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Quiet Computing

I am increasingly drawn to a vision of interaction with machines that I call quiet computing.

It is one of computing without coercion, without surveillance, without manipulation or distraction. Offline first. Asynchronous communication where possible. Pull not push.

It embraces recreational computing driven by curiosity and the innate pleasure of the task.

Each interaction with the machine is intentional. Bounded. Educational.

There is no gamification. No telemetry.

This vision involves true ownership of the computer. Your hardware does not update itself or phone home without your consent. There are no notifications unless explicitly requested.

It must be possible to learn from the machine itself how the machine works. All code should be available, under a free software licence by preference. Closed binaries are permitted only where absolutely unavoidable - such as in firmware, or CPU microcode updates. No user space binaries are permitted, no matter how pretty the games on Steam might be.

Without the source, no learning is possible, no control is possible. A hierarchy is established and you are reduced to the role of a consumer bound to the endless wheel of planned obsolesence and pointless upgrades that add unnecessary features and bloat. You become locked in to hardware choices and operating system versions that are decided on by others. A feature you rely on is removed in an upgrade you did not want but cannot omit because it also patches a security vulnerability. You are nudged, steadily, towards a subscription model that shakes you down monthly, forever.

Quiet computing involves software that is minimal and consistent, simple, powerful, elegant and under your control. It gets out of your way, becoming invisible, allowing you to use it with the unconscious familiarity of an experienced driver shifting gears. It is a companionable tool that allows you to focus on the work you wish to achieve.

Its instructions become like a poem:

small

stones

dropping

silently

down

well.

Map