Lawrence Hall, HSG
The Desperadoes of
Silicon Gulch
One of the many advantages of reading a physical book is
that when you open it to continue the narrative the typeface and layout have
not been upgraded (snort) against your will into near illegibility, with the
table of contents all messed up and the chapter headings hidden in a corner.
When in Chapter 3 you’re following noble Sheriff Rocky Manly
as he sneaks up on the hideout of Butch Jawbone and his gang of unshaven desperadoes
the action is not suddenly interrupted by an advertisement blocking the page.
When reading a book-on-dead-tree the story is not paused
with three dots and a note to the effect that if you want to continue you’ll
have to upgrade (that dirty word again) to “paid.”
On weekends and holidays the conflict between Sheriff Manly
and treacherous outlaw Jawbone doesn’t freeze in place – it’s a book; it
doesn’t require a signal from the expensive but fragile InterGossip service
provider.
But the techno-tyrants don’t see it that way. The other day
I opened my Antarctica Off-Line mail server
to find a blur of unfamiliar and less legible type shoved onto the Orwellian
Telescreen as a jumble. It’s as if the knee-pants at corporate felt the need to
justify their existence by taking a familiar, practical, and comfortable layout
and messing it all up. This is what they call an “upgrade.”
The concept of “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” does not
obtain in Silicon Gulch.
There’s a space for comments on the purported upgrade, and
you can write a (polite) suggestion and request a return to the previous
dashboard, but you will be a voice crying in an electronic wilderness.
Not only will you never learn if Nellie from the Long Branch
Sushi Saloon finally chose between Sheriff Manly and outlaw Jawbone, you might
be a long time finding your electrical mail on the upgraded program.
-30-
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