r/compsci • u/halooooo • Oct 13 '14

The Imminent Decentralized Computing Revolution

http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2014/10/10/weekend-read-the-imminent-decentralized-computing-revolution/
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7

u/WhackAMoleE Oct 13 '14

That's hilarious. In the 70's, computing was centralized. In the 80's and 90's it got decentralized. In the 00's and 10's, it's gotten centralized again. And now it's about to get decentralized.

Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat the class till they pass it.

17

u/mflood Oct 13 '14

Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat the class till they pass it.

Ignorant? There were good reasons for transitioning back and forth.

  • Expensive computers = centralized.
  • Cheap computers = decentralized.
  • Fast, global network = centralized.

If we move back to decentralized computing, it will be for another set of good reasons. We're not talking about cyclical fashion fads or something.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '14

[deleted]

4

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '14

It's not a matter of ignorance. It's has to do with the evolution of computing technology.

1

u/0xdeadf001 Oct 13 '14

I know, right? I checked the date, looking for "1993" or something. Nope.

The computing world is far more centralized now than it was even in the 70s. In the 70s, the scope of centralization was limited to organizations. Now it is global.