Hardware to Software

A guest lecture to University of Prince Edward Island Philosophy 105, Technology, Values & Science on the technical and cultural transition from hardware to software, February 14, 2018.

Transcript

1. hardware ⇢ software
   Technology, Values, Science
   Philosophy 105
   University of Prince Edward Island
   February 14, 2018
   Peter Rukavina • Guest Lecturer
   https://ruk.ca/
   

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2. goods ⇢ services
   

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3. data ⇢ code
   

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4. off the rack ⇢ bespoke
   

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5. concrete ⇢ plastic
   

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6. hardware ⇢ software
   

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7. Telephone
   RGB In
   Video In
   Audio In
   Cable TV
   35 mm
   Computer
   

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8. Weather Forecasts
   

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11. “Selling a single page of the
    Almanac online is going to
    cannibalize the sales of the
    printed Almanac!”
    This is a problem?
    

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12. hardware ⇢ software
    

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13. OpenCorporations.org
    

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23. “The changes were made to take us back to the status quo,” said Katharine
    Tummon, director of corporations for the office of the provincial attorney
    general.
    
    “When we were apprised of (Rukavina's site) we immediately were looking
    to ensure that our corporate registry maintains its integrity.”
    
    She said the data was set up to be searched by company name only and
    was never intended to be used the way Rukavina's website does.
    
    She admits there's nothing in the current legislation to say that it shouldn't
    be used this way.
    
    This is because the Companies Act hasn't been updated since this kind of
    technology became available, Tummon said.
    
    “Other jurisdictions have modern provisions that are quite different from
    ours that place limits on the information.”
    December 9, 2008
    

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24. hardware ⇢ software
    

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25. Amazon Web Services
    

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29. hardware ⇢ software
    

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30. Care by Volvo
    

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38. hardware ⇢ software
    

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39. Choose Corrour
    

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42. • Kickstarter crowdfunding
    
    • Online payments
    
    • Inexpensive video cameras
    
    • Inexpensive video editing equipment
    
    • YouTube as a video distribution platform
    
    • YouTube as an advertising platform
    
    • Open source software
    What made this possible?
    

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43. Seeing “filmmaking” as a
    software process, not a
    hardware process.
    What made this possible?
    

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44. hardware ⇢ software
    

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47. software ⇢ hardware
    

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48. hardware ⇢ software
    goods ⇢ services
    off the rack ⇢ bespoke
    data ⇢ code
    concrete ⇢ plastic
    

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49. What does this mean?
    • Split up into groups of 3 or 4 people.
    
    • Discuss the questions:
    
    • On a broader cultural level, what might this
    hardware to software transition mean for
    politics? art? education? how we view our
    position in society?
    
    • Who’s left out of this transition?
    
    • Can we make it stop (if we wanted to)?
    

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