Dedicated Servers + Scalable Web Architectures

[Jamon Camisso]

Andrej Marjan wrote:
> Jamon Camisso wrote:
> 
>> I'm not a luddite who would prefer that the telephone were never 
>> invented, but some awareness of how these changes affect people and 
>> society would be nice. Instead of unbridled hysteria over a glossy 
>> touchscreen phone, understanding the implications of easing barriers 
>> to communication is, I think, much needed. That is to say, having any 
>> sort of device like an iPhone, Blackberry, or using a website like 
>> Facebook, Twitter etc. almost necessitates that those who use such 
>> things communicate ever more, sacrificing quality for quantity.
>>
> 
> In fact I'd argue that saying these things ease barriers to 
> communication is a dubious claim. It's about as correct as saying 
> "information technology" is about information in the way normal humans 
> (i.e. everyone except mathematicians) use the word.
> 
> Things like blackberries all too frequently *impede* communication. Face 
> to face suffers because the addict is unable to focus on the person in 
> front of them and feels compelled to check the device every time it 
> buzzes and a few times when it doesn't. Email communication suffers 
> because the addict tends to skim all communications, not perceive -- 
> much less comprehend -- at least half the incoming email, and then jump 
> to wildly inappropriate conclusions about the portion of the email they 
> DID see. Etc., etc.

How about, "things like blackberries all to frequently *act as 
substitutes for* communication," where the device itself can represent 
or signify more rich meaning than the content of the messages themselves 
to those who use such a device. To simply use the device entails 
communicating.

McLuhan's "the medium is the message" is what I'm getting at, and all 
too frequently it (the medium, a PDA in this case), functions completely 
transparently to the user, obscuring the real hidden message of what it 
means to be connected and online all the time.

Then there are those who communicate based on knowing that someone has 
such a device. The assumption there is that you're online 24 hours a day 
which represents a pretty severe blow to the work/personal life barrier. 
Again, the medium is the focus, the message is secondary to the 
consideration that said user has a device that allows them to be 
reached. It is about the potential for communication at any time that 
allows the message to be sent in the first place.

That is not to be demeaning to the many more clued in users out there, 
but blackberries aren't known as crackberries, nor is the iPhone called 
the jesus phone for no reason.

> It's mildly depressing that all the essays from the early days of 
> NetFuture (netfuture.org) are just as pertinent, and just as unexamined, 
> today as they were in 1995+.

+1 to that. Check out firstmonday as well, going back to 1996: 
http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/issue/archive?issuesPage=7

Jamon
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