Slow computing

Odd conversation on the bus. We where talking about the days in computing when your compiler would take a few mins to compile and you had to pause and reflect. Or the times when a computation would take a day or two to run. There was something about the sense of liberation that begin forced NOT to use your computer but still feeling like you where working gave you. This required big computation and a non multitasking computer. At my university they had a period when all the computers where switched off on Friday the 13th to stop a particular virus. Again it was quite nice to have a day without machine, no email and no guilt. 

I used to get my students to send in essays in text format so I would get my Mac to read them out - while I listened I would tidy my office and desk and wish I had more regular essay deadlines so I could organise stuff more than twice a year.  

Generally you hate waiting though. Apple have announced a new Mac with a 64 Gb Flash drive. Lower power plus I'm told very fast on the boot up, Someone mentioned a Linux lap top that boots in 2-3 seconds and how this changes the way you think/use the machine.   

People take time to boot up as well. I often wondered what would happen if the operating system took a picture of the desktop just before you switched off and then used the image as the start up screen image. Giving you a chance to pull your thoughts together put your mind back in the state it was in - with the image possibly greyed until it was ready for interaction. Moments later the real (same desktop would return). We do need more automatic open window in open application mechanisms ( Safari 3.0 has restore all last windows which I like alot). 

So sometimes we need speed and hate interruptions - games, while working to a deadline and when having the machine disappear completely and getting a desktop back would be good. 

Like most people I think I was taken by MW's ubicomp paper where he mentioned peripheral or ambient computing a necessity when 1000s of devices are vying for attention  but this appears to be something which hasn't emerged. Doursh had a paper saying this was effectively an economic impossibility - how can you sell a new device that you buy and forget for example mobile phone/ipod. Computing as pumping, heating or electricity, but look at the number of services that have fallen by the wayside - pneumatic air, the failure of widespread garbage disposal in the UK (we recycle/compost). 

Yvonne has mentioned thinking about slow computing - taking things like slow food campaign ( the opposite of fast foot ) which has been applied to slow cities and thinking about what slow computing might mean. 

well thats my 10 mins of reflection over time to get back to doing a paper.