Farm-to-Table Internet

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

WIRED

Technology

4.1 • 575 Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Cloud computing has streamlined our hyper-mobile digital lives. We upload files, images, and globs of data to the cloud. Once all of our stuff is stored there, we can access it from anywhere and edit things collaboratively with our friends and coworkers. It’s convenient and appealing—but only if you don’t mind that all your personal data is stored on servers run by giant companies like Google and Amazon. The local-first computing movement is advocating for a different kind of communal framework, one that’s more private, more secure, and powered by peer-to-peer software that runs just on the machines where the files are being shared. No giant server farms in faraway lands, no faceless corporations using your data to generate ad revenue. Just the good old internet, by the people and for the people.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED staff writer Greg Barber joins us to talk all about the local-first computing movement and how its adherents hope to upend our reliance on cloud services using peer-to-peer communication.

Show Notes:

Read Greg’s story about local-first computing.

Recommendations:

Greg recommends the Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Lauren recommends the Barbie movie if you somehow haven’t seen it already. Mike recommends the latest episode of The War on Cars podcast with Bob Sorokanich.

Greg Barber can be found on Twitter @gregoryjbarber. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Lauren.
0:00.9	Mike.
0:01.7	Lauren, can you imagine doing your job without some type of cloud-based software?
0:07.3	Yes, I could.
0:08.9	I would go live in a cottage in a fairy forest and use my quill and ink to just write tortured things on paper that no one will ever read.
0:18.2	Right.
0:18.5	Well, I mean, you couldn't do this job with
0:21.1	No, I could not do this job working for a wired magazine without accessing the cloud. Yeah,
0:28.4	I can't, and I can't imagine going back to even, you know, trading floppies or whatever we were
0:32.6	doing back then. Yes, that and FTP, that is what we were doing. Oh, my gosh, and peer to peer. Peer to peer. We'd share music on Napster, Mike. All right, well, what if I told you that there are apps available right now that let multiple people all edited document at the same time and that they were doing this without the cloud? Without the cloud. Without the cloud. Say more. Well, computers are magic. I don't know if you've heard. Uh-huh. But we're going to learn all about it today. I can't wait. Hi, everyone. Welcome to Gadget Lab. I am Michael Collory. I'm a senior editor at Wired. And I'm
1:11.2	Lauren Good. I'm a senior writer at Wired. We're also joined today by Wired staff writer Greg Barber. Hi, good to be here. Great to have you on the show, Greg. And here in studio. I know. It's beautiful. Because I've had some upgrades since I was last year. We have. Thanks to Boone or excellent producer.
1:28.5	Well, yes, welcome back. You're no longer in a Zoom window. You're I guess I've had some upgrades since I was last year. Yeah, thanks to Boone, our excellent producer.
1:28.5	Well, yes, welcome back.
1:29.6	You're no longer in a Zoom window.
1:31.6	You're now actually in a chair.
1:32.7	Yes.
1:34.6	Big upgrade.
1:35.9	Today we were talking about Local First Computing.
1:38.9	The term is probably new to you, but the concepts behind it might make sense to you.
1:43.7	Local First Computing describes a type of
1:45.8	software that lets you collaborate on files with people on other computers. I'm here at the office,
1:51.4	and I'm typing into a document. You're across town at a coffee shop. You have the same document open
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WIRED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WIRED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.