Protocol Design: Needing More People That Hate Computers [#geekgirl]
Watch Radia Perlman’s Keynote Speech at linux.conf.au 2013: it’s chocked full of charming insights regarding protocol folklore, the history of Ethernet, TRILL and comparing Standards Bodies with drunken Sports fans [as opposed to “…conceptualising them as well educated technologists carefully considering engineering trade-offs”].
“The keynote, titled “Reasoning about Networks”, intends to show that a lot of what everyone thinks they know about network protocols is actually false. Radia will demonstrate that the field is shrouded in hype and rivalry between competing teams. It is difficult to know what, if anything, is true, since any of the designs can be changed to incorporate ideas from other designs. The talk will cover topics such how to get to the heart of what might be intrinsic differences, separate out orthogonal issues rather than focusing on complete specifications, and comparing technologies without emotion. Radia will also discuss some recent technologies, and help you to separate the hype from the facts.”