Writings and Musings

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.

By default only the most recent posts are shown, to see:
• Recent By Date Posts from the last few months
• Columns Columns written in 1998-1999 -- blogging before blogs. Look here for my more recent columns.
• All All posts -- hundreds

Writings and Updates by Date

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.

Communities of Things 05-Feb-2020 (Updated: 07-Jul-2021 PDFTrust issues among devices are complex. In order to address them we need to take a community-based approach rather than having to revisit the issue for each connection and each app n×n. Also available on CircleID
TV is Over – Long Live Content 05-Dec-2020 PDFWe are now in the age of "content" with Television (and movies) now available for view online just like books rather than being experiences you had to tune into on a broadcaster's schedule. We haven't cut the cord, we just forgot about it and moved on.
The JavaScript Ecosystem 23-Oct-2020 PDFJavaScript started out as a simple extension for the browser but has become so much more. In part this is true on building on rich concepts going back to Lisp. Along the way it has challenged the givens of programming and given us a high-performance flexible language along with rich libraries and rich tools. We're just beginning to discover the possibilities. (Also on CirlceID)
A piece of living history explains 5G without hype 23-Sep-2020 A conversion about the hype surrounding #5G. Also on Facebook
Broadband Breakfast Live Online on July 22, 2020 — Champions of Broadband: Bob Frankston 22-Jul-2020 My conversation with Drew Clark about the Internet as infrastructure.
Beyond the Interweb 24-May-2020 (Updated: 14-Jul-2020 PDFToday's Internet is a network of networks and seen through the lens of the web. We need to look beyond the engineering history to see the Internet in the context of the larger vision of JCR Licklider, an acoustic psychologist, and his vision of man/computer symbiosis.
The Internet as Infrastructure FAQ 04-Dec-2017 (Updated: 13-Jul-2020 PDFWhen I write about the Internet as infrastructure I find some questions keep reappearing - hence this FAQ
Age of Software and the Public Packet Infrastructure 11-Jul-2020 📹 (video) This is a recording of the talk I gave online to the World Talent Economy Forum.
Talk about the Public Packet Infrastructure 26-Jun-2020 📹 (video) This is the talk I have go the IEEE Madison Wisconsin Chapter on June 25, 2020 explaining the concept of the Public Packet Infrastructure.
Relationships Among Devices: IoT 🡲 RaD 07-Jun-2020 PDFInstead of thinking of just devices in isolation we need to think about relationships among devices and about the meta-devices that we have.
Rewiring my House … and the World 03-Apr-2020 Using software-based relationships instead of physical wires gives insight in the parallels be-tween connectivity within my house and connectivity across the wider Internet.
What I want for CES 06-Dec-2019 (Updated: 16-Jan-2020 CES is a time to see new products and services. Alas, my expectations might be too high.
Bob Frankston
Copyright 1997-2023