PricklyPear Media

The Evolution of the
 Internet

The Evolution of the Internet, Its Applications and Devices

The Internet has certainly evolved from the days of the 14kb modem. Now, due to the demands of the modern world, from remote Internet access to finding alternative ways to incorporate day-to-day tasks, many of us can reach speeds up to 20 or even 50MB/s. Today, the Internet is an invaluable source of information and many of us depend on it.

Tracking Your Wireless Life

Traditionally, the Internet was used for computers, but other devices have reached a stage where they, too, can access conventional Internet, in similar fashion to the computer. From mobile phone, gaming devices (e.g. PSP; PlayStation Portable) to G.P.S. systems, all have the ability to access wireless signals. Any device can now be designed for online use. It's simply a matter of the device's manufacturer making Internet acccess possibility.

Bill Gates from Microsoft predicted that the world will become even more wired to the Internet or, in light of newer technologies, "wirelessly" connected to the Internet [6] [7]. Along with your television and fridge, other domestic appliances might be connected to the Internet. If manufacturers find a purpose for their application to be online, what is now a dream may become a reality.

In 2004, LG developed a digital Internet fridge [8], but it never really took over because of it's cost and functionality. Internet devices will be preferred as the world becomes more connected. A digital Internet fridge would work by reading bar codes, or RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, to read what's in your fridge and automatically order new food when your food runs out. Such an application would be a huge time-saver to anybody in the future [9].

RFID tags are traceable radio frequency tags which allow manufacturers to determine the destination of their products [10]. In today's world, we use bar codes (also called UPCs, Universal Computer Codes) to identify products, but bar codes are limited in that they do not allow individual items of the same product to be tracked (e.g. each Coca Cola® has the same bar code as the next). RFID tags will allow specific items of be traced (e.g. each Coca Cola would have a unique identifier). There are many mixed reviews about the application of RFID technology. SpyChips is a large human rights movement that completely opposes the use of RFID technology [11]. This being said, RFID tags are already in new passports[12] and Michelin has suggested that it might use them to track individual tires [13].

In terms of the Internet, wireless identification could be embedded into the World Wide Web (WWW) and allow mobile tracking as well as mobile application control. Before investing, companies will need to find a method of making money from this feature. Controlling your fridge or front-door from outside your home might seem like a novelty, but for many consumers it's a luxury they would rather not explore.

Conventional Books to Digital eBooks

Conventional books have already evolved from print to digital. In recent months, US digital eBook sales have already out-sold traditional paperback books [14] [15]. We are likely to see this trend continuing in other countries. As devices become more sophisticated and available in people's homes, consumers will likely be more inclined to download digital books.

Something similar has already happened with gaming consoles. It's possible now to download digital games rather than purchasing the traditional disc from a store. At some stage, digitally downloaded games have also topped retail store sales [16]. Because this type of marketing saves manufacturers enormous amounts of money on distribution and packaging, it's likely to be further promoted in the future.

ISP and Net Neutrality

Even though the Internet is amazing, we cannot take it for granted, as ISPs ultimately control our access to what we see online.

Net neutrality is the principle of having Internet access globally neutralized without imposing restrictions either by governments or by private organizations with their private interests [17]. Net neutrality can be divided into two categories, one being government control and another being control of organizations. Government controls may act to filter Internet content: particularly content that contains illegal drugs, child-pornography, and other illegal content. Governments may also choose to hide sensitive military information in concern for another country's reaction and some governments may choose to block anything that might challenge their authority.

For instance, on the 28th of January 2011, Egypt shut down 88% of its Internet access to counteract online protests of their President, Hosni Mubarak' [18] [19]. As of January 26, 2011, the top five most blocked website were, Facebook (14.2%), MySpace (9.9%), YouTube (8.1%), DoubleClick.net (6.4%) and Twitter (2.3%) [20]. Although China, Burnma, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, have all been marked as "enemies of the Internet” by the organization, Reporters without Borders. CNN [22] and other blogging websites [21] [23] report that Burma and Iran are the two worst countries for bloggers.

Your ISP provides you with the Internet. Imagine if they had a private interest in an online company. If they decided to give superior connection speed to this company, would it be fair? Such a case is very hard to prove and worse still, there is very little the individual can do about it unless they know and decide to switch ISPs.

What if all ISPs entered into a common agreement to provide restricted Internet access for the sake of profit? What could you do then? Open your own ISP? Protest? What if nothing changed? How far would you take it? These are all valid questions in the fight for net neutrality.

Internet Speeds Accommodating Tomorrow's World

The Internet is increasingly becoming commonplace in people's homes. An increasing number of portable devices connect to the World Wide Web. As devices and applications become more sophisticated, more people have reason to connect. This being the case, Internet speeds must increase to accommodate the ever-growing demand.

We are using something, which in today's world is an enormous accomplishment of human achievement and effort. The Internet is an open platform where everybody can share their ideas and thoughts, as well as perform day-to-day tasks. We can only hope it stays this way.

Authors:

Alex Schleifer (Personal Blog, Co-Founder UX Mag, San Francisco, CA)
Evangelos Evangelou (PricklyPear Media, Cyprus)

References:

  1. Jeremy Scott, "YouTube Is The Third Most Blocked Website, Facebook First" http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-blocked-website-facebook/ Retrieved 2011-08-01
  2. Kimberly Anhk Parker, Heather Noelle Larson, "Some Countries block facebook" http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=11494302353&topic=14042 Retrieved 2011-08-01
  3. "Internet censorship: the list of countries with no press freedom" http://kassandraproject.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/Internet-censorship-the-list-of-countries-with-no-press-freedom/ Retrieved 2011-08-01
  4. from the print edition | Briefing, "A virtual counter-revolution" http://www.economist.com/node/16941635 Retrieved 2011-08-01
  5. Latha Jishnu, "Battle for the Internet" Retrieved 2011-08-01
  6. Manny Frishberg, "Gates Predicts a Wireless World" Retrieved 2011-08-01
  7. ^ Vladimir Paramonov, "Bill Gates predicts an era of Internet TV" http://www.idlyspb.com/articles/internet-tv.html Retrieved 2011-08-01
  8. ^ Elissa Baxter, "Failure to launch" http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/failure-to-launch-20100120-mk8g.html Retrieved 2011-08-01
  9. ^ Bruce Arnold, "Internet fridges" http://www.caslon.com.au/fridgenote1.htm Retrieved 2011-08-01
  10. ^ RFIDTags -http://www.rfidtags.com/ Retrieved 2011-08-01
  11. ^ SpyChips -http://www.spychips.com/ Retrieved 2011-08-01
  12. ^ Anne Broache, "RFID passports arrive for Americans" http://news.cnet.com/RFID-passports-arrive-for-Americans/2100-1028_3-6105534.html Retrieved 2011-08-01
  13. ^ "Michelin Embeds RFID Tags in Tires" - http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/269 Retrieved 2011-08-01
  14. ^ Charlie Sorrel, "Amazon: E-Books Outsell Hardcovers" http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/07/amazon-e-books-outsell-hardcovers/ Retrieved 2011-08-01
  15. ^ Chris Meadows, "USA Today reports more best-seller e-books outselling the print books than ever" Retrieved 2011-08-01
  16. ^ Lance Whitney, "Digital game downloads beat retail store sales" http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-20016943-235.html Retrieved 2011-08-01
  17. ^ Wikipedia: Network neutralityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality Retrieved 2011-08-01
  18. ^ Christopher Williams, Technology Correspondent, "How Egypt shut down the internet"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8288163/How-Egyptshut-down-the-Internet.html Retrieved 2011-08-01
  19. ^ Zack Whittaker, "Egypt 'shuts down Internet' amid further protests; Facebook web traffic drops"http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/egypt-shuts-down-Internet-amid-further-protestsfacebook-web-traffic-drops/7915 Retrieved 2011-08-01
  20. ^ "Facebook was World’s Most Blocked Website of 2010 [OpenDNS Report]", OpenDNS Report http://m.technofriends.in/2011/02/10/facebook-was-worlds-most-blocked-website-of-2010-opendns-report Retrieved 2011-08-01
  21. ^ Andrew G.R, "The 10 Worst Places to Be a Blogger" http://www.blogherald.com/2009/05/02/the-10-worst-places-to-be-a-blogger/ Retrieved 2011-08-01
  22. ^ "Myanmar tops list of worst places to be a blogger". CNNTech http://articles.cnn.com/2009-05-04/tech/world.bloggers_1_blogger-web-sites-myanmar?_s=PM:TECH Retrieved 2011-08-01
  23. ^ Jeffrey Baril, "10 Worst Countries To Be A Blogger". Source Blogger http://sourceblogger.com/10-worst-countries-to-be-a-blogger/ Retrieved 2011-08-01

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