This type of thinking also deeply effects the free and open source culture. Since one of the reasons for using FOSS is ultimate control (and responsibility).

From an individual perspective the goal of personal control is simple: You have this responsibility to provide this service and you do it with this property running this configuration. It’s human nature to want to control directly the service you’re responsible for. The other option is to pass over control to a good friend who you have a good positive relationship with (company or individual is irrelevant).

I think the failure of a speedy transition to “cloud computing” has been a failure in relationship building, but I’m sure that will come along in due time as the industry matures.

From a social perspective, having everyone on the same centralised system can introduce a fragility which can cause some interesting cascading and simple root failures which would be very bad for economy should enough businesses all move to the same few providers.

A lot of the people who would want their services taken care of are already not in a good mood from the 20 years of bullshit from the likes of Microsoft, as providers go we’ve had some fairly nefarious characters in control of everyone’s desktops.

I think it will take a while to turn that around, of course I’m putting my bets on distributed computing using things like the sheva plug or the free software router currently in development, because distributed resources that are properly designed can be much more interesting that centralised service prevision.

What are your thoughts?

What?

Lets just define that buzzword for a second, Appliance: a single function machine often involving electricity which is simple to operate. An appliance is a device which is very easy to measure the function and performance. It literally applies to one thing. Does it clean clothes acceptably? does it keep food cold enough to stay fresh but not so cold as to turn your milk into a giant ice-lolly?

Multi-function machines are like multiple appliances bundled together, it washes, it dries and it leaves a minty pine fresh scent! Computers on the other hand are Turing machines, they’re mathematically speaking NOT appliances, they can run anything and do anything and are only limited by their hardware.

The iPhone App is far more like an appliance, single function, often gimmicky tools that are very easy to say if they perform their work. The difference of course is that general electric never had the gall to break into your apartment and retroactively remove your washing machine for non-compliance.

Not all Apps are appliances though, some are games or web browsers which pretty much disqualifies them. So apple are selling appliances on top of their iphone platform, why would Apple (and others) want you to believe that the device it’s self is an appliance?

Lots of people would like to put the genie back into the bottle, would like to convince us all that their platform doesn’t need to be open, honest or property to be controlled by the hardware owner. No, it’s an “Appliance” you see, and you don’t need to install anything new on your washing machine do you, no need to rewire your fridge for new reasons. So don’t worry that we’ve taken all your freedom away but retained our own freedom to do as we please with your property after sale.

Ah that’s right, it’s a good old fashioned hoodwink. Beware anyone telling you that the general computer¹ is going away and in it’s place will be simple appliances. You can turn a phone into a computer but you can’t turn a computer into just a phone. We’ve known for a while that the mobile phone industry was rotten. Even if you’re not a techy you could feel the malignancy leaching out into the mainstream and the same will be true of internet use and other domains of functionality for these so called appliances.

This industry will rot and decay as a single function, centrally controlled framework where our options are to build our own appliances on top of someone else’s locked down api. Turing machines will always be more like canvases than spanners, even if we draw washing machines on the canvas it doesn’t change the nature of the general purpose machine and nor should it.

Thoughts?

¹ Desktops might fizzle away, but that isn’t the same thing as the general computer.