Wednesday, 9.08pm
Sheffield, U.K.
Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. – Michael Jordan
Today has been an interesting day – technologically speaking.
I’ve been seeing a gradual tightening of system restrictions by the big OS providers as they try and get more control over their users.
Microsoft has been doing this with its cloud suite.
Apple is exerting its control over the app store.
Google is probably doing something. Hopefully not entirely evil.
The problem is that they are closing ranks, worried about the advent of AI and what it means for their businesses and therefore building walls around their systems and the ways in which they interact with each other.
This is sold as cybersecurity and protection but it also starts to limit the freedoms users have.
In particular the freedom to share and learn.
When you have walls around systems then two things happen.
The people inside the walls can’t learn from what’s out there.
And people outside the walls find it harder to interact with those inside.
So, for example, I’m hearing from people who say they’re only allowed to use the approved AI within their organisations – they can’t interact with others.
Good, sensible security?
Or a fog of inertia that dampens a person’s desire to learn and grow and innovate?
Now. Here’s the thing.
Trying to get programs working across platform doesn’t seem worth the effort anymore.
Gnumeric, for example is a great program that doesn’t do Windows builds any more.
It’s so easy to install GNU/Linux these days that you can get access to amazing software for free.
But very few people seem to do this.
In his essay In the beginning was the command line Neal Stevenson likens Mac OS to a luxury car, Windows to a station wagon, and GNU/Linux to a tank.
A tank that’s free, that’s being given away, that needs no fuel – but people keep going for the expensive options because they don’t want to learn how to operate a tank and want the security of having someone else look after it for them.
I’m digressing from my point here slightly.
The point is this.
When something goes wrong, when there’s an obstacle in your way, you can do many things to sort it out.
My way is to go around it.
It is possible to run a service these days powered entirely by a free / libre / open sources (FLOSS) environment.
Code generated by AI will make the availability of systems and platforms even more widespread and accessible.
And as something made by a machine cannot be copyrighted the laws that control who owns what will start to be tested.
I think the big incumbents are seeing this world and getting very worried.
If you cannot compete with the software out there the obvious thing to do is lock up your users using the age old techniques of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD).
As individuals, that means your restrictions within firms may very well increase.
You’re probably feeling that already – worried about what you say, what you do, what you use.
For some, it may make sense to look at having a backup, being able to carry on with what you like to do when the restrictions get tougher.
It’s going to be different for everyone but the one thing I’d recommend is to take some more interest in your own computing machinery and infrastructure.
Because without a computer can you really do anything these days?
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
Handcrafted insight 