# Quiet Computing

I want to interact with machines in a way I call quiet computing.

It is vision of computing without coercion, without surveillance,
without manipulation or distraction. Offline first. Asynchronous
communication where possible. Pull not push.

It embraces recreational computing driven by curiosity and the
innate pleasure of the task.

Each interaction with the machine is intentional. Bounded.
Potentially educational.

There is no gamification. No telemetry.

This vision involves true ownership of the computer. Your hardware
does not update itself or phone home without your consent. There
are no notifications unless explicitly requested.

It must be possible to learn from the machine itself how the
machine works. All code should be available, under a free software
licence by preference. Closed binaries are permitted only where
absolutely unavoidable - such as in firmware, or CPU microcode
updates. No opaque user space binaries are permitted, no matter how
pretty the games on Steam might be.

Without the source, no learning is possible, no control is
possible. A hierarchy is established and you are reduced to
the role of a consumer bound to the endless wheel of planned
obsolesence and pointless upgrades that add unnecessary features
and bloat. You become locked in to hardware choices and operating
system versions that are decided on by others. A feature you rely
on is removed in an upgrade you did not want but cannot omit
because it also patches a security vulnerability. You are nudged,
steadily, towards a subscription model that shakes you down
monthly, forever.

Quiet computing involves software that is minimal and consistent,
simple, powerful, elegant and under your control. It gets out of
your way, becoming invisible, allowing you to use it with the
unconscious familiarity of an experienced driver shifting gears. It
is a companionable tool that allows you to focus on the work you
wish to achieve.

Your instructions become like a poem:

small 
stones 
dropping 
silently 
down 
a 
well.