Kickoff For October 21, 2019
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.
This time ’round, another edition on a single topic. That topic? Technology. Which is fitting, seeing as how I was at a tech conference last week.
Let’s get this Monday started with these links:
How to support open-source software and stay sane, wherein we get a peek into the struggles that scientists and researchers have with developing and, later, maintaining the open source software that they’ve crafted for their work.
Networked Dream Worlds, wherein Shannon Mattern looks at the problems with, and facing, 5G broadband, and ponders whether or not we really need it.
‘IBM PC Compatible’: How Adversarial Interoperability Saved PCs From Monopolization, wherein we discover how a company that was something of a tech monopolist helped drive the home and business PC revolution, and how moving away from the ethos behind the PC compatible is locking us into certain technologies that many of us use every day.
Network of Blood, wherein Kelly Pendergrast ponders the problems with going wireless, and how wired connections to our hardware have informed modern film and literature.
Fast Software, the Best Software, wherein Craig Mod pens a paen to software that’s speedy, snappy, and only does one or two things well.
The Hidden Costs of Automated Thinking, wherein Jonathan Zittrain explores the idea of intellectual debt and how it applies (or not) to the burgeoning field of machine learning.
Silicon Valley’s Crisis of Conscience, wherein we’re taken on a tour of a former hippie retreat whose owners are, both in vain and in pursuit of a profit, trying to teach tech executives to change their focus and their ways.
Was E-mail a Mistake?, wherein Cal Newport discusses the history of email, the (exaggerated) reports of its death, and why nothing has really replaced it.
Bitcoin Dreams, wherein we learn a little more about Bitcoin and its history, as well as where it might be going, but without all the cheerleading and technowaffle.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.