Technometria - Issue #1; Identity, decentralization, picos, and books!
Hi Gentle Reader,
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Technometria.
Technometria is my attempt to make sense of the technology that interests me through exploration, analysis, and, hopefully, reason. In these issues you’ll find ideas about information technology and my specific interests, including identity, decentralized system, computer science, and academia, interspersed with occasional forays into other technical and non-technical matters. Through that process, I’m forming myself and perhaps informing you as well.
Picos
I’m excited to announce a new, stable, production-ready pico engine. The latest release of the Pico Engine (1.X) provides a more modular design that better supports future enhancements and allows picos to be less dependent on a specific engine for operation.
Persistence, Programming, and Picos
Picos show that image-based development can be done in a manner consistent with the best practices we use today without losing the important benefits it brings.
Building Decentralized Applications with Pico Networks
Picos make building decentralized applications easy. This blog post shows a heterarchical sensor network can built using picos.
Identity
Passwords are ruining the web with awful, lengthy, and inconsistent user experiences. They’re insecure and lead to data breaches. The good news is there are good ways for web sites to be passwordless. If you hate passwords, build the world you want to live in.
What is Privacy? - Anonyome Labs
Privacy will be a defining issue of this decade.
But privacy is subjective, and definitions of it and conversations about it vary across individuals, jurisdictions and countries. So let’s get to grips with what we mean by privacy and why it matters. The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) defines privacy in […]
Decentralization
Who’s going to save the world? I suggest everybody. Or, more practically speaking, a maximized assortment of the smartest and most helpful anybodies.
Not governments. Not academies. Not investors. Not charities. Not big companies and their platforms. Any of those can be involved, of course, but we don’t have to start there. We can start with people. Because all of them are different. All of them can learn. And teach. And share. Especially since we now have the Internet.
Books
What chance does [a] human being have against pervasive monitoring and vast statistical shaping of their needs, wants, desires and behaviour by an all-pervasive amoral monitoring network? Who can remain free under such pressure?
Two Cheers for Anarchism: Six Easy Pieces on Autonomy, Dignity, and Meaningful Work and Play
I’m a big fan of James Scott. Whether your an anarchist or not (and I suspect you’re not), I’m sure there are ideas about personal autonomy and freedom in this book that will resonate with you.
The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect's Role in the Digital Enterprise
Short chapters, each focusing on a different principle or idea. Covers technical, business, and cultural aspects of architectures. I found several ideas worth remembering and highlighted a great deal.
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
A masterful account of how network effects and ad-based business models have put our future in a precarious place. Zuboff writes in a way that makes you want to read just one more page, making what could have been a dry topic into something interesting and compelling.