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Year: 2018
If neoliberalism is a class project, then Silicon Valley is the industrial manifestation of neoliberalism applied to technology. Silicon Valley is a class project. To abolish it needs large structural transformation. We need to change the balance of class forces, tipping it away from capital and in favour of labour. Worker organisation from below, with a change in conception of what a tech worker is. Start taking lucrative technologies out of the capital-accumulation process.
“Tackling the problem at the root requires that we *abolish* Silicon Valley.”
Let’s get seditious.
Mastodon web interface has pretty nice keyboard shortcuts. Press ? to see what they are.
That said, at the moment I think I prefer Brutaldon and Tridactyl for keyboard-oriented fediversing. Think I’ve just gone off the idea of toots rolling in unannounced. I find it a bit distracting.
Can anyone recommend either Vim Vixen or Tridactyl Firefox plugins? I used to use Pentadactyl all the time until it went kaput with Firefox Quantum. Hankering to get back to Vim bindings in the browser and both of these extensions look pretty well maintained.
#vim #firefox
What’s are some good intro to electronics projects? Something hands-on that teaches you some basics and you make something fun (and maybe even practical…). Massive bonus points for things that involve buying as little new stuff as possible – ideally you can salvage a bunch of the components and parts you need out of stuff you can buy second hand, or out of broken things.
Digital technology’s effect on the environment.
It uses a lot of raw materials; produces a lot of CO2 in manufacture; and the ‘cloud’ uses a vast amount of energy in use.
“What we really need is a whole new way of thinking about digital technology. In a world focused on ownership driven by conspicuous consumption, in the thralls of a digital revolution, we have created a sprawling global beast that might consume our society as well as ever greater amounts of energy and resources.”
Things we should do: use materials more efficiently; make things more repairable; use renewable energy.
I’d probably also add ‘abolish capitalism’ to the list.
My keyboard is about 15 years old – a classic and still going strong!
The mouse has stopped working though. Hope I can fix it.
The mouse has stopped working though. Hope I can fix it.I’d like to read The People’s Platform by Astra Taylor. Looks pretty on point to me.
"The Internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratizing force. A place where all can participate equally. But how true is this claim? In a seminal dismantling of techno-utopian visions, The People’s Platform argues that the Internet in fact amplifies real-world inequities at least as much as it ameliorates them. Online, just as off-line, attention and influence largely accrue to those who already have plenty of both. A handful of giant companies remain the gatekeepers, while the worst habits of the old media model — the pressure to seek easy celebrity, to be quick and sensational above all — have proliferated in the ad-driven system.
"We can do better, Astra Taylor insists. The online world does offer a unique opportunity, but a democratic culture that supports work of lasting value will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the Internet to truly be a people’s platform, we will have to make it so."