A broadband connection is a wonderful thing: it allows you to connect to the internet, which then brings in a constant flow of information right into your lap. Anything you need, anything you want, you'll get it.
But who should we put in charge of a broadband connection? The two most likely people who can be put in charge of this connection are companies and governments.
If you let an internet service provider (ISP) do it, they'll be interested in making money, not just providing service. And that means people who don't earn enough money to afford a broadband connection won't be able to access the information some of us take for granted.
If you let the government of a country do it, they'll be interested in protecting their position in power, which leads to censorship issues... which may or may not be a good thing for the people of the country.
Conclusion: the best options we have for now are not the best options.
Someone should pioneer a method to allow humans to connect to the internet directly without the need for a new interface. For all we know this could utilise existing technology, and everyone around the world would be instantly connected to massive amounts of information.
2 comments:
Going off the tangent, that reminds me of the argument between Microsoft (which wants all your money) and Google (which wants all your information).
This post is made me consider taking a Telecoms elective XD
The Internet is something I wouldn't want changed any time soon, but great minds think alike, and I think that the connections between one and Internetz have a lot of possible improvements.
One of which isn't putting a country in charge of information has many detractors: a particularly well-written (albeit heavy on hyperbole) piece being George Orwell's 1984. Make sure you go read it when you can =P
The States is considering employing internet censorship for the same reasons our dear Tanah Air did, though on a much larger scale (the Stop Online Piracy Act - infographic: mashable.com/2011/11/16/sopa-infographic/). Makes me think about the amount of noise that they make, and how they dismissed netizens of M'sian nationality when we made our noise.
As a sweeter afterthought after much bitter lamentation, has a comics: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=878
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