The idea of using page numbers, like in paper books, didn’t appear right away. At first, it seemed to us that it was some kind of a relic of the past. But having spent few months working on the content of the book, we realized that it was just inconvenient for us to refer to typos or specific illustrations. People haven’t invented anything more... See more
The book is not designed for reading at a single sitting, but for several days or weeks. Therefore, the book should have a structure, reference tools and some mechanisms for gradual assimilation and learning.
To be fair, computers — both the desktop kind and various mobile kinds — enable seemingly-impossible things. But it feels frustrating to see the pioneering spirit that originally led to the development of modern computers giving way to uninspired flat interfaces and CRUD SaaS apps. The things you can do are limited to bespokely-implemented... See more
Each app builds a moat and walls to protect the hoard of data its peasants produce. This is both for reasons of protection, and power. How did this condition emerge?Before the advent of the internet, apps ran on your computer and saved data to your computer. The internet flipped this around. Web software ran remotely on server computers, and saved... See more
I'm really not sure, and I'm not here to tell you to burn your DVD player and throw out your Tolstoy. To think in terms of stories is fundamentally human. There's a Gabriel García Márquez memoir, Living to Tell the Tale, that we use stories to make sense of what we've done, to give meaning to our lives, to establish connections with other people.... See more
The darkness is the natural dual of the adtech web, the zone of extreme overactivity above the surface of the cozyweb, with businesses trying desperately to penetrate into private spaces past the open-to-private boundary marked by email.This makes poetic sense. The adtech world is neither utopian nor dystopian. It is pragmatically mehtopian. It’s... See more