!permacomputing@slrpnk.net
Computing to support life on Earth
Computing in the age of climate crisis is often wasteful and adds nothing useful to our real life communities. Here we try to find out how to change that.
Definition and purpose of permacomputing: http://viznut.fi/files/texts-en/permacomputing.html
XMPP chat: https://movim.slrpnk.net/chat/lowtech%40chat.disroot.org/room
Sister community over at lemmy.sdf.org: !permacomputing@lemmy.sdf.org
There's also a wiki: https://permacomputing.net/
!permacomputing
@slrpnk.nethttps://iffybooks.net/event/permacomputing-feb-25/
https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/12/drowning_in_code
The speedier computing cake is a lie... so we got software bloat instead
https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_10_0_rc4_available
https://blog.mro.name/2023/10/self-healing-systems-and-permacomputing/
Short reminder:
The human genome, with all its magic, is about 3,117,275,501 base pairs long. Source: Wikipedia
If you would encode that data digitally, and store it on a SSD drive, it would take up < 1 GB.
So, if we can do so much magic with 1 GB, that should be an inspiration to all software to do more, with less space.
Thank you for coming to my talk.
Just the other day I read an article about how the average size and weight of cars have increased significantly in the past 60 years, both in Germany and the US.
I have a screenshot (in german):
I wonder whether there is a common reason, for why both software and cars seem to undergo "bloating" right now.
Maybe, it is because we live in a time where we don't appreciate making efficient use of resources anymore.
But maybe somebody has other ideas?
So what's it got to do with this community?
I wonder, whether, if we find an efficient solution to the obesity of cars, maybe that would lead to an efficient solution against software bloat as well?
http://wiki.xxiivv.com/site/permacomputing.html
Looking for perspectives about the above. On my meanderings around the web I've found cybersecurity is all the rage now, cybersecurity experts are desperately needed. Looks a bit like a protection scheme to me - first have everyone save their data in the cloud and buy a smart fridge, then flood everything with ethical hacking courses and cybersecurity certifications.
Reminds me of my marketing translation days working on copy where you always were supposed to outpace your competitors by using some [insert software here]-as-a-service solution to 'compete in an increasingly fast-paced business environment'. Yay rat race.
On the other hand, as to cybersecurity experts, we will need smart people who can re-stupidify our smart appliances when they go rogue.
What would you consider ethical work within IT? Now and in a brighter future?