This is a #test of frequency instruments.

Bass

Drums

Distortion

Artifacts

After my recent experience with a new laptop, imposed upon me by a client, I feel the need to describe what I’d want from computing, both as a “practitioner” (“shaman”? “fool”?) and as a user.

First and foremost I like to know where my data is, both physically and logically.

I would, therefore, appreciate having some form of storage server which does everything from storing files to my calendar and email. It would be redundant, etc. (i.e. a NAS of some form).

Secondly, we’d have IPv6 so that I could reach said server from everywhere without NAT, CGNAT, transparent carrier-to-carrier NAT (you don’t want to know), etc.

Then, for those who have computing needs, we would have a co-system we would connect next to the NAS, automatically speaking some form of NFS (no, not SMB, not over my dead body) and which would be used automatically by the NAS when a request needed oomph (e.g. video editing on a stored video).

All of this would be topped with a beautiful “portable viewer” which would have a laptop size / format and would do nothing other than connect over the network to your server and allow you to “do things.”

A mobile phone would, similarly, tap into your server to do what it needs to do.

There would be minimal storage on these edge devices.

Wait, you say, this is “The Cloud”.

No, it is absolutely not because I want the data to be mine and nothing to be on the edge devices.

Wait, you say again, this is “Plan 9 meets VNC (in its original Olivetti Research Labs incarnation)”.

Yes, it is.

I still believe that one of the worst ever decisions to be taken was the PC back in 1981 followed by the obtusity of many in thinking that somehow PC “democratised” computing or could replace mainframes, minis and servers with its architecture.

Quoting “The 6M Dollar Man”: We can rebuild him; we have the technology.

We don’t need to continue using the crap they peddle us, we need to sit down and say “OK, now let’s be grown ups and build what we need, not what others want to us to build.” (note: 0xide is a step in that direction)