Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.misc > #4196 > unrolled thread

Jason Scott - Fuck The Cloud, Still, Mostly.

Back to article view | Back to comp.misc

Contents

  Jason Scott - Fuck The Cloud, Still, Mostly. Stephen Thomas Cole <usenet@stephenthomascole.com> - 2014-07-31 07:00 +0000
    Re: Jason Scott - Fuck The Cloud, Still, Mostly. RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-08-11 02:17 +0000
      Re: Jason Scott - Fuck The Cloud, Still, Mostly. Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-08-11 13:24 +0200

#4196 — Jason Scott - Fuck The Cloud, Still, Mostly.

An interesting article on Jason Scott's blog re "the cloud" and how, with a
little knowledge and understanding, it can be put to use without the user
simply bending over and putting themselves at the mercy of the Evil Data
Overlords. 

http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/4352

-- 
Stephen Thomas Cole // Sent from my iPhone

[toc] | [next] | [standalone]

#4284

On 7/31/14 7:00 AM, Stephen Thomas Cole wrote:
>An interesting article on Jason Scott's blog re "the cloud" and how, with a
>little knowledge and understanding, it can be put to use without the user
>simply bending over and putting themselves at the mercy of the Evil Data
>Overlords. 
>
>http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/4352
>
>-- 
>Stephen Thomas Cole // Sent from my iPhone


An excellent read, as is everything on that site.  I love the graphic where
 it's "clown computing" and "leverage the power of the clown.". Quote from
 the piece:

//-- clip
The fundamental issue for me, you see, is pledging obfuscation and smoke as
 valid aspects of a computing process. To get people away from understanding
 exactly what’s going on, down there, and to pledge this as a virtue. That’s
 not how all this should work. Even if you don’t want to necessarily be the
 one switching out spark plugs or filling the tank, you’re a better person
 if you know why those things happen and what they do. A teacher in my past,
 in science, spent a significant amount of time in our class describing
 every single aspect of a V-8 engine, because he said science was at work
 there, and while only a small percentage of us may go into laboratories and
 rockets, we’d all likely end up with a car. He was damn right.

Hiding things leads to corruption. It leads to shortcuts. It starts to be
 that someone is telling you all is well and then all the wheels falling off
 at 6am on a Sunday. And then you won’t know where the wheels even were. Or
 that there were wheels. That is what I rail against. “The Cloud” has come
 to literally mean anything people want.

//-- clip

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#4286

On 2014-08-11, RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
> On 7/31/14 7:00 AM, Stephen Thomas Cole wrote:
>>An interesting article on Jason Scott's blog re "the cloud" and how, with a
>>little knowledge and understanding, it can be put to use without the user
>>simply bending over and putting themselves at the mercy of the Evil Data
>>Overlords. 
>>
>>http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/4352
>>
>>-- 
>>Stephen Thomas Cole // Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> An excellent read, as is everything on that site.  I love the graphic where
>  it's "clown computing" and "leverage the power of the clown.". Quote from
>  the piece:
>
> //-- clip
> The fundamental issue for me, you see, is pledging obfuscation and smoke as
>  valid aspects of a computing process. To get people away from understanding
>  exactly what’s going on, down there, and to pledge this as a virtue. That’s
>  not how all this should work. Even if you don’t want to necessarily be the
>  one switching out spark plugs or filling the tank, you’re a better person
>  if you know why those things happen and what they do. A teacher in my past,
>  in science, spent a significant amount of time in our class describing
>  every single aspect of a V-8 engine, because he said science was at work
>  there, and while only a small percentage of us may go into laboratories and
>  rockets, we’d all likely end up with a car. He was damn right.
>
> Hiding things leads to corruption. It leads to shortcuts. It starts to be
>  that someone is telling you all is well and then all the wheels falling off
>  at 6am on a Sunday. And then you won’t know where the wheels even were. Or
>  that there were wheels. That is what I rail against. “The Cloud” has come
>  to literally mean anything people want.
>
> //-- clip

Well worth quoting.  The V-8 engine story immediately reminded me of the
obfuscation of technology in the auto industry.  In 1999 I bought an Audi
Quattro and remembering the technical descriptions available when I was 
a kid/teenager I set out to discover how a Torsen differential worked.

It was by no means easy, and the Audi website (not to single them out by
any means - all the manufacturers apply a similar gloss to their hi-tech
goodies) gave nothing to go on.  I did manage to unearth a couple of
technical papers (the Torsen differential was actually invented in the
1930s IIRC) via some pretty determined web searching, and with these I
could work out the basic Newtonian mechanics of the device.

The best descriptions of the Torsen differential that I came across
disappeared from the web many years ago, unfortunately.  But...  I've just
found this buried in an email entitled "5 years of bookmarks" dated
December 2003 :-)

<http://www.torsen.com/products/products.htm>

-- 
The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.
The early mouse is now a late mouse of course.

[toc] | [prev] | [standalone]

Back to top | Article view | comp.misc

csiph-web