I've been lately reading quite a bit on #computingwithinlimits and #degrowth in general.

I keep thinking about the role of computer games on all this. We are so proud when pushing the hardware limits to create ever more beautiful experiences, but we never stopped thinking about the consequences of forcing our players to update their still functioning devices just for the sake of -mostly- higher end graphics.

Though indies have always stayed on the lower side of things... 1/3

The program is up for #limits2025 - come join us June 26-27 for a planetary discussion on (rethinking) computing within planetary boundaries. Join from wherever you are or at one of the 14 hubs across the world. Please register (free).

https://computingwithinlimits.org/2025/
#ComputingWithinLimits #PlanetaryBoundaries

📢 The Faculty of Information at UofT offers fully funded PhD student positions to study w/ me in the areas of #HCI, IT for sustainability, #CivicTech, #CSCW, Computing within Limits, ethical & responsible tech, alternative AI, & related areas. Deadline: Dec. 1 for Fall 2025 start.

Come join the Just Sustainability Design Lab! https://justsustainabilitydesign.org/lab/

@academicchatter #PhD #UofT #sustainableHCI #ComputingWithinLimits #Degrowth #TechOtherwise #RRI #ResponsibleComputing

At our #Permacomputing meetup on Sunday (6/18 at 1 p.m. EDT) we’ll be discussing the article ‘Permacomputing Aesthetics: Potential and Limits of Constraints in Computational Art, Design and Culture’ by Mansoux, Howell, Barok, and Heikkilä (2023).

Article:
https://limits.pubpub.org/pub/6loh1eqi/release/1

Slides:
http://low.fi/~viznut/limits-slides

Meetup link:
https://iffybooks.club/permacomputing

See y'all on Sunday!

#ComputingWithinLimits
@320x200 @praxeology @sandu @viznut

One thing that stood out to me at #ComputingWithinLimits yesterday was that the "Back to the Trees" talk seemed to (accidentally?) deeply engage with the #Permacomputing topic, without mentioning it at all.

https://limits.pubpub.org/pub/sapyi15v/release/1

When our little Malmö hub discussed PC we got stuck on how creating hardware is an inherently destructive process, and using what already exists is great, but not the same as the regenerative abundance that permaculture aims for. We didn't see a way out of that

Our #Permacomputing #Aesthetics paper was presented by @320x200 at the #ComputingWithinLimits 2023 workshop. I made the slides, so let me share a couple of them:

Some design decisions:
- Most of the slides are 640x480, some 1280x960. I turned font antialiasing off and picked some well-hinted vector fonts for the smaller texts (Ubuntu, Volkhov, Nokia Sans).
- I didn't want the slides to canonize any specific interpretation of "permacomputing aesthetics", so I decided to use many different styles.
- In #pixelArt, I preferred "ancient pixels" (such as traditional cross-stitch patterns) to "retrocomputing pixels".
- I avoided "DOS brutalism" (black backgrounds with monospaced fonts in saturated colors) and thought more about typography and posters.
- The 45°/90° angularity of Art Deco ornaments fits well with monochrome pixels, so I used some of those too.
- Most colors came from the cube of 6x6x6 "web-safe" colors.
- Nokia Sans (used in the "MORE" slide) is an interesting font because 1) it was designed "pixels-first" to look good even on small monochrome screens, and 2) the designers had a method to measure its readability against competing fonts.
- Arnold Böcklin (used in the title) is the most recognizable Art Nouveau font. There's a connection between Art Nouveau and Solarpunk, and I decided to embrace that connection. The font is also recognizable to many computer people because of its early use in desktop publishing software.

Hello to all attending Computing Within Limits 2023!

#Limits2023 #ComputingWithinLimits

"Permacomputing Aesthetics: Potential and Limits of Constraints in Computational Art, Design and Culture", by @320x200, @praxeology, Dušan Barok, and Ville-Matias Heikkilä.

#ComputingWithinLimits

https://limits.pubpub.org/pub/6loh1eqi/release/1