Coincidence: the Value of Revolutions in Labor Theory

…except, er, in the sense of that permanent state of things fixing the means of production to better abstract value from subjects affixed to its machinery by the pleasures such fixing affords:

“What is most striking in the story of the revolution that began with the Altair personal computer is that for many people the computer at home becomes a tool that compensates for the ravages of the machine at work.”

-The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit, Sherry Turkle (159)

“DEC soon began publishing detailed specifications about the inner workings of its products, and it distributed them widely… DEC printed these manuals on newsprint, cheaply bound and costing pennies a copy to produce. DEC salesmen carried bundles of these around and distributed them liberally to their customers or to almost anyone they thought might be a customer.

This policy of encouraging its customers to learn about and modify its products was one borne of necessity. The tiny company, operating in a corner of the Assabet Mills, could not afford to develop the specialized interfaces, installation hardware, and software that were needed to turn a general-purpose computer into a useful product. IBM could afford to do that, but DEC had no choice but to let its customers in on what, for other companies, were jealously guarded secrets of the inner workings of its products. DEC found, to the surprise of many, that not only did the customers not mind the work but they welcomed the opportunity” [my emphasis].

-A History of Modern Computing, Paul Ceruzzi (129)

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~ by Tim on May 3, 2008.