The future of the net.

Discussion in 'Science and Technology' started by MeAgain, Nov 7, 2017.

  1. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    I was thinking about this lately.

    Years ago I first encountered the net when a student of mine started a bulletin board run by a Commodore 64 hooked up to five floppy drives.
    [​IMG]
    They were daisy chained together and each one contained a game newly cracked and acquired from Britain. I would call up his board with my 300 baud modem and since I had access, I could visit any one of the floppies and download the latest beta version game, one per drive. Then copy it to my own floppy.
    But, I never did as it took forever and the student in question would just make a copy at home and bring it in to me...it was easier. I had a ton of C64 games.

    There wasn't much else on the net at the time.

    Eventually I moved on to Windows 3.1 and a 56k dial up modem. At the time everybody built themselves a web page and included a counter at the bottom to see how many hits they'd get.

    [​IMG]
    There was no Amazon, Face Book, Twitter, or Wikipedia.
    One of my favorite sites was B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper started in 1996, run by some nine year old kid. It's still around and has become pretty famous.

    Anyway...who could have forseen what the net has become and how it's currently influencing the world?

    What are your predictions of what the future holds for the internet?
     

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  2. Irminsul

    Irminsul Valkyrie

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    I actually think that in the future there might be less people online. When you can't have any fun because everyone is so righteous and complaining and all the news headlines, stories and agendas are fake and you can't maintain a job because some asshole boss has access to your life online, then what else is there to do other than look at porn?

    So I can see younger generations coming and middle generations leaving.
     
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  3. soulcompromise

    soulcompromise Member HipForums Supporter

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    PBS has 15 predictions about it. They are as follows: 15 predictions for the future of the Internet
    • Information sharing over the Internet will be so effortlessly interwoven into daily life that it will become invisible, flowing like electricity, often through machine intermediaries.
    • The spread of the Internet will enhance global connectivity, fostering more positive relationships among societies.
    • The Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and big data will make people more aware of their world and their own behavior.
    • Augmented reality and wearable devices will be implemented to monitor and give quick feedback on daily life, especially in regard to personal health.
    • Political awareness and action will be facilitated and more peaceful change, and more public uprisings like the Arab Spring will emerge.
    • The spread of the “Ubernet” will diminish the meaning of borders, and new “nations” of those with shared interests may emerge online and exist beyond the capacity of current nation-states to control.
    • The Internet will become “the Internets” as access, systems and principles are renegotiated.
    • An Internet-enabled revolution in education will spread more opportunities with less money spent on buildings and teachers.
    • Dangerous divides between haves and have-nots may expand, resulting in resentment and possible violence.
    • Abuses and abusers will ‘evolve and scale.’ Human nature isn’t changing; there’s laziness, bullying, stalking, stupidity, pornography, dirty tricks, crime, and the offenders will have new capacity to make life miserable for others.
    • Pressured by these changes, governments and corporations will try to assert power – and at times succeed – as they invoke security and cultural norms.
    • People will continue – sometimes grudgingly – to make tradeoffs favoring convenience and perceived immediate gains over privacy; and privacy will be something only the upscale will enjoy.
    • Humans and their current organizations may not respond quickly enough to challenges presented by complex networks.
    • Most people are not yet noticing the profound changes today’s communications networks are already bringing about; these networks will be even more disruptive in the future.
    • Foresight and accurate predictions can make a difference; “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”


    I think one thing we will see is that there are some features of home security that involve internet connectivity to some degree. Like a text message when someone unlocks your front door or breaks into your house would be one prediction I have.
     
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  4. Meliai

    Meliai Banned

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    Yeah, I agree. Especially as commercialized as the internet has gotten. The authenticity and simplicity of the earlier days of the internet is gone, now you cant do anything online without having to see or watch a bunch of ads first. And the social aspect of it is very tiring and not very good for the soul, I think we will see a backlash against social media, at least, if not the internet as a whole, as people turn away from the land of a billion opinions and turn more inward

    At least that's what I hope. The internet is a valuable tool but this constantly being connected to each other through social media isn't healthy for society as a whole, imo
     
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  5. Tyrsonswood

    Tyrsonswood Senior Moment Lifetime Supporter

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    Global power grid failure...
     
  6. wilsjane

    wilsjane Nutty Professor HipForums Supporter

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    The internet is quite simply the worlds largest dustbin and no one ever empties it. The best example is just looking at You-Tube. If you sat down to watch every video uploaded in the last 24 hours, assuming that you spent 40 hours per week watching them, it would take you 277 years. Perhaps I should look at all the You-Tube videos. I will let you know what I think of them in about 10 million years time. Few of us realize that the Google servers that feed them to us, consume about the same amount of electricity as the output of a nuclear power station. Then we complain about the adverts that we have to watch in order to provide the money to pay Googles 3 million pounds a month electricity bill.
    What is the future of the internet. Don't ask me.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I suppose we could pull the plug (very large plug) and solve the problems of global warming overnight.
     
  7. wilsjane

    wilsjane Nutty Professor HipForums Supporter

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    A failure of the national grid in any one country, it could have a knock on effect all over the world. For example, the new nuclear power stations under construction in the UK will have their reactor control equipment in China. No one seems to realize that once major parts of the internet failed, the power grid would soon follow, since all the control switching is computer controlled. Within a few hours of power failure, their would be no running water, sewage pumping or communications of any type and very few aircraft in the skies would be able to land in one piece. As we have already witnessed in Japan, without power, nuclear power stations would become nuclear bombs. Amazingly enough, they have no possible means of converting the power from their own alternators into usable electricity and without electricity they can neither cool or shut the reactors down. Their are some respected scientists who believe that this could have already happened millions of years ago destroying all animal life on the planet which then had to re-evolve. Even governments are now taking this hypothesis seriously.
     
  8. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    So, I was thinking more about information, not systems control, but good point wilsjane.

    Presently the net seems to be controlled by large corporations such as Google and Face Book, and various governments.
    I'm wondering if there will ever be an internet revolution, such as happened in Colonial America.
    At the time the world was controlled by large corporations such as the East India Company and various monarchies.
    The people had little say and they revolted by establishing the first representative democracy in the world.

    Could the internet sprout a movement for greater world wide democracy by allowing the near total participation of the world's citizens in local and global issues?
     
  9. lion1978

    lion1978 The King

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    The future of the internet is asall other things enevitably self destruction.

    Fun fact google stores all data it collects not only digitally but also on analog casetes
    .
     
  10. Moonglow181

    Moonglow181 Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    I don't know,. I don't trust it all that much.

    I suppose it is what one makes of it. I like doing research on the computer, pretty pictures, music, sweet things....ebay......

    Social media is a different story, though. you have your people who want to ruin things, bully, troll copy cat, ect...but then you have nice folks, too,...just like everywhere. i try to ignore people I don't like and just talk to people I do like somewhat.....but people I really like are getting harder to find....

    I just read an article about the dangers of AI and warnings of it by Hawking.....

    Some people will pirate things and make life miserable....so one has to be very careful. i was once more foot loose and fancy free....but experiences have taught me to shut down more.....so what does that all mean? I don't know.

    It is just like life...What are people doing? Are they worrying about major issues everywhere?...or are they just worrying about their sex lives, etc...and only themselves?

    The net is a reflection of everywhere.....
     
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  11. wilsjane

    wilsjane Nutty Professor HipForums Supporter

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    Clearly you have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the internet. From a research point of view, their is a lot of useful material, but you have to sort it from the rubbish, so when you understand a subject, it is fairly easy. However starting off on something new to you, it is almost impossible to sort factual information from the rubbish and it is very easy to get off to a bad start.
    From a social standpoint, When I am chatting online, mentally I am standing next to the person and would not say anything that I would not say face to face. Sadly, their are too many idiots and trolls who do not follow my simple rule. I always wonder what some of the people who use insults and foul language online are like in real life.
    Ignoring idiots is always the best way. Interacting simply feeds their ego. Perhaps that is why not many of them waste their time on this site.
     
  12. Vanilla Gorilla

    Vanilla Gorilla Go Ape

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    Ugh

    That actually originates from somewhere called the Pew Research centre, writers include some guy thats a consultant for and Age Cared company, nothing screams qualification like aged care database managment

    Digital Life in 2025

    The usual op ed piece, intentionally vague so it sounds intelligent, while offereing no real insight


    Effortlessly woven into daily life? Its 2017, I cant even get my net connection on my mobile to work in parts of Sydney, one of the worlds wealthiest cities, unless its in a direct line of site to a mobile tower, we have just blown billions on a nationwide fibre optic network no one uses, and power bills have jumped up 20% in one year because several state governments sold off the power grids for a cheap buck to multinationals that cant run them properly

    Meanwhile tech nuthuggers like the ones in the article are jerking off about self driving cars no one probably wants anyway, that are someone going to communicate with each other 100% of the time/0% downtime, with close to zero redundancy, and seemingly unaffected by power costs

    Whilst in the real world, once a month some airline somewhere in the world looses a billion dollars in one day because because its booking system shits itself, and Google still cant get a car to work out what a traffic cone is

    Stephen Hawking recently crapped on about how Artificial intelligence may be humanities biggest mistake, he has no idea about artificial intelligence, the guy still has no idea what a black hole really is

    In 50 years, the internet will still be mostly porn, people posting stupid photos of their lunch on whatever platform, 1/4 of the world will still be living off a couple bucks a day, and no one is really going to give a shit if your house is smart enough to turn on the air con, boil a kettle full of water 5 minutes before you get home
     
  13. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    My idea is that we all will be registered on the net with individual tracking numbers, something like the U.S.'s social security numbers.
    This will be global and could lead to tracking our every move possibly leading to a dystopian Orwellian society.
    Which is bad.

    Or it could lead to a chance for everyone's vote to be counted in a true world wide Democracy.
    Which is good
    The problem being, can we trust a true Democracy.
    Which means...maybe not good.
     
  14. Irminsul

    Irminsul Valkyrie

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    I've always wondered why we can't vote online. It seems so modern and ideal that it just makes sense, which is why I guess we aren't allowed.
    Send rockets and man to the moon but can't vote online. Yeah, makes sense.
     
  15. Moonglow181

    Moonglow181 Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Sure, a true democracy would be nice.....but with human nature, I doubt that would ever be possible....when humans always seem to compete for Queen Bee and King of The Hill spots.
     
  16. Noserider

    Noserider Goofy-Footed Member

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    Shhhheeeeee-yet. You think voting is susceptible to tampering now?

    Hackers would have a field day with online voting
     
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  17. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    It would have to be very secure and the issue arises, how do you know that a person only votes once?

    But it could function as a non binding activity. Just to let those in power know what the peons are thinking.
    I suppose for now it could work based on IP addresses.
     
  18. Noserider

    Noserider Goofy-Footed Member

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    Who knows? No way to make it secure. Question is, would it be more or less secure than it currently is?

    No way to know
     
  19. clark32

    clark32 D`oh!

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    I'm constantly wondering what's next, it will surely someday make the transfer of live matter.
     
  20. NoxiousGas

    NoxiousGas Old Fart

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    well if the current bullshit concerning the whole "net neutrality" that Obama's administration put into place is overturned (goes through, Dec 14 I think) then who knows, we may be charged a surcharge for visiting sites like HULU or Netflix and could even have ISP's blocking content and sites they don't like, such as Hip Forums.

    The near future actually don't look that great, if that crap gets put through......
     
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