Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Who Will Fix the Internet? No One, Apparently

Posted by Soulskill on from the internet's-over-folks-pack-your-things dept.

blackbearnh writes "It seems like everyone focuses on the latest and greatest killer Internet applications, but the underlying infrastructure that all of them run on is showing its age. That's the claim made by a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor. IPv4 is relatively ancient, and even stalled improvements like IPv6 aren't significant enough to matter, according to some researchers. With no one 'in charge' of the Internet, it's almost impossible to get any sweeping technical improvements made, especially since there's no financial incentive on the part of the ISPs and telecoms to invest in basic infrastructure. CalTech Professor John Doyle puts it this way: 'To the extent I've been working in this field for the last 10 years, I've been mostly working on band-aids. I'm really trying to get out of that business and try to help the people, the few people, who are really trying to think more fundamentally about what needs to be done.'"

3 of 370 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Christian Science Monitor? Religion+science? by blackbearnh · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/about_the_monitor.html Is 7 Pulitzer Prizes, including one for uncovering the death camps in Bosnia, serious enough?

  2. Re:Christian Science Monitor? Religion+science? by stubob · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Here, let me find the wiki page for you:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Monitor

    "Despite its name, the Monitor is not a religious-themed paper, and does not promote the doctrine of its patron church. However, at its founder Eddy's request, a daily religious article has appeared in every issue of the Monitor."

    --
    Planning to be moderated ± 1: Bad Pun.
  3. Re:Christian... science ? by k8to · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    It's a religion that has existed longer since you've been alive. They come up quite regularly in popular entertainment as the most respectable group who believe in "faith healing" and avoid surgery etc.

    Independently from their oddities, they've published a very highly regarded news source called the Christian Science Monitor for many decades. They are respected for their independent voice, accurate reportage, and even handed investigation.

    This is all common knowledge. Read about something that isn't a computer sometime?

    --
    -josh