What’s Old is New

I’m going to go out a limb here. If this were an industry blog, or if any nerds actually read it, this post would incite some lively debate. Since neither of those things are true, we’ll just consider this a tip between friends to help you figure out what all these nerds are talking about. Here’s the God’s Truth on the tech topics du jour.

Cloud Computing

There is a lot of fuss around about Cloud Computing. If you want a definition, go to wikipedia. While you’re there, look up grid or cluster computing, client/server computing, desktop computing, mobile computing, web 1.0, web 2.0, and virtualization. Or just let me explain them ALL to you right now. There are only two ways to “compute” and they are as follows: (1) access the network or (2) don’t access the network. The rest is implementation details.

Social Media

Of course, no one will shut up about social media. Here’s the truth about social media: All media is social media. The only “media” that isn’t social is the media inside your head. The evolution of communication on the web has multiplied the reach and power of, well, everyone. But everything possible with “social media” was possible 100 years ago, it just took longer and used different tools. Humans Beings use technology, and media is a technology, for one of seven purposes: Finding a Mate/Reproduction, Extending/Ending Life, Food, Shelter, Clothing, Entertainment, and Communication.

Netbooks

A netbook is a small notebook. That’s it. In the 90’s we called them Sub-Notebooks, but the internet wasn’t around so we couldn’t add “Net” to something and make it cool. Unsurprisingly, computer companies realized that in the bullet-point marketing world, you can’t sell a notebook with a 9″ screen against one with a 15″ screen. So they named a new category. If a netbook is all you need, you should get one. But they’re just a computer, nothing revolutionary. They’ll probably be the first PC segment to die as computing moves away from dedicated (unspecialized) hardware.

What’d I Miss?

Those are the big ones bugging me. If you need a term demystified, let me know.


This entry was posted on March 03rd, 2009 and is filed under Brain Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

 
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3 Responses to “What’s Old is New”

  1. meg
    7. March 2009 at 16:12

    and what’s new is really old.

  2. Ryan
    8. March 2009 at 00:07

    Re: “Social Media”: Ella Cheever Thayer wrote Wired Love in the late 1800s. Two telegraph operators begin a romance separated by who-knows-how-many miles. A teaser from the book itself: “The old, old story,”–in a new, new way.
    I particularly like the comma/quotation mark/em dash trio.

  3. Jen Smith
    18. March 2009 at 15:34

    The internet was around in the 90s (I was on it), it just wasn’t ubiquitous.

    It was confined to the use of scientists and computer nerds.