Dreaming of Quieter Computing: A Call for a Forested Internet
I Dream of Quieter Computing
Henry From Online reflects on the relentless noise of modern computing—glass screens, refresh rates, and endless feeds—and yearns for a quieter, more personal web. He imagines an internet of handmade websites, personal updates, and aimless wandering, where computing feels personal again. While acknowledging we can't go back, he dreams of building something new: a web made by and for its denizens, where sentences spark knowing grins and hardware is hackable. A poetic manifesto for a more human digital future.
An internet made for its denizens and dwellers by its admirers — 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
- mrob
>Everything these days is glass and refresh rates
The higher the display refresh rate the metaphorically "quieter" the computer. Discrete frames introduce latency, phantom array effect, and (on most displays) sample-and-hold blur. These don't exist in real life, so they weaken the illusion of the computer becoming part of your body, like a pencil or a hand tool. A computer that can be operated with minimum cognitive load needs a display refresh rate of at least 1000 Hz.
- andai
I tried clicking the "#551A8B streaks" link, looking forward to reading a rant about websites overriding link color (and link underlines to boot!)
But I was bamboozled! The link wasn't a link. It was just colored text! My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.
That said, this is a very cool website.
- VCFundedGenYer
>Everything these days is glass and refresh rates
As it was in the 70s, 80s, and 90s all the same. I don't understand what this article is talking about.
- tietjens
I expected this to be literally about quieter computers.
- bibabaloo
There's precedent here in things like fast food vs. farm to table, mass produced goods vs arts and craft, digital photography vs film. Yet at least in my social circle, I don't really hear anyone pining for an 'artisan internet'. Maybe it's because the internet is seen more as a tool than something to experience. Or maybe it's because we're still early in the 'mass produced internet' age. Or maybe network effects make transitioning away from the big networks to smaller ones difficult, unless you're only communicating with online-first groups. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the future, because right now it certainly seems like things are trending in the opposite direction.
- never_inline
Five paragraphs of saying almost nothing.
- jtrn
What a wholsome and inclusive site. Page title reads “fix your heart or die”.
Spread the love indeed.
- mmackh
A lot of folks will tell you that computers with less features are the the answer, but over the past couple of years I’ve come to realise that how we interact (keyboard and mouse) with computers now is only one way to do it.
There’s something about building distraction-free computing, that doesn’t have to be less. I’ve been building something over the past five years, that puts an entire smart home into one device - sensors and microcontrollers have come incredibly far to make it feel a little bit like magic. What I’m getting at is - what if the environment provides input to the computer and not us directly? This would be one way of exploring quieter computing.