The design goal is to build a computer that lasts 50 years. To me this implies a design that is modular and repairable and possibly not based on something you can buy today. I don't want to base my computer on the products that existed 50 years ago or the products I can buy today.
What would I give up in order to get a computer (hardware and software) that lasts 50 years? Size, weight, speed, complexity. Sure.
We now know a lot about change so I need a device that accounts for almost every technology that I use today to have evolved significantly. So I need some long term features.
I want to think in terms of modules, which may be independent physical things. I also want a case to put it all in.
Over the next 50 years I (and my grandchildren) need to be able to repair and replace any part that breaks and continue to evolve the modules that I use, the case and the way the modules interact with each other. My needs will continue to evolve. The rest of the world will continue to evolve around me and I still want to interact with it and its services.
I think some things are constant. I need power; a way to input data; process and store it; usefully share it with others; and a way to output that data.
My modules may therefore include a keyboard, some sort of pointing device and potentially other input devices in the future; a power supply; a bunch of CPU's for various purposes in one or more modules; a set of storage and archive devices; networking; one or more output devices, perhaps a screen or two.
Perhaps the most important thing is an idea, philosophy and a clear idea of what I want the device to do. The article talks about typewriters which are clear on each of these points. I also like the idea that I will need an emotional investment in whatever I end up with.
If I wanted to experiment today I would start with a bunch of Raspberry Pi's and their kindred microcontrollers. Each of my modules would contain one or more of these devices. I would pick a set of connection standards. I don't know where the idea's go from there but it would be fun to find out!
The design goal is to build a computer that lasts 50 years. To me this implies a design that is modular and repairable and possibly not based on something you can buy today. I don't want to base my computer on the products that existed 50 years ago or the products I can buy today.
What would I give up in order to get a computer (hardware and software) that lasts 50 years? Size, weight, speed, complexity. Sure.
We now know a lot about change so I need a device that accounts for almost every technology that I use today to have evolved significantly. So I need some long term features.
I want to think in terms of modules, which may be independent physical things. I also want a case to put it all in.
Over the next 50 years I (and my grandchildren) need to be able to repair and replace any part that breaks and continue to evolve the modules that I use, the case and the way the modules interact with each other. My needs will continue to evolve. The rest of the world will continue to evolve around me and I still want to interact with it and its services.
I think some things are constant. I need power; a way to input data; process and store it; usefully share it with others; and a way to output that data.
My modules may therefore include a keyboard, some sort of pointing device and potentially other input devices in the future; a power supply; a bunch of CPU's for various purposes in one or more modules; a set of storage and archive devices; networking; one or more output devices, perhaps a screen or two.
Perhaps the most important thing is an idea, philosophy and a clear idea of what I want the device to do. The article talks about typewriters which are clear on each of these points. I also like the idea that I will need an emotional investment in whatever I end up with.
If I wanted to experiment today I would start with a bunch of Raspberry Pi's and their kindred microcontrollers. Each of my modules would contain one or more of these devices. I would pick a set of connection standards. I don't know where the idea's go from there but it would be fun to find out!