In the number of years I have worked in the IT industry I have always fallen back on some of the key concepts that my Dad taught me about computers. Some of these key concepts are as simple as learning your file system structure and creating a folder of your own to store your user data. Remember where your data is located, don't just dumpt it where the software first offers, but give this some thought.
My Dad also taught me that for as long as there have been computer systems and regulating bodies such as the IEEE there has been a fight over proprietary formats vs. open systems. Vendors backing competative proprietary formats will place the consumer between a rock and a hard place over and over. From Betamax Vs. VHS, to BluRay Vs. HD, this drama has been played out. In the IT world you get the dichotomy of open systems vs. the top notch vendor support and market acceptance you get from proprientarty systems. It's a trade off that companies make every day - to use a system that leaves them locked in and at the mercy of the vendor (cough...Microsoft) or to break out into open systems but realize that they will have to buck the trend and be more self supporting.
Thinking about this age old dichotemy lead me to consider what other key struggles exisit in IT?
- User friendly vs. feature rich - how do we like our software
- Giving software away for free to promote usage (MS Outlook) vs getting a fair price for software and licenses. Is giving things away or selling at a loss leader price unfair competition?
- Ubiquity of online information sharing vs. individual privacy
- Digital Rights Management - the challenge of making sure artists and programmers are paid fairly for their work while and also allowing for full, privatem and fair use of content that has been purchased.
- Information overload. We want more information but we want the RIGHT information. And one person's junk is another person's favorite content.
- Work life balance, and further a balance between our online lives and our in real life lives. Sometimes we should just turn everything off and go for a walk... and then blog about it.
I've shared some of what's on my mind. What other dualities do you see in the world of computing? Please leave a comment and let me and my readers know what dynamics are on your mind.
