Bob Frankston
(bio)
Welcome to my writings.
If you want the recent essays check out the sidebar on the left or, better,
go to
Further Readings for a
curated list of essays.
Other essays are listed in chronological order and then by category. The main
essays are in larger letters and minor documents (such as messages posted on discussion
sites) are indented and in smaller letters. The documents themselves are located
on this site (www.Frankston.com) and as
well as external sites.
Note that I'm currently writing shorter transient posts on Facebook as "Bob Frankston".
I'm gathering links here.
You can send me Email. Note this unique address
is only valid for the next few days.
The best way to link to a document is as
http://rmf.vc/keyword.
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By default only the most recent posts are shown, to see: |
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Recent By Date |
Posts from the last few months |
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Columns |
Columns written in 1998-1999 -- blogging before blogs. Look here
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All |
All posts -- hundreds |
Some of the recent entries are also listed on the sidebar. Secondary
items such as postings on other mailing lists are indented. Note that the year
shown is the year the essay was updated. An essay written in 1979 might be listed
under 2009 if it was updated recently.
Bits vs. Things 03-Sep-2019 (Updated: 04-Dec-2019
PDFI’m writing this for CE Magazine rather than Computer Magazine because I don’t see programming and software as something apart from the larger world but as the language, we use to articulate our understanding. Software has transformed consumer electronics from simply choosing what is available to having the ability to create and share one’s solutions.
The Internet and My 53 Years Online 15-Jul-2019
PDFWith the upcoming celebration of the 50 years of the Inter-net, I’m trying to figure out how the traditional story misses the powerful idea that has made the Internet what it is – the ability to focus on solutions without having to think about the network or providers.
Found Objects 26-Jan-2019 (Updated: 21-Jun-2019
PDFIn the tradition of the Internet I don't build new networks nor new special environments for each application but rather repurse existing devices and services. The key is an architcture which limits complexity.
CFR: Our Copper Fiber and Radios 29-Jan-2007 (Updated: 07-Mar-2019
PDFOur Copper, Fiber and Radios are a simple fixed asset. Why are we paying a service fee to privileged services providers when we can do it better ourselves. Our home networks run at a gigabit bit without a service charge yet we can on thousandth the capacity when we go outside our homes and pay a high fee for the "privilege".
I was reminded of this as I saw Verizon installers running RG-6 cable for FiOS TV when I already had a perfectly good gigabit network and then they told me I had to use their router …
From Hi-Fi to CLI 01-Jan-2019 (Updated: 13-Dec-2018
Today users typically use computers through graphics user interfaces -- GUIs. Only programmers use the command line. But that is changing as more people discover the power of the command line just as they learned how to wire their own home entertainment systems in the days of Hi Fi.
It is no longer a relic of the past but rather a path to the future.