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Well done, OP. I forsee Apple and Google (and Microsoft?) devices will increasingly be aimed solely at consuming content. This will be the "interactive televi
by gwu78 13y ago
Well done, OP.
I forsee Apple and Google (and Microsoft?) devices will increasingly be aimed solely at consuming content. This will be the "interactive television" of the future.
If you haven't noticed, it is not easy is it to turn an iPad into a router/server. Perhaps it was not meant to be. It is an "interactive TV", for sharing and consuming content. These type of devices are not under the control of users; they are ultimatly controlled by large corporate interests, in the same way that TV is the medium of government and large corporations. That is not "revolutionary", just business as usual.
As such, I posit that it is another computer -- the computer that retrieves data from the internet and sends the content to your TV-like device -- that is the most interesting, and hence the most "revolutionary". That is your router/server.
The OP, a programmer, calls it "one of [his] best hacks."
This I believe is the "PC" of the future. The "PC" was at one time a revolutionary device that brought the power of computers, once reserved only for those who could purchase and administer mainframes, to the home and business. Where would Apple, Google if not for the PC revolution?
I believe the home router/server (not your beautiful form factor, high priced device) is, going forward, the "PC" of the future. This is the device that you can program for free, that can run open source software, including an open source OS of your choice, that you the user can fully control, and where real innovation can occur. This is where the "PC revolution" can continue.
The OP says he does not see why there should be a separation between programming and administration (e.g., a subset of programming that, allong with basic networking know-how, allows the user to install and configure her own "server" at home).
As a user, if I could only master one and had to choose between the two, I'd pick administration over programming. This is because I feel it is more useful to me as a user (like the OP, "one of my best hacks"). As such, I am biased toward administration and believe if there is to be another "PC revolution" I believe it should be focused on the home server/router and, if so, must be lead by those who can at least administer computers performing these crucial functions.
- pjmlp 13y ago> The "PC" was at one time a revolutionary device that brought the power of computers, once reserved only for those who could purchase and administer mainframes, to the home and business. Where would Apple, Google if not for the PC revolution? Not really, there were other platforms already. What PC brought was commoditization of hardware instead of proprietary extensions used by other competing home computers.
- gwu78 13y agoThis is true. The commoditization of hardware gave way to a focus on software. Perhaps we will next see the commoditization of "operating system" instead of proprietary OS that serve to limit the uses of commodity hardware sold to users.
- RaphiePS 13y agoI agree that the "curator" role you're describing will be important, but I doubt it'll come in the form of user-programmed home servers. Sure the techie types will always want to get into the nitty-gritty, but my mom can't even set up a router, let-alone program it. I think the future is cloud-based (ugh, buzzwords, but true) services like IFTTT (https://ifttt.com/ https://ifttt.com/) that let non-technical users manipulate content/events without touching code.
- gwu78 13y agoIt is the "techie types" I'm focused on. They are the ones who drive progress in computing, not your mom. When every device in your home is connected to a public network, I imagine that you, a techie type, are going to want some control over what and how those devices communicate with the public network. That control will not likely come through the device (at least, not easily, anyway). However it could come through your router/server.
- danellis 13y agoIf you dislike buzzwords, don't use them. Calling IFTTT "cloud-based" adds nothing over calling it "online" or "a web site". It might use the cloud, or it might know exactly where its servers are, but that isn't important here.
- csmuk 13y agoI think you're close. The only PC of the future I can see is what would be considered an embedded system of some description at the moment; not a re-purposed one but one that is designed to be used for something else. I don't see ARM or Intel getting a look in here as they are not open architectures. ARM is almost always in a notoriously unknown licensing status from experience. I reckon that the market will divide into consumption, some open architecture that doesn't exist yet (for power users, enthusiasts running Linux) and this sector which is hacking devices. The PC of the future doesn't exist. Yet.
- gwu78 13y agos/Linux/BSD/ It is the evolution of "development board". It is the "home computer kit" in the back of Popular Science that started the PC revolution, but this time much, much easier. Because we have heaps of free software. As another comment suggested, hardware has been commoditized. It follows that system software will also be commoditized.