#permacomputing

[reelmegabyte]

ever wonder why spotify/discord/teams desktop apps kind of suck?

i don't do a lot of long form posts but. I realized that so many people aren't aware that a lot of the enshittification of using computers in the past decade or so has a lot to do with embedded webapps becoming so frequently used instead of creating native programs. and boy do i have some thoughts about this.

for those who are not blessed/cursed with computers knowledge Basically most (graphical) programs used to be native programs (ever since we started widely using a graphical interface instead of just a text-based terminal). these are apps that feel like when you open up the settings on your computer, and one of the factors that make windows and mac programs look different (bc they use a different design language!) this was the standard for a long long time - your emails were served to you in a special email application like thunderbird or outlook, your documents were processed in something like microsoft word (again. On your own computer!). same goes for calendars, calculators, spreadsheets, and a whole bunch more - crucially, your computer didn't depend on the internet to do basic things, but being connected to the web was very much an appreciated luxury!

that leads us to the eventual rise of webapps that we are all so painfully familiar with today - gmail dot com/outlook, google docs, google/microsoft calendar, and so on. as html/css/js technology grew beyond just displaying text images and such, it became clear that it could be a lot more convenient to just run programs on some server somewhere, and serve the front end on a web interface for anyone to use. this is really very convenient!!!! it Also means a huge concentration of power (notice how suddenly google is one company providing you the SERVICE) - you're renting instead of owning. which means google is your landlord - the services you use every day are first and foremost means of hitting the year over year profit quota. its a pretty sweet deal to have a free email account in exchange for ads! email accounts used to be paid (simply because the provider had to store your emails somewhere. which takes up storage space which is physical hard drives), but now the standard as of hotmail/yahoo/gmail is to just provide a free service and shove ads in as much as you need to.

webapps can do a lot of things, but they didn't immediately replace software like skype or code editors or music players - software that requires more heavy system interaction or snappy audio/visual responses. in 2013, the electron framework came out - a way of packaging up a bundle of html/css/js into a neat little crossplatform application that could be downloaded and run like any other native application. there were significant upsides to this - web developers could suddenly use their webapp skills to build desktop applications that ran on any computer as long as it could support chrome*! the first applications to be built on electron were the late code editor atom (rest in peace), but soon a whole lot of companies took note! some notable contemporary applications that use electron, or a similar webapp-embedded-in-a-little-chrome as a base are:

microsoft teams

notion

vscode

discord

spotify

anyone! who has paid even a little bit of attention to their computer - especially when using older/budget computers - know just how much having chrome open can slow down your computer (firefox as well to a lesser extent. because its just built better <3)

whenever you have one of these programs open on your computer, it's running in a one-tab chrome browser. there is a whole extra chrome open just to run your discord. if you have discord, spotify, and notion open all at once, along with chrome itself, that's four chromes. needless to say, this uses a LOT of resources to deliver applications that are often much less polished and less integrated with the rest of the operating system. it also means that if you have no internet connection, sometimes the apps straight up do not work, since much of them rely heavily on being connected to their servers, where the heavy lifting is done.

taking this idea to the very furthest is the concept of chromebooks - dinky little laptops that were created to only run a web browser and webapps - simply a vessel to access the google dot com mothership. they have gotten better at running offline android/linux applications, but often the $200 chromebooks that are bought in bulk have almost no processing power of their own - why would you even need it? you have everything you could possibly need in the warm embrace of google!

all in all the average person in the modern age, using computers in the mainstream way, owns very little of their means of computing.

i started this post as a rant about the electron/webapp framework because i think that it sucks and it displaces proper programs. and now ive swiveled into getting pissed off at software services which is in honestly the core issue. and i think things can be better!!!!!!!!!!! but to think about better computing culture one has to imagine living outside of capitalism.

i'm not the one to try to explain permacomputing specifically because there's already wonderful literature ^ but if anything here interested you, read this!!!!!!!!!! there is a beautiful world where computers live for decades and do less but do it well. and you just own it. come frolic with me Okay ? :]

*when i say chrome i technically mean chromium. but functionally it's same thing

[google-images]

Really really interesting idea. Translating the language of permaculture ecology to electronic waste. This one is specifically applicable to graphic design, but it's a concept that can be appropriated by basically any other sector that uses technology.

[joe-repository]

More permacomputing links

damaged earth

teliva

malleable systems

future of coding

ink & switch

[mayra-quijotescx]

Doing a substack dive and found this really cool article on how to install Ubuntu on an end-of-life Chromebook! (Also works for other laptops, and you can use other Linux OSes, but this mainly focuses on a relatively cheap type of laptop wastefully designed by Google to become obsolete very quickly so you have to keep buying them.)

[legendoro]

Monoskop are a wiki / library / catalogue for arts and studies , here to spread the word about recent and historical publications and projects in experimentalart permacomputing lowtech climateaction decoloniality technofeminisms capitalocene criticaltheory shadowlibraries everydaytechnology libreculture diwo care artistpublishing soundart experimentalfilm arthistory weird etc...

refseek.com

www.worldcat.org/

link.springer.com

http://bioline.org.br/

repec.org

science.gov

pdfdrive.com

[zehub]

« Permacomputing » : la discrète communauté qui défend des outils numériques libres, sobres et décroissants

Et si le numérique était un espace de choix pour expérimenter autour de la notion de limites ? Chercheurs, chercheuses et activistes du monde de l’art, du design et du jeu vidéo tentent de réensauvager Internet grâce aux principes de la permaculture.

[musichackathon]

Off-The-Grid Music Hackathon

Explore music and sound off-the-grid. Make music outdoors, without electrical outlets and internet access. Consider, how will working in a park on an island, removed from the streets and offices of the city, change your musical or sonic explorations? How will working without a table and chairs change your process? Will you create a battery powered experience? A physical hardware based musical or sound experience? Will you construct an instrument that does not rely on institutionally provided power or internet access? This hackathon encourages any medium, techniques, technologies, and procedures you can use to create music and sound experiences under these constraints. 

This non-competitive hackathon will include a mix of talks, performances, workshops and presentations by participants. Free and open to all (with RSVP—this event has limited capacity). Come learn, explore, create and share! We have an open call out for talks and workshops - please submit!

:: Date & Time

Saturday, August 5, 2023. Rain date, August 12, 2023. 11:30am - Doors Open 12:00pm - Talks

"Collaborating with the Woods," by Luciform

"Permacomputing and Making Music with Computers Outside," by Cameron Alexander

"Music & Sound Art Off-The-Grid," by Katarina Hoeger 1:00pm - Brainstorming& Hacking 3:30pm - "ReVoice," a workshop with Noah Aronson 5:00pm - Demos & Performances

:: Location

Harvestworks Back Lawn 10a Nolan Park Governor's Island New York, NY 11231

Click here for a map. :: Links

RSVP [REQUIRED, Tickets Limited]

Propose a Talk or Workshop

Volunteer

:: Logistics

This is an outdoor event. Bring any supplies you might need for your auditory masterpieces. Bring hats, sunscreen, bug spray, picnic blankets to work on and water bottles and whatever you need to work comfortably outdoors. Snacks and refreshments will not be provided, but can be purchased from food vendors on the island.

In case of postponement due to impending rain, notifications will be sent out via email to all who RSVPed.

Ferry fares and times: Travel to Governor's Island is free until 12PM on weekends. The last ferry to Brooklyn is at 5:30pm, the last ferry to Manhattan is 11:30pm. No participants will be stranded on Governor's Island.

:: Governor's Island Rules

Select rules of conduct for Governor's Island include: * All visitors, back packs, packages and vehicles are subject to search. * Visitors may bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages. No grilling allowed at Harvestworks site. * Cyclists must follow all posted traffic signs, speed limits, and dismount areas. Bikes may only be locked at designated bike racks. * All visitors must depart the Island on or before the departure of the last public ferry departing Governors Island each day. * Pets and drones are not allowed. * Visitors are not allowed to secure items to trees or buildings. * Commercial activity and solicitation are not allowed.

For a full list, see https://www.govisland.com/plan-your-visit/rules.

:: About the organizers and hosts

This event is organized by Music Community Lab and hosted in back and side yards of Harvestworks and the Institute for Public Architecture at their residencies on Governor's Island.

Music Community Lab (musiccommunitylab.org / musichackathon.org) is a not-for-profit which presents events encouraging exploratory approaches to music and sound.

Harvestworks is a not-for-profit which supports the creation and presentation of art works achieved through the use of new and evolving technologies.

The Institute for Public Architecture is a not-for-profit which uses design to challenge social and physical inequities.

Event graphics by Shagari Guity.

[blognachrichten]

Klimarealität im Technik-Design? Permacomputing vs. Apple

Wie sollte das Design unserer digitalen Geräte auf die Klimarealität reagieren? Der Permacomputing-Ansatz will klimagerechte Digitalisierung, Apple hat unterdessen mit einer neuen Super-Viele-Pixel-Brille ein Produkt angekündigt, das vor der Klimadesign-Frage die Augen verschließt. The post Klimarealität im Technik-Design? Permacomputing vs. Apple appeared first on Campact Blog. https://bit.ly/46wcqWR

[killerqueenofficial]

Everyone of y'all should check out my favorite programmers in the entire world, the members of hundred rabbits. They live on a sailboat that they use to travel the world and are dedicated to creating software that follows the principles something known as permacomputing, which is inspired by the concepts of permaculture, and I highly encourage anyone to just peruse their website and their webring, they even have a whole page dedicated to teaching people how to operate a sailboat. Here's an exerpt from their mission statement that says it best --

"The abundance of digital storage and processing power has caused an explosion in wastefulness, which shows in things like ridiculous hardware requirements for computing even the most trivial tasks. There is a new movement in tech inspired from permaculture, called permacomputing that aims at only using computing when it has a strengthening effect on ecosystems"

"As Hundred Rabbits, we have decided to focus on documenting, and archiving, means of reusing and repairing older devices and programs. All of our tools are designed to work offline first, operate with little-power on older devices and operating systems. Operating this way, we can keep creating content while off-grid, and when our power and connectivity is limited."

we should globally ban the introduction of more powerful computer hardware for 10-20 years, not as an AI safety thing (though we could frame it as that), but to force programmers to optimize their shit better

[server-farm]

Permacomputing is a nascent concept and a community of practice centred around design principles that embrace limits and constraints as a positive thing in computational culture, and on creativity with scarce computational resources. As a result, permacomputing aims to provide a countervoice to digital practices that promote maximisation, hyper-consumption and waste. It seeks to encourage practices as an applied critique of contemporary computer technology that privileges maximalist aesthetics where more pixels, more frame rate, more computation and more power equals more potential at any cost and without any consequences. We believe that such a critical practice can be relevant to artists, designers and cultural practitioners working with computer and network technology who are interested in engaging with environmental issues. This is particularly relevant given the tendency in art, design and cultural production to rely on tools and techniques designed to maximise productivity and mass consumption. In this paper, we argue for the potential of permacomputing as a rich framework for exploring creative design constraints building on a long history of applying constraints in art, design and cultural practices. Because of the need to reconfigure the modes of production and organisation within computational practices, this calls for a different understanding of aesthetics, one that goes beyond the formal evaluation of how things look, but addresses how aesthetics can also be systems of relations, sensing and making sense that are already present in the process of making. We will also discuss the challenges faced by permacomputing practitioners, such as the complicated link with retro-computing, post-digital culture and nostalgia, as well as the problem of constraints in relation to the aesthetisation of poverty, and more generally what it means to work with self-imposed limits in a more privileged socioeconomic context.

[hackernewsrobot]

The slab and the permacomputer (2021)

https://www.robinsloan.com/lab/slab/ Comments

[anthroposcenarios]

Today, the Hundred Rabbits website has grown into a living repository for a bounty of seafaring knowledge, solarpunk-driven philosophy, and a window into their work — esoteric offline-first software that emphasizes sustainability and the values of permacomputing, a term coined by Finnish artist and writer Ville-Matias “Viznut’’ Heikkilä. It’s a compelling perspective that flies in the face of the metaverse hype surrounding us today, and on another level, the need for everything to be constantly connected or tied up with blockchain technology in the name of democratization. The right-to-repair movement and long-term approaches to computing are seen as more impactful, sustainable factors in empowering regular people to take control of their own software and hardware.

[joe-repository]

Some links on permacomputing

viznut's article and its update

"Problematizing Sustainable ICT" article

frugal computing

computing within limits

branch magazine

[fractallion]

I had never heard of permacomputing until I read the profile of @jagtalon … really interesting - just added to my list.

[borismann]

Feeling locked in by open source

Ton wrote a post about his usage of the Post Kinds plugin for WordPress and used the word “lock in”.

I understand what he is trying to reference by using the phrase “lock in” but I think it’s problematic. It’s open source software (as is WordPress itself) — you are not locked in, you just have to decide where to invest resources of time, money, and energy.

A user has (at least) two options that work with the plugin:

1) Fork it

Find likeminded users and support a fork that does what you want.

Maintain it over time, either as a full fork or cherry picking updates from upstream.

2) Add features to the current plugin

Suggest the feature. Find like minded users. Find a developer to make a PR or compensate David to do it.

And of course for plugins like this, compatibility with the “host” system means keeping up with major architectural changes over time, too.

I don’t mean to suggest that Ton should do either of these two things, just that lock in is not the right phrase at all.

His plan is to store the Post Kinds data directly in the “main” WordPress content:

Over time I can replace the existing Post Kinds dependent postings (about 900 in this blog) in the same way, clearing the way for switching it off entirely. This should increase the autonomy of keeping this blog, and decrease dependencies.

And so the dependency is just on (open source) WordPress, which has a very large user and developer base and is likely to be maintained for a long time.

Also via Ton is a good read on Permacomputing, which has themes I’m thinking about with respect to user agency and maintenance of software over time.

Currently, I think we are entering into a post-open-source world. Large corporates are behind a vast majority of maintained software that happens to be licensed as open source. Software is built dependent on proprietary cloud platforms in such a way that being open source doesn’t make it portable.

I am interested in non-commercial open licensing as a new default I want to encourage for software developers, such as the Prosperity Public License or IndieCC.

And on the user agency side, I want to encourage collectivism: pool your time, energy, and resources to #BuildSoftwareTogether. Not as a “user”, but as an owner or member that wants to see a piece of software thrive.

For this collectivism, new tools like Open Collective exist. I have a handful of projects there running to bootstrap a few pieces of collective software myself.

Anyway, thanks Ton for the writing prompt. Don’t feel locked in!