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The Commercialization Of the Internet

YorickFinn writes "Common Dreams recently posted an article by Norman Solomon on "Denial and the Ravaging of Cyberspace." In short, Solomon argues that the commonly held view of the net as the last bastion of truly democratic mass communication is, in fact, a myth. For instance, he points out that "Websites operated by just four corporations account for 50.4 percent of the time that U.S. users of the Web are now spending online...." Ultimately, Solomon claims that the net may become more like "interactive digital TV," with the decline in the use of browsers and the increasing prominence of technology such as MTV.(The "M" is for Microsoft, formerly WebTV.) All told, his forecast is somewhat bleak, but not entirely unfounded. Worth the read."

2 of 305 comments (clear)

  1. Ouch, it stings! by zpengo · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I don't want my MTV.

    --


    Got Rhinos?
  2. The death of Debian. by Per+Abrahamsen · · Score: 2, Offtopic
    Debian can't be killed, it will probably go on for decades. Seriously -- what possible scenario could you think of that would cause it stop existing?
    Since you asked: Software patents.