The Info World article appears to nail this one: cloud computing seems to be a buzz concept. Though I'm not underestimating how useful cloud computing can be, I see it as another piece of the pie - not a new pie.
While the Explaining Computers video does a fine job of ... uh ... explaining this, another Info World article is also helpful in understanding the concept.
3. The Future of Libraries: Beginning the Great Transformation
Well ... this stuff is fun to think about sometimes ... While the wholesale disappearance of literacy is something I cannot agree with, a changing literacy is. In a similar article in the New York Times Magazine, Wired "maverick" Kevin Kelly discusses the transition to "screen literacy" which itself shares many of the same characteristics and functions with what he considers traditional "textual literacy." In other words, the basic principles in how we communicate through text are still pertinent to how we communicate visually - but the technology has changed and there are still hurdles to overcoming the unique demands of "screen literacy."
What I quite like about Frey's predictions are his emphasis that libraries should explore "creative spaces" and provide access to more hand-on, studio-type activities and his emphasis on preserving local history. To me, these are two major holes left by information technology that libraries should fill in order to remain relevant physical institutions. Of course, this comes with increased outreach and interaction on the part of library staff - another suggestion I would make if writing this article.
One last consideration here is thinking beyond our need for any technology to communicate. At what point can our physiology or power of cognition adapt to communicate telepathically or to meld with technology. For further consideration, see below:
Videodrome (1983)
Dark City (1998)
Long live the new flesh ...
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2 comments:
Thanks for linking to that NYT Magazine article. I read that when it first came out, and as someone who works in a library, but reads more on the screen than on the page, I found it very interesting, and it made me pretty self-conscious about how I read online.
Cloud computing--i like that you called it a buzz concept. I read the article and my thoughts were if it is so great, why hasnt it become more mainstream? The article made it sound like cloud computing will take over and the web as we know, as use it, will never be the same. I agree--piece of the pie--not a new one.
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