Centralize/Decentralize

One way to read the progress of computer usage is as an alternation between centralization and decentralization. Once there were no permanent documents: you ran your job, got the results, and took them away; centralized. Timesharing was introduced, and you had your own access to the single shared computer; less centralized Minicomputers let different groups have their own computers and their own document storage; still less centralized. Diskless workstations gave you your own computer, but document storage was back on the main computer; more centralized. PCs and desktops gave you personal computing and personal storage; less centralized.

These days we are moving back toward the diskless workstation model: you have your own computer, but your document storage is in the web. More centralized. The advantages of this approach are clear: you don’t have to do your own backups, it’s very easy to share data with other people. The disadvantages are also clear: you have to truth the high priests of the centralized system to look after your data. For most people today, centralization is the right approach.

History predicts that eventually we will decentralize again. What will that look like? I suspect it will look like the Internet appliance model, only better. You will buy a box which will give you personal document storage, accessible from any computer, with easy sharing. The box will automatically handle backups. It will normally be close to you, so you will get better response time. Nobody else will have access to it, so it will be secure. I’m probably wrong about this; decentralization will probably happen in some completely different way. But it will probably happen.