4 ms·

I thought that was a very interesting experiment, but I thought of it more of a proof of concept rather than a "I wish this could work for everyone". The thing

I thought that was a very interesting experiment, but I thought of it more of a proof of concept rather than a "I wish this could work for everyone". The thing that will ultimately make something like this impractical is the emotional attachment to the places that we live. It's likely the same reason that you wouldn't want to live in hotels year round... at least not for your whole life (if you're a contractor you might have some experience with this). People, unlike data, like to decorate, have things set up a certain way, and have a place they call home. While it's interesting to imagine a world where people only used what they needed when they needed it, we can see some of that today. That's why people will rent a pickup truck for a day while they're moving, or pay to go to a public pool. They don't need to own a pool or a truck year-round, just for a bit of time, which is a little like utilizing server resources. The part about living in a nice hotel for a day, however, was a good example of something we don't see very often. I guess we really don't have a real-world version of excessive "server load spikes" where you want to live somewhere REALLY nice for a day or two, but analogies can only go so far

nazgulnarsil 17y ago
we don't have vacations?
toadpipe 17y ago
It depends on your priorities. Many U.S. families move long distances every few years, and many young single people move significantly more often than that. Certain jobs can require someone to move almost daily. Part of it is because people want to, and part of it is because the culture makes it easy by providing technology that enables it. My guess is that the future will probably trend towards even more flexibility in mobility, not less (especially in the U.S.), although there will always be many people who want to settle down.
frossie 17y ago
Like tsetrich, I also thought it was an interesting experiment. But I agree there is a lot of evidence that most people don't want to live that way. Even in countries in Europe where the rate of homeownership is very low compared to the US, and renting is the dominant social norm even for families earning a good wage, people are still mostly immobile, with a decade in a particular property not at all uncommon. Still, it would be nice for a while.

nazgulnarsil 17y ago

we don't have vacations?

toadpipe 17y ago

It depends on your priorities. Many U.S. families move long distances every few years, and many young single people move significantly more often than that. Certain jobs can require someone to move almost daily. Part of it is because people want to, and part of it is because the culture makes it easy by providing technology that enables it. My guess is that the future will probably trend towards even more flexibility in mobility, not less (especially in the U.S.), although there will always be many people who want to settle down.

frossie 17y ago

Like tsetrich, I also thought it was an interesting experiment. But I agree there is a lot of evidence that most people don't want to live that way. Even in countries in Europe where the rate of homeownership is very low compared to the US, and renting is the dominant social norm even for families earning a good wage, people are still mostly immobile, with a decade in a particular property not at all uncommon. Still, it would be nice for a while.