Slashdot Mirror
Vint Cerf Wants Help Figuring Out the Future of the Internet and Communications
dkatana writes: Vint Cerf, one of the original creators of today's internet, wrote a letter asking everyone to participate to create the foundation of the next internet. He said, "As communication forms evolve, it will be important to preserve one of the oldest: the letter, which has been critical in building relationships, conducting business and governmental affairs, and preserving history. Rather than sounding the death knell for meaningful, written correspondence, Internet technology has the power to enhance it." Cerf cites Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln as a perfect example of what might not be possible for historians of the next generation. Goodwin pieced together letters written by President Lincoln and his cabinet to write a book about how they interacted. "In the case of Doris Kearns Goodwin, the letters were 140 years old, and I would guess that digital content that was created 10 years ago won't be accessible 10 years from now," said Cerf. "We have the media around, but you may not be able to read it."
The software running atop the network enables some democracy, but when it comes to forming links, the hardware is designed for centralization. The data flows from the user across lines that link to central pathways. There isn't a hand-off to other routers that are on the fringe in the current design, but wouldn't be if the topology wasn't to route everything through centralized paths. If the topology was democratized, my router would be in direct communication with other people's routers, all relaying how fast they can get the data closer to where it's to arrive.