2 ms·

PageRank is indeed proprietary, but it's proprietary more like a trade secret rather than proprietary like proprietary software that gets put on your computer a

by henning 19y ago

PageRank is indeed proprietary, but it's proprietary more like a trade secret rather than proprietary like proprietary software that gets put on your computer and you have no idea whether, e.g., it's calling home and violating your privacy. The guy is pretty annoying and I can't resist taking cheap shots at him, sorry.

dreish 19y ago
"The guy is pretty annoying and I can't resist taking cheap shots at him, sorry." Especially when he introduces terms like "encapsulation" and "testing" that don't seem to be connected to anything other than his bad analogy. I can't figure out what he's on about and I'm not especially motivated to, since I'm pretty sure he's looking for a pattern where none exists. It looks to me as if inspiration and invention have happened throughout history independently of the circumstances of being employed by a company seeking to make patented and copyrighted products out of them, or being a hobbyist committed to sharing software. PageRank is a ridiculous example. Isn't it proprietary specifically to try to gain an advantage over Google spammers? And why would a hobbyist start a PageRank-like project in the first place? I'm not convinced Google's decision to keep it secret is optimal, given the success of free and open email spam filters, but they have enough smart people working there to come up with a reasonable solution to the problem anyway. Speaking of spam filters, I'd say those represent a far better example of innovation than anything Lanier could think of, and virtually all of that innovation has happened in free software.
bitwize 19y ago
A running joke between me and a friend of mine is "signals on wires!" referring to Jaron Lanier's criticism that all software is brittle because it operates on the "metaphor" of a signal traveling down a wire, instead of his preferred metaphor of interacting surfaces or something. Like a nerd-issue Naomi Klein, he's acting as if metaphors are valid criteria on which to assess the technical merits of software. It's really quite ridiculous and indicative of being a bit too fond of the wacky tobacky.

by henning 19y ago

dreish 19y ago

"The guy is pretty annoying and I can't resist taking cheap shots at him, sorry." Especially when he introduces terms like "encapsulation" and "testing" that don't seem to be connected to anything other than his bad analogy. I can't figure out what he's on about and I'm not especially motivated to, since I'm pretty sure he's looking for a pattern where none exists. It looks to me as if inspiration and invention have happened throughout history independently of the circumstances of being employed by a company seeking to make patented and copyrighted products out of them, or being a hobbyist committed to sharing software. PageRank is a ridiculous example. Isn't it proprietary specifically to try to gain an advantage over Google spammers? And why would a hobbyist start a PageRank-like project in the first place? I'm not convinced Google's decision to keep it secret is optimal, given the success of free and open email spam filters, but they have enough smart people working there to come up with a reasonable solution to the problem anyway. Speaking of spam filters, I'd say those represent a far better example of innovation than anything Lanier could think of, and virtually all of that innovation has happened in free software.

bitwize 19y ago

A running joke between me and a friend of mine is "signals on wires!" referring to Jaron Lanier's criticism that all software is brittle because it operates on the "metaphor" of a signal traveling down a wire, instead of his preferred metaphor of interacting surfaces or something. Like a nerd-issue Naomi Klein, he's acting as if metaphors are valid criteria on which to assess the technical merits of software. It's really quite ridiculous and indicative of being a bit too fond of the wacky tobacky.