Comment by mbreese

Just one cycle?

This is cyclical and I see the main axis of contention as centralized vs de-centralized computing.

Mainframes (network) gave way to mini and microcomputers (PCs). PCs gave way to server farms and web-based applications. Private servers and data centers gave way to the Cloud. Edge computing is again a push towards a more decentralized model.

Like all good engineering problems, where data and applications are hosted involve tradeoffs. Priorities change. Technologies change. But oftentimes, what works in one generation doesn't in the next. Part of it is the slow march of progress. But I think some of it is just not wanting to use your parent's technology stack and wanting to build your own.

The cloud vs. on-prem tradeoff is one of flexibility, capacity, maintenance, and capex vs opex.

It's a similar story in application development. At one point, we're navigating text forms on a mainframe, the next it's a GUI local application, followed by Electron or Web applications with remote data. We'll cycle back to local-first data (likely on-phone local models).

When you start to hear about the network being the computer again, you'll know we've started to swing back the other way again.