I want truly personal computing.

· Bits and Bobs 2/10/25
  • I want truly personal computing.
    • The word "PC" means "Personal Computer".
    • It was in contrast to the centralized mainframes of the time.
    • But it also meant a level of personal computation.
      • Nobody could tell you no on your own computer.
    • In the early days of the PC, it was messy and weird.
      • You could install whatever software you wanted, and combine data from applications in novel ways via the filesystem.
    • Then we moved it to the cloud for convenience, which also allowed new types of collaboration and social networking not possible locally.
    • But now it was on someone else's server: someone else's turf.
      • If you didn't like how a piece of software worked, you couldn't tweak it or configure it to connect other tools on the data in the filesystem.
      • You can use it or not use it, that's the only two options.
    • This leads to a world where software tries not to be great for individuals but good enough for the largest market possible.
      • A thing that people don't actively hate that's minimally better than alternatives.
    • Even if you have the motivation and drive to improve or build, you can't.
    • It's shrink wrapped, one-size-fits-none software.
    • Why did we give up on the idea of personal computing in the era of the cloud?
    • We lost the "computer" part of the PC for the cloud, and we also threw out the "personal" baby with the computer bathwater.
    • Why not both? In a disruptive new era of AI, it's more important than ever before.

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