'An aphorism, properly stamped and molded, has not been "deciphered" when it has simply been read; rather one has then to begin its interpretation, for which is required an art of interpretation.' -- Nietzsche, 'On the Genealogy of Morals'
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'An aphorism, properly stamped and molded, has not been "deciphered" when it has simply been read; rather one has then to begin its interpretation, for which is required an art of interpretation.' -- Nietzsche, 'On the Genealogy of Morals'
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beyond the web?
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August 24, 2010
Are we shifting from the “front end” of browser-centric computing to the “back end” of apps, closed networks and proprietary connections between massive data servers and specialized clients--from open to closed digital network systems?
In The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet at Wired Magazine Chris Anderson argues that we are:
Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule. And it’s the world that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they’re rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen).
They say that a decade ago, the ascent of the Web browser as the center of the computing world appeared inevitable. However Apple's iPhone/iPad juggernaut leading the way along an an alternative path, with tens of millions of consumers already voting with their wallets for an app-led experience. This post-Web future is already here:
the number of users accessing the Net from mobile devices will surpass the number who access it from PCs. Because the screens are smaller, such mobile traffic tends to be driven by specialty software, mostly apps, designed for a single purpose. For the sake of the optimized experience on mobile devices, users forgo the general-purpose browser. They use the Net, but not the Web.
We are moving away from the open Web, with its to share, link, embed, cut and paste, bookmark, search –to the paid, the closed and the controlled--as symbolized by Apple's iPad or Facebook with their rigid standards, high design and centralized control.
Michale Wolff says that:
While Google may have controlled traffic and sales, Apple controls the content itself. Indeed, it retains absolute approval rights over all third-party applications. Apple controls the look and feel and experience. And, what’s more, it controls both the content-delivery system (iTunes) and the devices (iPods, iPhones, and iPads) through which that content is consumed.
Fair enough. However, there is still a lot of material on the web and most of it is free.
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Yes, it's an interesting piece, and there is much in it that makes sense. OTOH, there is this reply from John Naughton in The Guardian. (Via @stilgherrian on Twitter).