Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 17 submissions in the queue.

The Future Internet Is Not So Free Or Open

posted by n1 on Friday July 04 2014, @01:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the internet-was-better-in-my-day dept.

mendax writes:

NPR is reporting the results of a Pew study of more than 1,400 tech industry leaders and academics indicate their belief that the Internet of the near future will be neither as free nor as open as it is now.

The factors cited by those surveyed include:

  1. Actions by nation-states to maintain security and political control will lead to more blocking, filtering, segmentation, and balkanization of the Internet.
  2. Trust will evaporate in the wake of revelations about government and corporate surveillance and likely greater surveillance in the future.
  3. Commercial pressures affecting everything from Internet architecture to the flow of information will endanger the open structure of online life.
  4. Efforts to fix the TMI (too much information) problem might over-compensate and actually thwart content sharing.

This is also an opportunity for an "Ask Soylent" question so here goes: What do you think the future Internet, say 10 years from now, holds?

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
The Future Internet Is Not So Free Or Open | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 27 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by Teckla on Saturday July 05 2014, @03:35PM

    by Teckla (3812) on Saturday July 05 2014, @03:35PM (#64552)

    From ChromeOS that destroys the very nature of Linux to give everyone a free, open computing environment by crippling the ability to run your own software, to Apple and Amazon's end-to-end DRM ecosystems, the future looks bleak for computing.

    Consider looking at things from a different perspective: Google and Apple are giving people what they want.

    In a computing world where viruses and Trojans run rampant and the care and feeding of Windows, OS X, and Linux, as well as your applications, is a horrendous and confusing chore for your average non-technical person, people want safe and easy computing. Your average non-technical person is willing to trade some freedom for safety and ease of use.

    Complaining about Apple and Google supplying people with exactly what people want is pointless and misguided. If free software used directly by end users wants to survive and flourish, then the free software community must give the people what they want. No, you must give them what they need. Easy, safe, near effortless computing. Bizarrely named command line programs and even more bizarre command line arguments won't cut it. Lots of care, feeding, and maintenance of your OS and applications won't cut it.

    The free software community needs to stop complaining about companies giving people what they demand, and instead need to start focusing on fulfilling that demand. That's the only way forward. Anything else is just pointless whining.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2