On Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 15:36:58 -0400, kelley <kwalker2 at gte.net> wrote:
>
>> The benefits extend far beyond just other programmers. Some
>> examples:
>>
>> * The Internet, used by millions of non-programmers, is largely
>> powered by free software;
>>
>> * the new Mac operating system is built out of free
>> software;
>>
>> * some embedded consumer electronic devices, like the TiVO and
>> at least one popular game console, include or use free software;
>>
>> * some new operating systems are nearly all free software.
>>
>> Totaling these cases up, they may represent as many as
>> 150,000,000 people worldwide who get benefits from free software
>> without knowing "what the hell code is." That's not
>> insignificant.
>
> i don't disagree that all of this is of great benefit. i do
> however disagree that this is liberation or potential liberation
> for these folks simply b/c the technology exists.
the "liberation" potential only exists for those who have a command of the tools. this *myth* that computers are gonna free you from the drudgery of day-to-day existence is crap. and it is *not* a new myth, it has been around for as long as you and i have been alive.
look at the facts. when computers were broadly introduced into the workplace, it wasn't the "laborer" who got replaced, but some form of management. in the ford factory, there are lots of computers and robots around, but they did not take the jobs of the worker bees. nope. it was the middle level of the hierarchy -- middle management -- that got wiped out by the pc in the 1980s.
what two sectors of the economy have grown tremendously in the 1990s? high tech and services, the coder and the hamburger flipper. 33% and 66% (i am being simplistic). the coder makes lots of money, prolly isn't college educated (college cs courses *don't* prepare you for the new economy, but the old one, so what's the point?), and his one skill: (s)he knows how to learn and think for him- or herself. it is the burger-flipper who has that ole college pigskin hanging on the wall...
there is no liberation. and there are a lot more losers than winners, at least right now. not that i am complaining, but that ole physics degree keeps making me look for what is, not what should be...
>> Now, does that make hackers radically different than any other
>> kind of professional? No, but it may make them relatively
>> distinctive w/in the information technology sector.
>
> could be. to answer another question, i mostly hang out at dc
> stuff and at one time cypherpunks. DC stuff is the list for
> folks interested in DefCon, the underground hackers convention
> held in LA.
las vegas...
>> In other words, it may be that geeks go on and on about their
>> giveaways because, by comparison to monopolizing tendencies in
>> the IT world, they do seem a refreshing change of pace. Compared
>> to the kind of giveaways that are standard in academia and and
>> other professionals (for example, pro bono legal work), their
>> claims *are* overblown.
>
> the point poorly stated originally was that all professions have
> 1. claimed that they are a change of pace from the capitalist
> values of the day in so far as they have maintained in some
> fashion that they are not in it for the money but for the greater
> good.
the problem that you have, kelley, is that you imagine that capitalism still exists. the workers won, they are the fucking capitalists nowadays. pension funds, not some solitary capitalist, is what drives the market and funds the ideas. and *where* do those pension funds come from? unionized workers.
the world as you know it has changed. geeks aren't even at the forefront of it...
instead of the unified (newtonian) perspective that you have learned in school, this new world is bifurcated...
> 2. in some cases this has manifested itself in ritual-like
> ethical norms and claims about the uniqueness of the profession
> and instance of which is the tradition of pro-bono. in other
> professions, they tout other things. academics like to talk of how
> they make far less money by being in academia but they chose that
> path be/c it was the noble path to take. in the medical field
> there are exermplary stories of the great charity and generosity
> of various historical and contemporary figures. etc.
hey, don't knock academia. it is about the only remaining place where that college degree will do you some good!
ac
'''
(0 0)
----oOO----(_)----------
| the geek shall |
| inherit the earth |
-----------------oOO----
|__|__|
|| ||
ooO Ooo
______________________________________________________ Get Your FREE FlashMail Address now at http://www.flashmail.com It's Free, Easy, & Fun !!!