On the Economics of Computing and Other Life Hacks

Economical Computing

My old fast lap-top’s fan died, so I got a new older laptop and have been configuring it. I took this opportunity to finally dive into the Linux operating system head-first. I have spent the last 5 days learning the operating system and loading my software and documents, and basically getting all the hardware and software to work together. I chose the Edubuntu distribution because it is educational in purpose. Once I get used to it, if I still like it, I’ll install it on our other computers as well.

Caution: Linux is not for the squeamish! It has been my experience so far that almost everything you try to do in Linux requires some kind of a hack. Everything I’ve installed, from software to hardware (printer and wireless Internet drivers) has required extensive use of the command line interface. In my experience, and your mileage may vary, Linux is for hackers.

Having said that, I encourage every tribe to have at least one hacker, and as many hackers as possible. It will make the tribe wealthier. There are many free and open source programs out there that will enhance the productivity of the tribe. There are also productivity-enhancing commercial programs, but many are costly. One person can perhaps afford a copy of a Microsoft operating system or office product, but if you need to license those products for a whole tribe or village, it can quickly become cost-prohibitive. So instead, have at least one designated geek on hand, and use all the free and open-source software that you can. It will pay back enormous dividends over the long run. And actually, once you have your system configured and everything installed, the hard job is over and actually using the programs appears to be as easy as with the other product.

I speak from personal experience. When using open-source office programs, I don’t have to worry about how many members of my tribe are using the software, or whether we’re exceeding the license quotas.

Cheating?

Isn’t that cheating? Getting something for nothing? Nothing could be further from the truth. The open-source community is held together by the values of shared contribution. The more geeks your tribe has, the more your tribe can contribute to the community. It doesn’t require money contributions, just contributions of time and mental resources to help make the world safe for computing. This is where investments in education can pay off. The better educated the tribe is, the more intelligently the members can contribute to other tribes and the world, including the open source communities.

I know that there is a debate between open-source and commercial software, and I know it is divisive. I understand the basic arguments on both sides, and both sides have some very good points. Without going into what those arguments are, my only contribution to the discussion is that the use of commercial software en masse, with expensive individual licenses, is antagonistic to tribalism and large families. It is true you can do multiple installs and theoretically you’re not hurting anyone if your 3-year-old child uses MS Word to practice typing, it is a nagging feeling to know that you might be doing something that is technically illegal. So in order to reconcile the principles of large families and tribes with the use of commercial software, one must either relax one’s ethical standards a bit, or one must have money trees growing in the yard.

The Economics of Hacking Other Things

The same concept can be applied outside the computing world. Part of the open-source mindset is a do-it-yourself philosophy. By applying the do-it-yourself mindset to other things, a tribe can exceed what would be possible by buying a lot of commercial products. Build your own car, bicycle, cleaning appliance, whatever you desire. Not only will you spend less, but the product will be customized for your needs. Nothing that is mass-produced is designed for large families (at least in the United States). The average family has a mom, sometimes a dad, 2.1 children, and a dog. Almost everything on the market reflects those numbers. Try buying an automobile for a family of 10. They exist, but they are not mainstream. So build one. The same is true of housing. Try finding a house built for a family of 10. Can’t find one? Then you’ll have to build one.

Hack your computer by installing Linux. Hack your housing, your transportation, your diet and nutrition, your recreational activities and equipment. You will feel much more connected with the tools you use. And from a functional standpoint, your tribe will have, more wealth of useful items, an “embarrassment of riches,” than if money had been spent on commercially produced items.

Some Commercial Items Are Useful

Commerce is not evil.  Commercially produced things are not evil. Many are useful, and many are excellent values compared to the learning curve and the capital and human resource investment that would be required to produce such items yourself. The wise tribal economist will know when it is appropriate to buy mass-produced commercial items and when it is better to make something at home. If many tribes started to trade with each other, there would be more items available that were appropriate for large families. And if the concept of customization became widely accepted, then tribal manufacturing enterprises engaging in “mass-customization” would be able to produce truly useful and valuable items for trade with other tribes. Customizing an item almost always adds value compared to something that is mass-produced for purchase off-the-shelf.

This is just an introduction to these concepts. Later I can expand on them a bit. It’s not the details that matter, so much as the paradigm shift that is implied.