The Future of the Internet (and How to Stop it)

Boing boing features a link to a CC copy of Jonathan Zittrain’s The Future of the Internet (and how to stop it). I heard Zittrain do a panel about this (via a uChannel podcast) a few weeks back. I found it interesting, and informative.

Basically ZIttrain puts forward the argument that the future of the Internet is in a number of non-pc devices that are easily controllable by the companies that sell them and the services that they run on. Items such as the iPhone and TiVO are giving companies unprecedented control over how we communicate and are communicated to.

I agree, to a point. It’s a disturbing trend. I do still hold out hope that market forces will ultimately make such “walled garden” ideas a thing of the past, just as services like Compuserve and AOL gave way to the rise of what we know now as ISPs. I can’t see the market sustaining a service that requires such control by the carriers if an alternative exists that is both widespread and more open. I think content providers will want as little restriction on their ability to provide content as possible.

I could be wrong, of course. The case of Echostar and TiVO cited in the book is particularly troublesome. In addition to the content control issues it also raises some issues regarding United States patent law. I choose to see that as an aberration, however. Echostar’s lack of foresight and TiVO’s outright capriciousness are the exception to my mind, as opposed to the rule.

I haven’t yet gotten the chance to read the whole book, but I’ll be working my way through it the next few days, My exposure to the issue via the podcast has me interested enough to continue further. I highly recommend the podcast, and I suspect the book will be a good read as well.

Direct link to book’s website