Orion Reed
@orionreed.com
advocating widespread dissatisfaction with computing.
researcher @inkandswitch.com + libcomp.org
½ @folkjs.org ¼ @tentpole.bsky.social
researcher @inkandswitch.com + libcomp.org
½ @folkjs.org ¼ @tentpole.bsky.social
"Just as the invention [of industrial automation] had the paradoxical effect of turning more [people] into full-time industrial workers, so has all the software designed to save us from administrative responsibilities turned us into part- or full-time administrators"
— David Graeber
— David Graeber
February 16, 2026 at 5:31 PM
"Just as the invention [of industrial automation] had the paradoxical effect of turning more [people] into full-time industrial workers, so has all the software designed to save us from administrative responsibilities turned us into part- or full-time administrators"
— David Graeber
— David Graeber
What are your favorite visual critiques of software? On my mind right now are:
1. "The long tail of user needs"
2. diSessa's monolithic apps vs computational media
3. (a recent favorite by @todepond.com) "wish these apps could talk to each other"
1. "The long tail of user needs"
2. diSessa's monolithic apps vs computational media
3. (a recent favorite by @todepond.com) "wish these apps could talk to each other"
February 16, 2026 at 5:11 PM
What are your favorite visual critiques of software? On my mind right now are:
1. "The long tail of user needs"
2. diSessa's monolithic apps vs computational media
3. (a recent favorite by @todepond.com) "wish these apps could talk to each other"
1. "The long tail of user needs"
2. diSessa's monolithic apps vs computational media
3. (a recent favorite by @todepond.com) "wish these apps could talk to each other"
The biggest existential risk of AI is not AGI but the undermining of labor’s power as a counterweight to capital.
February 13, 2026 at 4:52 PM
The biggest existential risk of AI is not AGI but the undermining of labor’s power as a counterweight to capital.
Enclosure [of agency supported by file-app separation] worked through the existing material form — first by hollowing it out (proprietary formats and internalization), then by abolishing it entirely (cloud platforms)
February 11, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Enclosure [of agency supported by file-app separation] worked through the existing material form — first by hollowing it out (proprietary formats and internalization), then by abolishing it entirely (cloud platforms)
Reposted by Orion Reed
"The forces that are now shaping AI are the same forces that turned the open internet into monopolistic platforms, converted peer-to-peer participation into precarious labor, and enclosed the digital commons. They are now threatening to capture and enclose thought itself."
osf.io/preprints/so...
osf.io/preprints/so...
January 25, 2026 at 8:37 PM
"The forces that are now shaping AI are the same forces that turned the open internet into monopolistic platforms, converted peer-to-peer participation into precarious labor, and enclosed the digital commons. They are now threatening to capture and enclose thought itself."
osf.io/preprints/so...
osf.io/preprints/so...
In computing, “reading” data is always *writing* somewhere else.
February 7, 2026 at 1:40 AM
In computing, “reading” data is always *writing* somewhere else.
Had a very good, many-hours-long conversation late into the night with @kevinmarks.com and we drank an entire bottle of gin (a litre?)
I can still feel my insides complaining but I am ready to do it all again
I can still feel my insides complaining but I am ready to do it all again
February 7, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Had a very good, many-hours-long conversation late into the night with @kevinmarks.com and we drank an entire bottle of gin (a litre?)
I can still feel my insides complaining but I am ready to do it all again
I can still feel my insides complaining but I am ready to do it all again
It is a shame that "democratization" in software has come to mean broader access to products instead of participation in democratic processes — there is talk of LLMs democratizing software production, but I have yet to see social, collective and democratic processes govern the design of software.
February 6, 2026 at 1:02 PM
It is a shame that "democratization" in software has come to mean broader access to products instead of participation in democratic processes — there is talk of LLMs democratizing software production, but I have yet to see social, collective and democratic processes govern the design of software.
make more liberatory computing propaganda, please
February 5, 2026 at 9:10 PM
make more liberatory computing propaganda, please
the application (app) model of software can, should, and must be abolished.
February 4, 2026 at 6:12 PM
the application (app) model of software can, should, and must be abolished.
Googling for “a world without apps” has great contrast in its top two results:
1. An Apple WWDC intro equating a world without apps to a literal apocalypse
2. A keynote from Michel Beaudouin-Lafon arguing we should abolish apps in favour of a substrates-oriented computing
1. An Apple WWDC intro equating a world without apps to a literal apocalypse
2. A keynote from Michel Beaudouin-Lafon arguing we should abolish apps in favour of a substrates-oriented computing
February 4, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Googling for “a world without apps” has great contrast in its top two results:
1. An Apple WWDC intro equating a world without apps to a literal apocalypse
2. A keynote from Michel Beaudouin-Lafon arguing we should abolish apps in favour of a substrates-oriented computing
1. An Apple WWDC intro equating a world without apps to a literal apocalypse
2. A keynote from Michel Beaudouin-Lafon arguing we should abolish apps in favour of a substrates-oriented computing
Emoji is neoliberal, not working class. We have 👮 police, 🏦 banks, 💹 stocks go up, 👔 office necktie, 🏛️ government, ⚖️ law, 🤴👸 royalty
but no wages stub, no union card, no "on strike" sign, no pink slip.
there's a levitating businessman emoji 🕴️ but no picket sign.
but no wages stub, no union card, no "on strike" sign, no pink slip.
there's a levitating businessman emoji 🕴️ but no picket sign.
January 28, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Emoji is neoliberal, not working class. We have 👮 police, 🏦 banks, 💹 stocks go up, 👔 office necktie, 🏛️ government, ⚖️ law, 🤴👸 royalty
but no wages stub, no union card, no "on strike" sign, no pink slip.
there's a levitating businessman emoji 🕴️ but no picket sign.
but no wages stub, no union card, no "on strike" sign, no pink slip.
there's a levitating businessman emoji 🕴️ but no picket sign.
Reposted by Orion Reed
Whether something is decentralised or not is a function of the administrative control of different parts of the system, not a function of the network topology.
April 29, 2023 at 1:29 PM
Whether something is decentralised or not is a function of the administrative control of different parts of the system, not a function of the network topology.
Always a pleasure to hang out with the FoC London crowd, had lots of lovely conversations about this demo and a million other things too. Thanks @chee.party @mimireyburn.bsky.social @todepond.com for hosting, looking forward to the next one!!
Some demos! (Though in parts because Bluesky has a 3 min video limit)
1/2 @orionreed.com making desktop windows malleable: adding sidecar windows, porting data between them, adding custom formatting, and obvs needed some sand and lava piles
1/2 @orionreed.com making desktop windows malleable: adding sidecar windows, porting data between them, adding custom formatting, and obvs needed some sand and lava piles
January 24, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Always a pleasure to hang out with the FoC London crowd, had lots of lovely conversations about this demo and a million other things too. Thanks @chee.party @mimireyburn.bsky.social @todepond.com for hosting, looking forward to the next one!!
Reposted by Orion Reed
For me a spatial canvas for the social filesystem becomes meaningful when it's thought about as an integration domain. Taking us from a rigid, siloed interfaces of apps to something much more malleable and composable on the fly.
@orionreed.com has a talk on this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=csGN...
@orionreed.com has a talk on this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=csGN...
January 22, 2026 at 7:20 PM
For me a spatial canvas for the social filesystem becomes meaningful when it's thought about as an integration domain. Taking us from a rigid, siloed interfaces of apps to something much more malleable and composable on the fly.
@orionreed.com has a talk on this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=csGN...
@orionreed.com has a talk on this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=csGN...
this is probably doing the rounds already but my god, it's so cursed tonsky.me/blog/tahoe-i...
It’s hard to justify Tahoe icons
Looking at the first principles of icon design—and how Apple failed to apply all of them in macOS Tahoe
tonsky.me
January 20, 2026 at 2:15 PM
this is probably doing the rounds already but my god, it's so cursed tonsky.me/blog/tahoe-i...
Reposted by Orion Reed
A modern Luddite wouldn't smash an iPhone. They would smash the subscription model that turned functional software into a rentier's dream.
January 18, 2026 at 11:04 PM
A modern Luddite wouldn't smash an iPhone. They would smash the subscription model that turned functional software into a rentier's dream.
I think @nsrnicek.bsky.social is among the sharpest theorists and writers on the political economy of software and computing today, I’m excited to read his new book tomorrow.
Today is the official UK publication day for Silicon Empires! I'm excited to have it out and hear what people think.
There's an enormous amount happening every day in AI, and it's difficult to gain a stable perspective. I wrote the book to try and get some secure hold on that constant flux. 🧵
There's an enormous amount happening every day in AI, and it's difficult to gain a stable perspective. I wrote the book to try and get some secure hold on that constant flux. 🧵
January 11, 2026 at 6:56 PM
I think @nsrnicek.bsky.social is among the sharpest theorists and writers on the political economy of software and computing today, I’m excited to read his new book tomorrow.
"[Steve Jobs] returned the company to its original vision: the personal computer as a consumer appliance, a black box enforcing a very traditional relationship between the vendor and the purchaser."
January 11, 2026 at 2:37 PM
"[Steve Jobs] returned the company to its original vision: the personal computer as a consumer appliance, a black box enforcing a very traditional relationship between the vendor and the purchaser."
January 11, 2026 at 2:32 PM
"trickle-down computing" as pernicious theory-of-change
January 6, 2026 at 9:12 PM
"trickle-down computing" as pernicious theory-of-change
Very happy to announce I’ve officially joined as a researcher @inkandswitch.com to work on malleable software!
I’ve also been doing lots of quiet work on @folkjs.org with @chrisshank.com and look forward to sharing more of that soon too!
I’ve also been doing lots of quiet work on @folkjs.org with @chrisshank.com and look forward to sharing more of that soon too!
December 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Very happy to announce I’ve officially joined as a researcher @inkandswitch.com to work on malleable software!
I’ve also been doing lots of quiet work on @folkjs.org with @chrisshank.com and look forward to sharing more of that soon too!
I’ve also been doing lots of quiet work on @folkjs.org with @chrisshank.com and look forward to sharing more of that soon too!
"Live Programming in Hostile Territory", a paper by me and @chrisshank.com, just got accepted to LIVEPROG!
folkjs.org/live-2025/
folkjs.org/live-2025/
Live Programming in Hostile Territory
Live programming research gravitates towards the creation of isolated environments whose success is measured by domination: achieving adoption by displacing rather than integrating with existing tools...
folkjs.org
September 2, 2025 at 9:55 AM
"Live Programming in Hostile Territory", a paper by me and @chrisshank.com, just got accepted to LIVEPROG!
folkjs.org/live-2025/
folkjs.org/live-2025/