I tend to enjoy obscure technology, I sometimes have dreams about it, though I tend to dream about visual art more than technology. I would have dreams about older computer hardware and a set-up or two I had made. Around twenty years ago there was a lot of technology thrown onto the streets and I would make computer systems from a lot of different parts I found. Computers were expensive and I had a whole lot of obscure hardware to choose from. Also back in the nineties, I would find a lot of physical computing parts and setups in abandoned buildings. Now technology is cheap and accessible, the times we are in are challenging but there are a lot of options that can free people up from the big players in technology.

A lot of people don’t want self reliability in the technology space because they don’t want the hassle and would rather pay someone else to be in control of it. That is fine as you can’t be expected to do everything yourself and people may not be interested. I suppose I keep my hand in as I find big companies a pain to keep up with, they will chop and change depending on popularity which equals money rather than being totally in the user’s favour. I find knowing about broader obscure technologies helps me have an out if capitalism was to self implode or technology gets so commercial that you are basically dictated to in your choices. The truth is you don’t a lot of choice in the bigger industry standards-based paradigm. 

There was a lot of software I liked from some companies who basically saw an opportunity, or at least waited until they could change the delivery of content to suit their own platform on what platforms they chose. So software disappeared from companies that have more money than a lot of countries because they didn’t want to support other vendors other than themselves. That is why they have the money because they are not sharing the love for content in what should be a diverse technology space. That is why I have an out, I have a conscience and don’t want some companies having all of the pull for content. Of course, there is a bit of variety but for how long? In some ways, I am heading back to older technology on a few fronts. It must not just be an interest but a calling?