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Bruce Sterling on Geeks and Spooks

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the goring-sacred-cows dept.

apsmith writes: "Bruce Sterling's latest Viridian piece is a written version of a talk on why we're in such a mess with crypto, why the computer industry is going nowhere for the next few years, and what Lawrence Lessig, the NSA, Echelon, Oliver North and Abdullah Catli have in common. Thought-provoking stuff, even if you might not agree with quite everything ("Why don't you geeks just sit down with your cheap, crappy plastic boxes, and shut up? Here in the TV biz, our boxes look nicer anyway!")." This is a lunch-time talk, and it's meant to be entertaining, and it is. :)

2 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. Bruce Sterling has always been kind of dorky by Bud+Dwyer · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    Have you seen this guys picture? Niether sexy, nor cool, IMO. He looks visibly Canadian, so that tells you something right there.


    I think somebody forgot to tell Bruce that 1994 cyber-chic is over. Wired was never cool, and certainly isn't anymore. Most of the "geeks" that got rich off the internet bubble are now back in their parents's basements. The yuppies have moved on, too. Now, instead of geeks they idolize cops and firefighters (and that's the way it should be).


    Geeks in general, and Bruce Sterling in particular, need to stop living in a fantasy world where they are the center of attention. So, you work in the world of technology? So what? You want a prize? There are millions of people working in more essential jobs than you.

  2. Bloody typical... by Usquebaugh · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Just this morning I submitted a question to ASK /. In effect I was trying to find out what new tech was being developed in the labs. You know Plan9, Inferno & EROS are really just like *nix. That KDE, windows, gnome etc etc are much of a muchnes. That hardware is running in circles and not going anywhere.

    I wanted to know what revolutionary thinkers were working on, the moderen equivalents of Fenyman and Da Vinci. Suprise, suprise it was rejected obviously far to difficult for mere geeks to ponder.

    But Bruce Sterling points out the same thing and /. rushes to post it. It helps that he spiced it up with violence and Mikey thought it entertaining.

    SO WHAT SITES ARE GOOD FOR DISCUSSING COMPUTING AND FUTURE TECH?

    /. NEWS FOR KIDS, STUFF THAT SELLS ADS