Software was supposed to be a bicycle for the mind. Instead we got something else, what is the best analogy for "the thing" software actually became?
The best analogy? opium. The only "beneficiaries" are the makers.<p>So be a maker of great things.<p>Every one of us can make software the great tool for empowerment and creativity that it was meant to be.<p>To quote early Apple employee Guy Kawasaki: "Don't kvetch; Kick Butt"<p>As to what technology wants: Ask Kevin Kelley
This is the earlier version of what he wrote:<p><a href="https://kk.org/thetechnium/what-technology/" rel="nofollow">https://kk.org/thetechnium/what-technology/</a><p>But in short (summarized with human intelligence)<p>Extrapolated, technology wants what life wants:<p>Increasing efficiency<p>Increasing opportunity<p>Increasing emergence<p>Increasing complexity<p>Increasing diversity<p>Increasing specialization<p>Increasing ubiquity<p>Increasing freedom<p>Increasing mutualism<p>Increasing beauty<p>Increasing sentience<p>Increasing structure<p>Increasing evolvability
Somewhere between tv and an infinite filing cabinet for bureaucracies; not to mention the holy grail of false productivity for the NYSE-conscious, an 'activity treadmill' for rosters of highly-credentialed people to seem concerned about.
There’s a documentary that should be released soon named “Message Not Understood” that covers the history of personal computing, with a heavy emphasis on Xerox PARC and its contributions, and how modern computing has become less about user empowerment these days. There is a publicly-available trailer, and I’ve seen a 30-minute preview (disclaimer: I was one of the Kickstarter donors).<p><a href="https://messagenotunderstood.com/" rel="nofollow">https://messagenotunderstood.com/</a>
There is no broad analogy for "software" because the concept is too general.<p>Obviously, there are plenty of examples of software being a "bicycle for the mind," and plenty not.