The Optimistic Case for Decentralization

WELCOME TO THE POD In this episode of Cyberdeck Users Weekly we'll review a bunch of tech giants and what their potential weaknesses are: AMAZON: MAKE IT MORE LIKE DEPOP Amazon can't track counterfiets (scale fail) and it uses its vendors for market research (evil). Solution Why can't I just order from local stores and self-run warehouses? Why can't I buy masks from the guy who stockpiled masks? See also: https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21065894/google-pointy-acquisition-in-store-products-stock-inventory-shopping GOOGLE: MAKE IT MORE LIKE RIPGREP Google simultaneously knows too much about me and yet can't know enough to give me truly amazing and deep results (scale fail), and it attempts to control what I see (evil). Solution Run searches locally before hitting the network. Most search just me trying to find that one CSS Tricks guide to Flexbox. See also: https://minbrowser.org/ SEAMLESS: MAKE IT MORE LIKE SQUARESPACE Seamless takes a gigantic cut. What are they reallllyy actually offering? So much less than even something like Uber. Solution A protocol you can adhere to for listing things. See also: https://twitter.com/susie_c/status/1255971900599046144 FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE: MAKE IT MORE LIKE WORDPRESS Like Seamless, Facebook starts out by letting you build an audience, and then at some point it pivots and starts to charge you for access to your own audience. Solution Matrix? Mastadon? Jitsi? See also: https://pauljmiller.com/posts/how-to-fix-the-internet.html APPLE: MAKE ME MY COMPUTER CARTRIDGES! Alternatives to Apple: Pi / Pine / Librem / Redox OS / Oxide Computer / System76 I didn't bring this up on the pod but my dream for phones is that when you "retire" one you remove the battery and plug it into your home server setup and it becomes part of the borg that hosts all your local services. UH-OH: BIG PROBLEMS WITH DECENTRALIZATION: Identity (unsolved) Payments (Bitcoin) Decentralization of messaging (Lightning?) Polish and ease of use BIG systems like operating systems and UI frameworks are rare or bad and possibly unwanted in the first place? WRAP-UP THOUGHTS: HOW TO EVALUATE A TECHNOLOGY: Is it actively harming me? Can it be taken away, and how easily?

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