What is Digg?71 Comments
- gambit2121, on 05/02/2008, -2/+28no.
- eridius, on 05/02/2008, -6/+23I couldn't finish this article, it was so bad. It sounds like it was written by a freetard. No, capitalism is not killing the internet. Just because I own gadgets which are closed does not mean I'm contributing to the death of the internet. Not every single piece of hardware I own has to be open to programming and fiddling. Sure, it would be nice, but it's impractical from a capitalist standpoint. There's a huge difference between AT&T, which built a very expensive infrastructure that ordinary people can't do (and therefore it is very important that it be able to be used for innovation) and my iPod, which while very popular, is also not impossible for some other random person to produce. Hell, look at all the clones on the market today.
- slightlygifted, on 05/02/2008, -3/+17zit train. lol.
- controltheweb, on 05/02/2008, -1/+9There is more than one use for the internet. Different uses can evolve, side by side.
- chandan333, on 05/02/2008, -4/+11No way.
infact they are supporting it. - commenter01, on 05/02/2008, -1/+8dugg for using the word "freetard". said word has been added to my vocabulary.
- flap, on 05/02/2008, -5/+12Well 2 years ago I listened to music on my ipod. Now I listen to music while I browse the internet on my ipod...
you do the math. - nullx42, on 05/02/2008, -4/+10lol killing it? /b/ is the ***** of the internet. without it, the internet would have no way of ***** and die.
- inactive, on 05/02/2008, -1/+7I'm surprised AT&T tried to kill the Hush-A-Phone. It's not like AT&T would condone a third party inconspicuously listening to our phone calls. Oh wait...
- jamshid, on 05/02/2008, -0/+5Who has root access on your mobile? AT&T, APPL, USA, or you? That's what it's going to boil down to.
- jamshid, on 05/02/2008, -0/+5Doh, Apple is AAPL. Appell Petroleum probably doesn't care what I do with my phone.
- SpeedSteamBoat, on 05/02/2008, -1/+6"I couldn't finish this article"
Then you have no business commenting on it let alone baselessly deriding it.
How open are Facebook and MySpace to tinkering? Sure, you can make your MySpace look ugly as snot and clutter your FaceBook account with ***** applications, but who decides what you can do and what you can't? It's not you. Now what are some of the most popular sites on the internet?
So now when people spend far more time learning how to do things that are only useful in the context of someone else's rules, where does that leave us?
Btw, just because you can't understand something doesn't mean it's stupid and poorly written. - jjed824, on 05/02/2008, -1/+5It's more of logic analysis than math...but i guess there's some overlap. Anyway, here's your analysis that I'm guessing you were driving at: because your ipod does more, it is liberating the web, not killing it.
Here's the way I see it: Because Apple has created a way for you to connect to the internet in their closed system, they can control what you do online, thus killing the free and open nature of the web. - violentvinyl, on 05/02/2008, -2/+6Exactly, the beauty of it is that no one person or government or organization controls it. It can be whatever we want it to be. If we want a slimmed down version that just delivers the top news stories at our bedsides with no comments from the masses... we can have it. If we prefer a robust, collaborative, collection of ideas from the world over brought to our desktops while we attempt to make something useful out of it (AKA "work"), so be it.
Furthermore (and this is directly related to the article), it's early adopters that create the trends. WE decided that the iPod would be popular because WE liked it. The iPod didn't decide how we would use the internet, WE decided we would use the iPod because it complimented the internet and our huge collections of MP3s.
Zittrain says "If much of what I do online relates to other people, and they're all on Facebook, well, there might be something better, called Schmacebook, but I can't alone just make the decision to move," To which I say "***** YOU", if that's the type of person you are, you will never be the person to break a new technology and you don't deserve to be at the helm of any type of "groundbreaking" way of looking at the internet (the web, the web 2.0, IRC [in its heyday], MMOs, or even Digg). The internet has never been about "doing what the other guy is doing", it's ALWAYS been a way to do it better, or funnier, or faster, or with a broader audience. If you can't see that, then you don't belong here. - masterm1nd, on 05/02/2008, -0/+3Get on zi train!
- Jalh, on 05/02/2008, -0/+3because everybody says no , it means is buried as inaccurate ?
- flashback99, on 05/02/2008, -1/+3pictures of little furry animals in characteristically human situations, with ambiguous memes in bold, poorly designed typefaces are killing the internet.
- OniDracula, on 05/02/2008, -1/+3I couldn't finish the article because it was poorly written and didn't get to the point.
Whoever wrote this needs to take an expository writing class at their local community college. Until then, they would do well to please stick to AOL chat rooms. - Cronikeys, on 05/02/2008, -0/+2It's not a big truck!
- lex0nyc, on 05/02/2008, -1/+3This is true.
- PakoBedejo, on 05/02/2008, -0/+23 letters: P S P
I can't do !@#$ with that thing...even though it would be more than capable of running tons of homebrewed software. Like a jackass, I updated my firmware so I could view the internet on it, now I can't revert back for homebrew.
This is just one example of devices which stifle innovation...hardware we purchase, but are not permitted to use as we'd like. If you bought a PC, but could ONLY load Microsoft applications & games upon it...wouldn't you be a little more than just pissed? - Kahnza, on 05/02/2008, -1/+2lol I thought the same thing
- kungfumaniac, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1Powell motors introduces:
THE HOMER!
"powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball". - Mononuclear, on 05/02/2008, -1/+2Every gadget he mentioned has been "hacked" and changed in creative ways by amateurs. Xbox360, iphone, psp, ipod, coffee makers. Anything with a computer chip in it has been tweaked and sparked innovation. These aren't killing the internet.
- PDAIsAOk, on 05/02/2008, -1/+2This was a very interesting write up. I can see his logic but Im not sure it transfers as well to the situation he wishes to apply it to. It reads more like someone who bought a song on itunes and figured out he couldnt play it on his cheap mp3 player. I'm more worried about net neutrality than the stifling of the internet by electronics manufacturers. I'm pretty happy with my tethered appliances
- Dylson, on 05/02/2008, -1/+2lol me too
- wipis, on 05/02/2008, -1/+2This implies that google's android never comes out and the home PC or laptop ceases to exist.
- shawnanigans, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1Are completely ridiculous and unrelated headlines pissing me and the rest of Digg off? Yup.
- SemiSarcastic, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1Only if you let it.
- inactive, on 05/02/2008, -1/+2we need some type of inspector to ensure these gadgets dont kill our precious intarweb. Who could we get to be an Inspector of Gadgets?
- violentvinyl, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1I'm going to play devil's advocate and say it actually works the other way around, I don't think people move from devices of a generative nature to tethered devices, they may pick up a few here or there for specific purposes, but once a hacker, always a hacker I say. I think the influx of market share for these tethered devices is almost purely "new" users, as in a child or grandmother buying their first iPod, and NOT power users. Once you get that itch to tinker, I don't think you ever really lose it, you may pick up the latest DRM'd, locked down, glittery device every now and then, but the first thing you say is "Wow, this could be so much better if it did *this*". Those early adopters are extremely important too, as they make or break a product. Furthermore, the people advocating these "open" devices are here because they have experience with "closed" devices, and don't like them. We have to fill up this pool with someone when the hackers die, and I'll tell you people aren't born into a thirst for open technology, they just want it to work.
I'm going out on a limb here, and just for the sake of discussion of course... but maybe it's the tethered devices that actually instill that desire to be open and free in the people who innovate? Phoenix from the flames type ***** maybe? - m0nte, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1The Internet is become a necessity in life. No one that has had the internet for over 2 year s or so can just cut it off for good. Impossible. Try it.
- Dylson, on 05/02/2008, -2/+3Still....no.
- jjed824, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1I think you missed the point of the article. While different uses can evolve side by side, people are abandoning the generative uses and moving to tethered connection devices. So while they CAN develop side by side, the tethered devices are taking market share away from generative devices, leading to a stifling of innovation.
- itsfini, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1I've attended a lecture by this guy and he's not only hugely entertaining, but usually very much on the ball. I can't say the same for this - though his book is supposed to be generally very good.
- inactive, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1The internet's supposed to be alive? what kind of a ***** article is this?!?
- karolisonline, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1did year 2k kill us?
- danny520, on 08/26/2008, -0/+1Gadgets can only help and service our daily life, IMO. U scare is impossible.
http://www.squidoo.com/electronic-gadgets - amirbd, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1> So now when people spend far more time learning how to do things that are only useful in the context of someone else's rules, where does that leave us?
You know, it may just depend on what kinds of rules they are. Much of the time, things are created which have potential far beyond what their creators envisioned. Most things on the internet, such as facebook applications, I would doubt that the creators would try to stifle some unexpected mash-up of their work, as the AT&T folks tried to do. The spirit of the internet is different, possibly because the inherent economy is different from what AT&T existed in. What is cool gets used and gets advertising hits. So, whatever you do, let it be cool. - shadywasabi, on 05/02/2008, -0/+0I'm in the process of reading this guy's book, and he has some amazingly good points. If you look at companies like Apple, they've become more concerned with providing you with their innovations than letting you innovate on your own. While we're not in a position now where innovation is being stifled by "appliances", a future in which that is the case is not hard to imagine.
Net-neutrality, open platforms, and healthy competition seem like the best ways to avoid such a future. It's our responsibility to ensure that technology remains generative. - shadywasabi, on 05/02/2008, -0/+0Moreover, I don't see what's so inflammatory about Zittrain's conclusions. It doesn't make sense to me to be against the ability to tinker with a device that you own. If you don't want to play with something, don't. But why the hell would you be against having the ability to make something new?
- inactive, on 05/03/2008, -0/+0Gadgets will just be devices to help us access the internet. Used for contact email/phone/pictures, buying , selling , listening , watching , playing , sharing etc..
- jjed824, on 05/02/2008, -1/+1Dammit you stole my response.
- RedRaptor, on 05/02/2008, -0/+0"But I don't like to use gadgets...outside the bedroom, ithankyew!"
- fatalautomaton, on 05/02/2008, -0/+0"Many did, and by the 1970s the fruits of their experimentation looked less like the Hush-A-Phone and more like the internet, which began, after all, as nothing more than "foreign attachments" — computers — using phone lines to exchange data."
Well that's just historically inaccurate. - oxeneer, on 05/02/2008, -0/+0my robot will never die.
i mean the internet. - EasySt, on 05/02/2008, -1/+1Someone needs to introduce this guy to a Chumby.
- fxu1989, on 05/02/2008, -1/+1I can't read past the title.
- ToadLeg, on 05/02/2008, -2/+2my point was that his point about gadgets being closed is going to be somewhat irrelevant when we have gadgets running Linux.
-
Show 51 - 68 of 68 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is