Many (though not all) innovations benefit by scale. This would include freshwater viaducts, transportation canals, sewerage systems, and mechanised agriculture (even at modest levels). Many technologies are less expensive at scale. Berry's beloved typewriter is more expensive than a quill pen, as one of his respondents notes. Computers rather famously have fallen tremendously in price:performance (though we've also bumped up the minimum acceptable performance level). Some technologies are truly transformational. Going back before computers, and in the realm of information storage, retrieval and distribution, I could point to the lowly index card, reversable bindings (which made subscription updates to information possible, as with encyclopedias, business directories, manuals, specifications, and the like), and the printing press and moveable type themselves. Computers fit into this continuum, to which we could add telecommunications (signal flares, optical and electrical telegraphs, the telephone, broadcast and cable radio and television, packet-switched communications, as well as automated data systems, databases, revision control systems, and wikis). Reparability is fine, and I'm strongly opposed to unnecessary additional barriers to repair (as the Right to Repair folks are correctly fighting). But again there are cases where the complexity and maintenance costs are offset by the increased capabilities. It's ironic to note that the computers of 1985 which Berry writes of are extremely repairable by contemporary standards (presuming you can find, or fabricate, replacement parts). I could go on. Mind that I'm sympathetic to Berry's points, and I'd be inclined to make similar arguments against much current technology. As Douglas Adams said: Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things. (As quoted by Cory Doctorow: <https://www.frankenbook.org/pub/ive-create-a-monster/release/1 https://www.frankenbook.org/pub/ive-create-a-monster/release...>, also at <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams>.) I'm also in general agreement with Berry's meta-argument: we should be mindful of what technologies we introduce into our lives. And as much as I like typewriters, I'm typing this on a computer. But not one of those newfangled mobile abominations.

al_borland 1y ago

While those things may not have been true in 1987, many of them are true today, now that computers have had several decades to evolve. 1. Cost is arguable today, as cheap computers exist, and quality typewriters have become more expensive. A cheap computer will work better than a beat up old typewriter. 2. A modern laptop, tablet, or phone is much smaller than a typewriter. 3. A computer is demonstrably better than a typewriter, by several orders of magnitude, assuming the user has electricity and a printer (if one of their goals to end up with a printed page). 4. The typewriter still wins here. Though, one could argue, that it takes less physical energy to transport and use a computer vs a typewriter. 5. A computer could be powered by solar energy today, with enough solar infrastructure behind it. I’m also thinking back to the OLPC that had a crank to charge its battery. 6. The typewriter still wins here, though I don’t think the average typewriter user is doing their own restoration or major repairs. 7. Computers now win here, simply due to popularity. 8. This seems to go hand and hand with number 7. A few lucky people may have a local typewriter shop, but they are few and far between. 9. I don’t think the computer inherently creates this disruption. I didn’t notice a shift here until the internet really exploded in popularity. The computer has also attempted to solve the division it created, and has been used to keep families together. I’m thinking of times where I had to travel for work, and I’d get a FaceTime call to bring me into a birthday party happening thousands of miles away.

xandrius 1y ago
Please explain where I can locally fix more than a few components of either my phone or laptop. For instance, the GPU of my gaming laptop died, what do I do to fix it from a local store?
- al_borland 1y ago
  Most people take their computer into Best Buy or the Apple Store when something goes wrong. I also see small PC repair places around many towns near me. I’m sure very few of them are fixing PCBs, if that’s the problem, but PC repair businesses exist. I had the board in a MacBook Pro go bad. I took it to the Apple Store. Maybe they sent it out for the repair, or maybe not, but all my interactions were with the local store. I wasn’t shipping anything myself or calling anyone on the phone.