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A Season of Locusts (WAS RE: Evolution of the WWW Given Sensor

• To: 'Robin Berjon' <robin.berjon@e...>
• Subject: A Season of Locusts (WAS RE: Evolution of the WWW Given Sensor Arrays)
• From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <len.bullard@i...>
• Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 16:20:49 -0500
• Cc: xml-dev@l...

Binary or not, if the sensors rely on web services,
these are by definition, if I understand what is said
on the TAG list, not on the web.   So maybe what
we are seeing is not evolution of a single species,
but a bifurcation in which a new species is emerging.
Whether or not it replaces the old one, it becomes
ever more distinct and adapted to its self-selected
niche in the Internet landscape. 

Deja vu all over again, as they say.  We have come full
circle from touting statelessness to embracing statefulness
as the means to deliver a 'richer user experience'. Just
as the user interface luddites tell us that anything
animated on a screen is bad, distracting, and a
waste, animation is seen as the new user interface
tool of choice in niches where the ability to associate
a real time feed to a virtually-enabled model is
the best means of navigation and coordination.

Meanwhile, the pundits of the old species rebrand their
technologies as something revolutionary 
when experienced observers know that nothing of
the kind is happening.  What is happening is the
old pundits are trying to preserve their status
by selling old ideas as new ones.  Because market 
perceptions can be created out of thin air, this works for a
while until the lack of oxygen begins to show on
the faces of the immersed paying audience.

The arrival of a swarm of locusts is always heralded
by a deafening buzz.  Whenever you look at a list
and it is dominated by marketeers, CTOs and CEOs
notable for having eviscerated venture capital or creating
products whose success relied on taking the property of
others and giving it away as if it were free while
reserving for themselves parachutes sewn from investor losses, you
hear that same deafening buzz.  There is no defense
against locusts that doesn't poison the land, so one
let's them eat until they are fat and waits for the
birds.  Living systems are voracious and relentless.

A wise farmer knows these cycles, is careful to
rotate crops, and on seeing the lengthening line at the
wheat seed store, buys cotton seed.  Cheap coats
are a good market when bread is scarce.

len

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