Applications vs. Capabilities in Internet Archive

Great presentation Peter! I really enjoyed it and it got me thinking.

I would even go so far as to say the Internet has transitioned from an application to a capability. At the very least it is transitioning. We used to “log-on” to the internet, entering usernames and passwords and hoping that our modem would negotiate a good connection. Then we opened our browser, typed in an URL and waited for the page to load. This very much felt like an “application”.

Compare that to the always-on nature of the iPhone, for example. My email just pushes to me instantly and all of the apps on the phone have always-on access. As we move in this direction of always connected I feel we are successfully adding the internet as a human “capability” as opposed to an “application” used by humans.

How about “exhibits vs environments”? (fits your criticism of the royal gardens well, I think) But are you sure you’re not just saying narrow isn’t so good as broad in application design? Some of the time it seems just about charisma (what else sets the Copenhagen bike track apart?). “Inviting vs discouraging being fooled around with”? Fun for you, maybe good for innovation, but not everyone’s idea of user-friendly. “Turn-key vs open-the right dichotomysource”?

Sorry: “Turn-key vs open-source”