I agree that the concept of the Forever Computer is not something that is capable of being widely adopted at this time. Even if the hardware and supports in terms of screen terminals existed, it, as envisioned in the original essay, is not a tool that meets people's needs. To some extent, that reality does lie at the feet of marketing, creating demand for a new concept. The scope is so much larger than that of course. In thinking of a new vision of computing and components, we should not dismiss "consumption" as a moral issue, or even an undesirable action. It **may not** fit into the vision of the Forever Computer as a device or paradigm that is being developed, and that to me suggests that we should also in some way envision a way to fulfill those use cases as well.
The place of current computing devices, and especially phones and advertising, is driven by the broader political economy of computation, bureaucracy, and finance. These behaviors of companies, tech enthusiasts, and end users are all driven by material forces, and represent at least semi-rational decisions in the context of the available options. And following from that point, it is not possible to change behavior on a mass scale without, in some way altering the decision space and the political economy. That sounds daunting, and it is. I don't say that to indicate that this project or concept isn't useful. I'm really inspired by it, and want to try things out in my life as well. I don't think there's a way to make it broadly desirable, or practical for common use in the current system, and yet it is a valuable and fun topic.
To my mind, there's a couple things I would like to achieve personally with this concept:
1. Pare down my own perceived computing needs
2. Become more familiar with 'lower level' computing and software
3. To work on the slow process of owning my data
4. Develop competency with tools that are less changeable so that my proficiency compounds over time
5. Building a level of resilience in all aspects of my life so external forces are less able to upset my existence
6. Security through simplicity
I see these as principles and goals that could be achievable on any computing platform, but turning it into a project helps me stay interested, and focused. The thing is, my life would not be liveable without some of the more consumptive devices, or the existence of social media. They are requirements for modern life right now, and especially my life as a tech worker for a non-profit, and a trans person. I'd like to see a society-wide change in how we understand, use, and get value from computing, but as it always seems to, the root problem is that capitalism leads to our current state, and without the destruction of certain business models at least, there's not a broad change on the horizon.
Enough philosophy for this response, it's good to be back on a mailing list, and I hope this comes across in the friendly spirit I mean it too. I look forward to getting into technical and implementation discussion, because I have a keyboard idea at least. :P
On 23/02/24 08:55, me at breakerofhalos.monster wrote:
>
>Enough philosophy for this response, it's good to be back on a mailing list, and I hope this comes across in the friendly spirit I mean it too. I look forward to getting into technical and implementation discussion, because I have a keyboard idea at least. :P
You are warmly welcome ! I see this mailing-list more as a brainstorming
place where everybody is welcome to share, to contribute and to take
whatever is appropriate for their situation.
There is currently no real "forever computer" project. We are discussing
and watching other projects (I’m especially interested by the MNT
Reform).
This could change if, at some point, someone decide to lead the project
with a clear vision and goal (from my experience, every project needs a
leader that bootstrap the thing mostly alone). This might even be myself
(always thorn with too many projects).
Or this mailing-list could stay as it is: a low-volume exchange about
how we see those concepts.
And that would be good. Because I’ve already received a lot of ideas
that helped me through this list (I’m not always replying but I’m always
reading).
So, welcome and thanks to everybody who ever contributed to this list.
--
Ploum - Lionel Dricot
Blog: https://www.ploum.net
Livres: https://ploum.net/livres.html