*Being some sort of techno-rant, inspired by my WAN course and motivated by lack of caffeine/sleep
The mouse moves.
Optical tracking systems within the mouse track the surface as it moves, converting meaningless visual data into precise electronic signals. The signals bound through the air on invisible frequencies, impressed upon a carrier wave that oscillates more than 2 billion times per second.
The signals enter the computer, are processed, and are accepted by the operating system. Their job is done.
The cursor moves.
It slides over the screen to rest on a group of blue text. Of course, the cursor does not exist: neither does the browser that the screen displays. They are an elaborate, digital lie: nothing more than a visual representation of the true processes that lurk within the computer's memory. It is a lie, but it is a useful one.
The mouse is clicked.
A new process is begun, one with a far different purpose than the others. That click signals the browser: information is needed. However, there is a problem: the information is not available. It does not reside on the computer, it is not here. It is somewhere else; it is Other. The browser assembles a peculiar piece of data: not information, but a request. The User demands data, and the User cannot be ignored. Why the User wants the data is irrevalent, it is enough that It does. Yet the data is not here, it is there. A place represented only by a number: 66.33.209.37.
The packet is released.
Fired out of the network interface with the force of a digital cannon, the long sequence of electrical pulses speed down the network cable. They are naught but small electron surges, small and insignificant pulses of voltage. Yet they are encoded: they have purpose. Direction.
The sequence blazes through the cable in under a microsecond, encountering a strange, unknown device as the exit the copper wire. It has no name, but it has purpose: switch. The device is not intelligent, but it can make decisions: upon seeing the first parts of the sequence it recreates the pulses and fires them out a second, different port with blinding speed. Another machine follows switch, and another, and another: each growing in complexity. The pulses are now one of many in a vast flood, blazing down cables as router upon router blur past.
The packet arrives.
Here, finally, is the information requested so long ago. This place is Other, the place it was sent to. The data packet, having survived all the routers, switches, fiber networks and trans-continental carrier lines the Internet could inflict upon it, finally delivers its message. Its duty done, it is consigned to the digital abyss.
The Other responds.
Deep within the bowels of the Other, the request is received. Data is requested, data that the Other has access to. Why the User wants the data is irrevalent, it is enough that It does.
The data is gathered, and packaged. Subdivided, so that it is small enough to survive the coming journey. Thusly prepared, the requested information is fired back into the network in a fire hose of data. It blurs through the same path the original sequence did: flashing through machines and cables with inhuman speed.
The data arrives.
It pours through the computer's network port like a binary waterfall, bytes upon bytes cascading down into memory. The entire round trip has taken more than half a second: an eternity in digital reckoning. The browser seizes the data as it arrives, and begins to create a new lie.
The lie changes.
The browser reconstructs its world as it interprets the data it received into meaningful code. The screen blanks white, and milliseconds later colour splashes back in new patterns and forms. Columns and images snap into place as the browser enforces the tyranny of formatting. Interactive buttons and links become active, their functions linked to deeper secrets within the browser's code. Finally, when all is prepared and arranged, the text bursts forth. Sentences upon sentences of text burst into being, arranged into paragraphs precisely as the Other's data instructed.
The text means nothing to the browser, or even the computer. That is irrevalent, though: the User understands it. It is the reason for the browser's existence, the reason for the efforts of the Other. Signals traveled down thousands of miles of copper wire, optical fiber, and were processed by dozens of gargantuan routing machines. It took decades of research, development, and deployment by innumerable genius minds to design those signals, cables, and machines. Data crossed continents, braved the deepest depths of the ocean, and crossed the breadth of the planet quicker than the blink of an eye.
And all so you could read this page.
This is good. Maybe it's just my sleep deprived brain, but I love writings like this. :)
wow :mittens:
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/abstraction.png)
Quote from: LMNO on February 10, 2010, 02:45:58 PM
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/abstraction.png)
Precisely.
Quote from: Horrendous Foreign Love Stoat on February 10, 2010, 03:48:40 PM
It's funny.
We've all got interconnected supercomputers that even the most insane pre 1970's sci fi writer would have had a wet cyberdream over, and we do ... this.
what we are doing now.
not saying its not GREAT because, well, shit it is, but ... ah hell I lost my point.
Bloody great story though Remmington.
inorite
We've got this gigantic, incredibly efficient high speed network that spans the entire globe... and we use it to send pictures of funny cats to each other.
And porn, of course. Lots of porn.
My point with the story, though, is how much people take the Internet for granted. It's very common to see people bitching about how their connection isn't FAST enough. Usually this means that their data is taking half a second/a couple seconds longer than they'd like. Give me a break! If those people knew what actually goes into getting their data from Point A to B*....
We should all be saying "HOLY SHIT IT WORKED" every time a page loads or a download finishes with no errors, but its becoming a thing you've always had there. Gigantic intercontinental networks are transferring encyclopedias worth of 1s and 0s to your computer in fractions of a section from a server located on the other side of the motherfucking planet, and you're bitching because that shit-load of data didn't get there 1/10 of a second sooner?
*Except it isn't just point A to B. It's more like A to C to G back to U over to X. X buffers your message and waits for the congestion to clear before firing it down a transcontinental oceanbed T4 carrier. The entire route is, of course, calculated on a per-hop, per-packet basis by incredibly powerful core routers.
I dunno, I think living in the future is pretty cool, so far.
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:00:00 PM
I dunno, I think living in the future is pretty cool, so far.
This future blows chunks.
I was promised way better than this shit. I mean, some of the gadgets we have are pretty cool and were never mentioned, but the really IMPORTANT stuff ISN'T FUCKING HERE.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:02:19 PM
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:00:00 PM
I dunno, I think living in the future is pretty cool, so far.
This future blows chunks.
I was promised way better than this shit. I mean, some of the gadgets we have are pretty cool and were never mentioned, but the really IMPORTANT stuff ISN'T FUCKING HERE.
Like what?
Quote from: Remington on February 10, 2010, 07:17:56 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:02:19 PM
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:00:00 PM
I dunno, I think living in the future is pretty cool, so far.
This future blows chunks.
I was promised way better than this shit. I mean, some of the gadgets we have are pretty cool and were never mentioned, but the really IMPORTANT stuff ISN'T FUCKING HERE.
Like what?
Like space colonies.
Like flying cars.
Like household robots to do my fucking laundry.
Like zap guns.
Like Raquel Welch in a bronze brassiere. <--- :crankey:
Non-cubist architecture with glowy EL-wire bits.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:23:01 PM
Like space colonies.
NASA's working on one, as an observation post/Mars expedition staging point.
As for civilian-grade stuff, You're going to have to wait until space elevators become feasible (actually not too long, they've got carbon fiber strands up to half the required load weights)
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:23:01 PM
Like flying cars.
This is a horrible idea.
Still, though, we have already have these (http://www.moller.com/).
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:23:01 PM
Like household robots to do my fucking laundry.
Roombas are the first step, we should see more adaptable versions within 20 years.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:23:01 PM
Like zap guns.
Tasers.
Also this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Denial_System).
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:23:01 PM
Like Raquel Welch in a bronze brassiere. <--- :crankey:
Rule 34.
Quote from: Remington on February 10, 2010, 07:38:45 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:23:01 PM
Like flying cars.
This is a horrible idea.
Still, though, we have already have these (http://www.moller.com/).
Heavier than air flying cars are a terrible idea. What we need is a four-passenger rigid-framed aerostat.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:02:19 PM
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:00:00 PM
I dunno, I think living in the future is pretty cool, so far.
This future blows chunks.
I was promised way better than this shit. I mean, some of the gadgets we have are pretty cool and were never mentioned, but the really IMPORTANT stuff ISN'T FUCKING HERE.
DUDE, I have 600 music albums on a thing that fits in my pocket!
I bet the young people will have teleportation and eternal youth by the time our old asses are hitting the grave.
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:43:07 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:02:19 PM
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:00:00 PM
I dunno, I think living in the future is pretty cool, so far.
This future blows chunks.
I was promised way better than this shit. I mean, some of the gadgets we have are pretty cool and were never mentioned, but the really IMPORTANT stuff ISN'T FUCKING HERE.
DUDE, I have 600 music albums on a thing that fits in my pocket!
I bet the young people will have teleportation and eternal youth by the time our old asses are hitting the grave.
Damn right we will.
And we'll use it to teleport bombs into each other's government buildings.
Quote from: Remington on February 10, 2010, 04:17:18 PM
"HOLY SHIT IT WORKED"
I'm going to yell this everytime I do anything on a computer. In public, especially.
Quote from: Sigmatic on February 10, 2010, 07:42:56 PM
Quote from: Remington on February 10, 2010, 07:38:45 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:23:01 PM
Like flying cars.
This is a horrible idea.
Still, though, we have already have these (http://www.moller.com/).
Heavier than air flying cars are a terrible idea. What we need is a four-passenger rigid-framed aerostat.
Fuck you all. Ford Expeditions in the air or GTFO.
Also, Raquel Welch in a brass bra. KTHXBYE.
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:43:07 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on February 10, 2010, 07:02:19 PM
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:00:00 PM
I dunno, I think living in the future is pretty cool, so far.
This future blows chunks.
I was promised way better than this shit. I mean, some of the gadgets we have are pretty cool and were never mentioned, but the really IMPORTANT stuff ISN'T FUCKING HERE.
DUDE, I have 600 music albums on a thing that fits in my pocket!
I bet the young people will have teleportation and eternal youth by the time our old asses are hitting the grave.
There are two inventions that will spell the end of the human race.
1. The holodeck.
2. Teleportation.
Quote from: Horrendous Foreign Love Stoat on February 10, 2010, 09:13:05 PM
Yes I can see the Holodeck, because, well, no one would ever come out, you've seen how nuts people go over none holographic world of warcrafts and the like, but teleportation?
I can't see it?
I know I'm missing something obvious. Ok, it would be the end of border control, and I guess everyone from the poor countries would instantly want to be in the better places, so that would be a bit of a riot, and well, vaults and banks are useless for keeping any money in, so I guess the economy would fart, but ...
LOL LET'S TELEPORT A NUKE INTO KIM JUNG IL'S HOUSE GOOD THING HE'LL NEVER THINK OF...
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 10, 2010, 07:43:07 PM
DUDE, I have 600 music albums on a thing that fits in my pocket!
I bet the young rich people will have teleportation and eternal youth by the time our old asses are hitting the grave.
Fixed for truth.
And awesome OP.
I can see teleportation working if you can only teleport into another teleportation machine.
Plus by the time they develop it you will probably be able to trace the teleport paths.
Holodecks though :x
No point in breaking reality with tellyportas when you can just make telepresent robot avatars on the cheap.
Quote from: Remington on February 10, 2010, 04:04:43 PM
Quote from: Horrendous Foreign Love Stoat on February 10, 2010, 03:48:40 PM
It's funny.
We've all got interconnected supercomputers that even the most insane pre 1970's sci fi writer would have had a wet cyberdream over, and we do ... this.
what we are doing now.
not saying its not GREAT because, well, shit it is, but ... ah hell I lost my point.
Bloody great story though Remmington.
inorite
We've got this gigantic, incredibly efficient high speed network that spans the entire globe... and we use it to send pictures of funny cats to each other.
And porn, of course. Lots of porn.
Global Brain theory, TL;DR version: LOLcats and copypasta are just a few of the fundamental patterns of transmission for a global superorganism so awesome that it has humans for neurons. If it lives past the toddler stage, there is still no real evidence that it will ever get tired of porn and kittens with poor spelling.
Annabel the Destroyer approves of this thread.
Also, it blows my mind that I carry in my pocket a computer that is drastically more capable and more powerful than the most powerful computers I ever had access to when I was a kid. In 10-15 years I will probably be carrying something that puts the craziest computers I've ever built up to this point to shame on all fronts.
You could run around saying "THERE'S A SUPERCOMPUTER IN MY ASS!!!"
Quote from: Annabel the Destroyer on February 12, 2010, 01:56:47 AMIn 10-15 years I will probably be carrying something that puts the craziest computers I've ever built up to this point to shame on all fronts.
an STD?
Quote from: Horrendous Foreign Love Stoat on February 12, 2010, 01:20:54 PM
completely unrelated question:
does an iphone wrapped in a condom count as a supercomputer?
YES.
Quote from: Horrendous Foreign Love Stoat on February 10, 2010, 09:13:05 PM
Yes I can see the Holodeck, because, well, no one would ever come out, you've seen how nuts people go over none holographic world of warcrafts and the like, but teleportation?
I can't see it?
I know I'm missing something obvious. Ok, it would be the end of border control, and I guess everyone from the poor countries would instantly want to be in the better places, so that would be a bit of a riot, and well, vaults and banks are useless for keeping any money in, so I guess the economy would fart, but ...
Teleportation, if expensive and controllable, will create a new level of warfare. If inexpensive and accessible, it will spell the end of government because governments rely on the ability to control people's movement. Either way, as much research is going into teleportation, whoever invents it first will most likely use it to annihilate everyone else, OR they will suppress it entirely.
Unless some rogue physicist team secretively invents a cheap, reliable teleportation device that anyone can build at home using a potato, a mirror, some tin foil, and a copper wire, and then leaks the information onto the Internet. End of the world, right there. For a while, anyway.
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 13, 2010, 12:52:18 AM
Quote from: Horrendous Foreign Love Stoat on February 10, 2010, 09:13:05 PM
Yes I can see the Holodeck, because, well, no one would ever come out, you've seen how nuts people go over none holographic world of warcrafts and the like, but teleportation?
I can't see it?
I know I'm missing something obvious. Ok, it would be the end of border control, and I guess everyone from the poor countries would instantly want to be in the better places, so that would be a bit of a riot, and well, vaults and banks are useless for keeping any money in, so I guess the economy would fart, but ...
Teleportation, if expensive and controllable, will create a new level of warfare. If inexpensive and accessible, it will spell the end of government because governments rely on the ability to control people's movement. Either way, as much research is going into teleportation, whoever invents it first will most likely use it to annihilate everyone else, OR they will suppress it entirely.
Unless some rogue physicist team secretively invents a cheap, reliable teleportation device that anyone can build at home using a potato, a mirror, some tin foil, and a copper wire, and then leaks the information onto the Internet. End of the world, right there. For a while, anyway.
Except, no-one would believe them.
Somewhere out there, there's a guy who's invented an
actual penis enlargement pill. He'll never be able to market it, poor guy.
This all assumes teleportation of matter, which I think will have a ridiculous energy cost, if it turns out to be possible.
We can already transmit signal(coherency) out into the chaos at the speed of light.
Some physicists are working on energy teleportation, I think that's much more likely to get here first.
http://www.benzinga.com/110464/pretty-cool-physicist-discovers-how-to-teleport-energy
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-02/physicists-prove-teleportation-energy-theoretically-possible
http://www.physorg.com/news184597481.html