curious as to why nothing after 2018? are we approaching the end of novelty as established domains act as cartels? It seems that so much new progress is being made in AI/ML.
I wonder what the next "internet" will be. I only started out with Netscape Navigator in 1998. I remember reading HTML for dummies and thinking its so easy to do by hand. Then I discovered geocities and I can drag & drop? Then I stopped paying attention for like a few years until I discovered PHP.
This is the third Network, so if it helps you to draw a line:
The first Network was what is now called the Universal Postal Union created by the Treaty of Bern. It moves written text in the form of letters, on pieces of paper, in envelopes. The Treaty says OK, how about if everybody can just put their own local stamps on letters, and write any address in the world, we all agree to move the letters to the address and we can pay for that work with the local stamps we sold, it's simpler and on average it works out fine.
Before this, to send a letter from say, Nottingham to Leipzig, you must wrap each letter in another letter explaining to an intermediary how to get it to its destination, or to the next intermediary (e.g. Portsmouth, Le Havre, Strasbourg), each with suitable stamps for the local postal system. This is both time-consuming, expensive and fragile.
The second Network was the Public Switched Telephone Network. This was formed by connecting local telephone networks around the globe together, and using switches (eventually digital switches) so that circuits could be created by the end user rather than needing a human operator who worked for the phone company to make the circuit connecting your call. With the PSTN you could (for a fee) talk to people on distant parts of the planet almost instantly.
The third Network improves on the second by being designed for moving arbitrary data (bits) rather than voices and more importantly by being packet oriented rather than circuit switched.
If you see something claiming to be the "next Internet" and it isn't at least as radical an improvement as IP was over the PSTN, then it's lying to you.
My guess is if a fourth Network happens, it would move physical material of some sort, like the first Network did, but digitally - which is currently impossible but is perhaps a technology that could some day be invented. Such a technology would be able to obsolete some of the things we can't use this Network for today.
never thought of it like this. The Treat of Bern is super interesting, thought you were referring to Tim Berners-Lee.
There is a 2.5 network I think....Minitel in France for example or Nintendo Famicom Network
Your fourth generation Network is quite interesting. I think its impossible to move physical items over the wire even in the future, instead something that approaches 4th generation via progressive improvements with other areas of sensory feedbacks: tactile, olfactory that could be stored and transmitted over the wire.
Like I imagine a situation where you could order a basketball on Amazon and it instantly appears but it feels, smells, tastes (lol) exactly like a real thing, but it works only in certain zones where it can be conjured up digitally. Perhaps some advancement in ultrasound where objects can be created, and is able to detect collision with your body, and simulate tactile/olfactory feedbacks
I wonder what the next "internet" will be. I only started out with Netscape Navigator in 1998. I remember reading HTML for dummies and thinking its so easy to do by hand. Then I discovered geocities and I can drag & drop? Then I stopped paying attention for like a few years until I discovered PHP.
I really miss the aesthetics of late 90s websites