So the subject raised is "preparing" for future shock. How does one do this? My thoughts travel back to New Years Eve 1999 when the Y2K bug was going to cause mass destruction on a global scale and we would witness the end of the Internet as we knew it... people were very stressed about this and took grandiose precautions to make their systems safe.
Their preparation was successful I suppose because nothing happened. What we prepare for now may be the latest version of Y2K. A form of scare mongering generated by those who like to live life on the pessimistic side. I am not the type of person who will always sees a silver lining but I do have a level of acceptance of what will be will be.
Ultimately the future of the Internet with regard to security, bandwidth, wifi, web 2 and 3.0 and everything else we can ponder is just so difficult to pin down. I am all for change and would embrace it whatever it may be but I just think that it is a case of rolling with the punches for now. Future shock in my opinion will be a good thing, nothing stays the same and with the growth of the Internet we are bound to rediscover better, faster, smaller, bigger, easier ways to do everything.
Internet2 was good to look at, and I was really pleased to discover more on GENI. The National Science Federations experimental network. The update on this page was made on the 31 July 2008 so it doesn't get more recent than that! Impressive. It is comforting to know that there is research being done and that it is being done successfully. Planetlab is similar and they are also conduction their own research and nutting out ways to improve our connectivity.
Preparation? I think we are in good hands and the only preparation I plan to do is lots of reading. Information is key and the only way I can better understand what will/won't happen is by simply remaining informed. The changes I make will be more of a personal nature I think and I am already seeing the beginnings of it. Interest being taken on a subject where before there was none.. the first step to feeling powerful is to be educated. I'm on my way in an academic sense so I won't be building a bunker in the backyard anytime soon and I will be ready for any shocking future developments that will descend upon me. Hopefully I will be up to date and know it when I see it. I think that is all I can do at this point.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Future Shock
I just came across this podcast of an interview with Dr Vint Cerf. It is quite good, and he has a sense of humour which I liked. It accompanies a blog that I stumbled across that the interviewer (Tom Raftery) keeps and he has logged his questions and the minutes as they occur so you can navigate through it if you want to.
On further investigation I noticed a few other interesting podcasts including a weblog one which I might listen to next.
On further investigation I noticed a few other interesting podcasts including a weblog one which I might listen to next.
Is the Internet Broken?
"Clark argues that it's time to rethink the Internet's basic architecture, to potentially start over with a fresh design -- and equally important, with a plausible strategy for proving the design's viability, so that it stands a chance of implementation. "It's not as if there is some killer technology at the protocol or network level that we somehow failed to include," says Clark. "We need to take all the technologies we already know and fit them together so that we get a different overall system. This is not about building a technology innovation that changes the world but about architecture -- pulling the pieces together in a different way to achieve high-level objectives."(Talbot 2005)
This is a paragraph from the David Talbot review of David D Clarke's research for the MIT lab on the future of the Internet. I think this is a very insightful view into Internet security and other flaws that are concentrated on within the site.
This was written in December of 2005 and the National Science Federation (NSF) states that a large amount of funding has afforded them the possibility of devising "a five to seven year plan... to develop clean-slate architectures". Three years on I would love an update... hold that thought.
Ok, here is an update for all of you on the NSF's research. This is actually a really good read, I enjoyed it. It is an unusually positive upbeat approach to the future which I have come to learn by now that those types of articles are rare. Most things written on the Internet are not very optimistic. This was..read into it what you will.
Three Wishes for a Future Internet
GENI Project Will Soon Be At Your Command
Written and released on the 21st May 2007.
The GENI network
"The Global Environment for Network Innovation, or GENI, is envisioned as a set of components including optical substrates, forwarders, storage, process clusters, sensor fields, and wireless regions combined with a software management framework. That configuration will allow researchers to run thousands of experiments simultaneously."(Fuller, 2007)
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
"GENI will give scientists a clean slate on which to imagine a completely new Internet that will likely be materially different from that of today. We want to ensure that this next stage of transformation will be guided by the best possible network science, design, experimentation, and engineering," said principal investigator and project director Chip Elliott of BBN.
Once again I have digressed a little but in my exploration of the future of the Internet I have come out feeling all warm and fuzzy instead of filled with dread that 'net neutrality' and a million other terrible things lie in store for us.
I feel comforted by the fact that the NSF have got it under control to a degree and I have faith that it will all work out. I have now bookmarked the NSF site and know that with NET11 closing in on me this is the deciding factor that I needed to be aware that I have become the Internet nerd I always knew was within.
References:
Talbot, D. (2005) Technology Review: The Internet Is Broken. Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16051&ch=infotech&pg=2
Fuller, N. (2007) The National Science Federation: Three Wishes for a future Internet Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=109589
This is a paragraph from the David Talbot review of David D Clarke's research for the MIT lab on the future of the Internet. I think this is a very insightful view into Internet security and other flaws that are concentrated on within the site.
This was written in December of 2005 and the National Science Federation (NSF) states that a large amount of funding has afforded them the possibility of devising "a five to seven year plan... to develop clean-slate architectures". Three years on I would love an update... hold that thought.
Ok, here is an update for all of you on the NSF's research. This is actually a really good read, I enjoyed it. It is an unusually positive upbeat approach to the future which I have come to learn by now that those types of articles are rare. Most things written on the Internet are not very optimistic. This was..read into it what you will.
Three Wishes for a Future Internet
GENI Project Will Soon Be At Your Command
Written and released on the 21st May 2007.
The GENI network"The Global Environment for Network Innovation, or GENI, is envisioned as a set of components including optical substrates, forwarders, storage, process clusters, sensor fields, and wireless regions combined with a software management framework. That configuration will allow researchers to run thousands of experiments simultaneously."(Fuller, 2007)
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
"GENI will give scientists a clean slate on which to imagine a completely new Internet that will likely be materially different from that of today. We want to ensure that this next stage of transformation will be guided by the best possible network science, design, experimentation, and engineering," said principal investigator and project director Chip Elliott of BBN.
Once again I have digressed a little but in my exploration of the future of the Internet I have come out feeling all warm and fuzzy instead of filled with dread that 'net neutrality' and a million other terrible things lie in store for us.
I feel comforted by the fact that the NSF have got it under control to a degree and I have faith that it will all work out. I have now bookmarked the NSF site and know that with NET11 closing in on me this is the deciding factor that I needed to be aware that I have become the Internet nerd I always knew was within.
References:
Talbot, D. (2005) Technology Review: The Internet Is Broken. Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16051&ch=infotech&pg=2
Fuller, N. (2007) The National Science Federation: Three Wishes for a future Internet Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=109589
Little Miss Contradiction
Oh, typical of me really. I have just posted and read back my first "future shock" post. I guess I will have egg on my face... All of the predictions I thought more on the ridiculous side if looked at from a literal point of view can kind of be meshed in with the whole "cyber" thing I guess.
I just read the quotes and took it from a complete physical realistic sense, and well, lets face it there isn't going to be a medium provided by the Internet that will allow time travel will there??Will there??? Maybe I will be shocked by "future shock"! Maybe I have been too hasty in my judgement of the predictions. Really, the only one I think deserves some slack is the one by Deb.
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
Those of you reading this who have done or are doing NET12 will know what I mean.. I have to say that again, I took this to mean in the literal sense ie teleporting, but it could also mean to quote William Gibson, "consensual hallucination". So Deb I will cut you some slack but I still think it is a little presumptuous, which really is what the site is all about so I am thoroughly confused by myself.
Hmmm.
References:
Gibson, W. (1984) Neuromancer, Ace Books
I just read the quotes and took it from a complete physical realistic sense, and well, lets face it there isn't going to be a medium provided by the Internet that will allow time travel will there??Will there??? Maybe I will be shocked by "future shock"! Maybe I have been too hasty in my judgement of the predictions. Really, the only one I think deserves some slack is the one by Deb.
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
Those of you reading this who have done or are doing NET12 will know what I mean.. I have to say that again, I took this to mean in the literal sense ie teleporting, but it could also mean to quote William Gibson, "consensual hallucination". So Deb I will cut you some slack but I still think it is a little presumptuous, which really is what the site is all about so I am thoroughly confused by myself.
Hmmm.
References:
Gibson, W. (1984) Neuromancer, Ace Books
Preparing For Future Shock
Predicting the outcome of the Internet is a difficult thing to do as there are so many individual users that could alter the 'ecology' of the Internet but also big businesses that have their own ideas about the path it should take. Thinking about a bottom line, I wonder what are the strongest motivations for users.
There is the monetary minded, the social and political aspects and also of course, the communicative and information spheres. Will any one of these become overly more dominant than the other in time? As an advanced user, I am now obligated to keep my finger on the Internet pulse and keep up with all of the newer trends that arise.
I considered the term 'shock' and came to think that it is a slight exaggeration. I don't think that the future of the Internet will 'shock' anyone. Whichever way is goes, there will be many for and against but ultimately we will all conform. Those of us with advanced skills will be able to use our knowledge for bettering the situation where we think it is necessary and of course take advantage of those areas that are more exposed.
The following areas for discussion found on the Module 5 curriculum page were:
I just loved the "bit of fun" link Imagining the Internet the predictions are from the sublime to the ridiculous and I enjoyed a few of these which I will quote below, for more just click the link but be warned, you cannot stop at reading just one...
"The internet will extrapolate … dimensions…??We will be able to get in touch with our relatives, our friends and other people who had passed away." - Marco Veado
"Human consciousness will be encoded. Space travel is as simple as beaming out copies of your consciousness. Cloning won't be a problem; copying your brain will." - Stuart
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
"Quantum computing will allow a limited form of time travel that allows information to move through time. In other words, we will be able to develop a form of computer memory that retains data before it has been written. I could e-mail a librarian 300 years away and get a response instantly." Steve Swiller (armchair philosopher and a dreamer)
There is the monetary minded, the social and political aspects and also of course, the communicative and information spheres. Will any one of these become overly more dominant than the other in time? As an advanced user, I am now obligated to keep my finger on the Internet pulse and keep up with all of the newer trends that arise.
I considered the term 'shock' and came to think that it is a slight exaggeration. I don't think that the future of the Internet will 'shock' anyone. Whichever way is goes, there will be many for and against but ultimately we will all conform. Those of us with advanced skills will be able to use our knowledge for bettering the situation where we think it is necessary and of course take advantage of those areas that are more exposed.
The following areas for discussion found on the Module 5 curriculum page were:
- Further penetration of broadboand
- Increasing delivery of multimedia – video, voice etc;
- Increasing security & authentification – smartcards, digital signatures etc
- Wifi / portable computing / communication devices
- Intelligent agents
- Semantic web
I just loved the "bit of fun" link Imagining the Internet the predictions are from the sublime to the ridiculous and I enjoyed a few of these which I will quote below, for more just click the link but be warned, you cannot stop at reading just one...
"The internet will extrapolate … dimensions…??We will be able to get in touch with our relatives, our friends and other people who had passed away." - Marco Veado
"Human consciousness will be encoded. Space travel is as simple as beaming out copies of your consciousness. Cloning won't be a problem; copying your brain will." - Stuart
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
"Quantum computing will allow a limited form of time travel that allows information to move through time. In other words, we will be able to develop a form of computer memory that retains data before it has been written. I could e-mail a librarian 300 years away and get a response instantly." Steve Swiller (armchair philosopher and a dreamer)
I am going to have serious egg on my face if any of this comes into fruition. Thankfully most of the predictions are going to take place in a hundred years or so, so I won't be here to see it anyway...unless someone predicts that eternal life will be possible on the internet in well, a hundred or so years...
This site doesn't just highlight the way out there stuff, some of the predictions have been really close and the edgier ones are a good read. I have to admit though that I spent the majority of my time looking for the most far out one.
On a more serious note, the UCLA Internet report on Surveying the Digital Future by J.I. Cole PhD is an interesting read. I took particular interest in the section titled "View About Online Contacts and Friendships", I found some of the results there surprising. You can find them on page 38 of the linked document if you are interested in it.
Well, I am off to read up on David Talbot's "The Internet is Broken".
References:
Allen M (n.d) Net 11 Curricullum Module 5. Retrieved August 10th 2008.
http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home
Cole J. I., Surveying the Digital Future. Retrieved August 10th 2008
http://www.digitalcenter.org/pdf/InternetReportYearOne.pdfMonday, July 28, 2008
Jail Time for iPirates?
iPirates risk jail time in customs frisk
"MUSIC fans might soon have their iPods searched by Customs officers at airport checks and face jail if a large amount of pirated music is found on them."(Gilchrist, 2008)The headline in todays paper that grabbed my attention having just read and written about this subject.
I can't help but think that our customs officials are busy enough without having to randomly check iPods for pirated songs. How ridiculous is this idea!
iPirates puhlease..
Gilchrist, Inga. (2008, 28th July) The Daily Telegraph
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,24089084-5013414,00.html
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Camtasia.. Camtastic!
I have myself a new tool and it is lots of fun.
Ever since Zeak opened with the video for his telnet blog entry way back in the beginning of this course I have been wanting to have a crack at it. This was my gazillionth attempt because I kept getting the codes wrong. It is hard when doing it 'live', the pressure! When I didn't get the codes wrong or make spelling errors I was paranoid that my typing wasn't quick enough.. In the end I tried to convince myself that I wouldn't be made fun of, and now none of that nonsense matters because I feel very triumphant that it is here, slow typing and all..
Ever since Zeak opened with the video for his telnet blog entry way back in the beginning of this course I have been wanting to have a crack at it. This was my gazillionth attempt because I kept getting the codes wrong. It is hard when doing it 'live', the pressure! When I didn't get the codes wrong or make spelling errors I was paranoid that my typing wasn't quick enough.. In the end I tried to convince myself that I wouldn't be made fun of, and now none of that nonsense matters because I feel very triumphant that it is here, slow typing and all..
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