Rebirth of the Tech Madman

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It is necessary to point out that in the turbulent development of the Internet, the struggle is not limited to Netscape’s challenge to philosopher software and other commercial companies such as the Internet Engineering Task Force, the Internet Structure Committee, the Internet Association, the World Wide Web Alliance, etc. Industry organizations are also constantly fighting openly and secretly.

The root cause is that no one has any doubt about the huge potential and value of the Internet as a super platform. Anyone who has some technical inventory in their stomachs is ambitiously trying to operate by participating in this type of industry organization, move their mouths, and reach out. , To achieve the purpose of staying in history.

To cite one of the most ironic examples, before the 1990s, the popular Internet Engineering Task Force triumphantly declared that with the dull and noisy iso—International Organization for Standardization, itu-t—the bureaucrat of the International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Department Compared with the style of work, I am a more agile, more open-minded, and more open standardized entity.

As a result, in recent years, the size of the Internet Engineering Task Force has expanded rapidly. The high-efficiency style of work that was naturally brought about by the shortness of the past has basically disappeared. At the meeting, everyone wanted to express their innovative views on the future, and quarrel. Go, Min~Zhu is enough, but there is no concentration to end, resulting in inaction, which is not as good as iso and itu-t.

At the same time, the number of global websites has exploded to tens of thousands.

There are no rules and no radius-the Internet respects freedom, but it can't be regulated by various standards.

And this seemingly increasingly incomprehensible chaos makes many people of insight reluctantly full of pessimism about the future-the famous Robert Metcalf is one of them.

Originally, the Ethernet technology introduced by this dude competed with ibm's token ring network; the company he created was hindered by the board of directors controlled by venture investors. The time has come-as the Fangyuan personal computer standard becomes the mainstream of the personal computer field, Ethernet has also become the mainstream of the local area network; the company just sells Ethernet network cards to make money.

However, positions such as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors are not as leisurely as imagined.

As a result, Robert Metcalfe suffered from lazy cancer, transferred his position to others, and became an industry observer and angel investor leisurely—just like Apple’s founder Wozniak, he slept on his laurels and didn’t do business. To take care of things.

Of course, the differences between the two people in terms of thinking are still very big, and even quite different.

For example, Robert Metcalf is worried about the unregulated Internet and scorns the open-source software movement; Woz is showing it with relish.

Robert Metcalfe's enthusiasm for observing industry trends is high and detailed enough.

In his speech, he not only talked about the technical aspects of the Internet norms being unable to keep up with the development of the Internet, but also mentioned issues such as the law and other aspects-like the Department of Defense, the United States government ~ government departments have been frequently attacked by cyber attacks this year. ; Without legal support, the FBI and the Secret Service suddenly searched the hacker’s residences everywhere. This exposed the social crisis, the government’s serious ignorance of new forms of network communications, and the Internet public. ~By...

It’s no wonder that Robert Metcalf’s deafening prediction of "the Internet will collapse next year", he sees the imminent crisis of prosperity, and those institutions with sufficient influence are operating slowly, making people look away. To the shadow of the solution.

Tang Huan listened with gusto in the audience-Robert Metcalfe's unfounded worries seemed ridiculous, but if he reached a certain level, he would understand that the essence was serious.

At this stage, the Internet in the U.S. is very fluent when looking at a picture of each "teacher"; while in China, it is at the level of reading novels—just like a personal computer, the laggards can’t help but miss the technology. There is a relevant culture.

Robert Metcalf’s swearing swears is actually entangled with the freedom of the Internet-everyone wants unfettered freedom, the freedom like a wild horse, the dust raised, and Make the foreground blurry.

Of course Tang Huan knows and can be sure-next year, the Internet will not collapse; Robert Metcalf, an old friend, is destined to eat his own manuscripts raw.

But the richest man still likes this seemingly meaningless discussion, because it helps to form the momentum needed to launch p2p.

You know, p2p is an indispensable foundation for many key applications.

When it was his turn to speak on stage, Tang Huan specifically mentioned Robert Metcalf's worries. Although he could not fully agree with him, he understood very well.

Then he turned to the main topic: "You may have noticed that the Zheru booth has put out a peer-to-peer network-a p2p solution."

"I think p2p may have a positive impact on the current chaos on the Internet."

"Because on this kind of peer-to-peer network, a truly idealized'equality for all' can be realized, that is, each node is a client while also playing the role of a server, thereby removing the excessive dependence of the network on the central server. "

"There are two most obvious application scenarios for p2p, namely authentication and communication-in simple terms, when a certain identity or an operation needs to be confirmed on the network, everyone will endorse it together. The more participants, the more reliable The higher the degree; when it is necessary to transmit data on the network, everyone can communicate with each other. The more participants, the faster the transmission speed."

"In fact, the ideal state of the World Wide Web is a peer-to-peer network."

"I will tell you a little news in advance-I have a new book about to be published, don't laugh..."

Tang Huan waved his hand and explained earnestly: "I heard that some people complained that "The Road to the Future" is full of old past and dog-blooded soul chicken soup-I promise, the new book is really about the future. Subject."

The audience laughed louder, and the richest man shrugged his shoulders with a mockery, "For example, the concept, exploration and application of digital neural networks."

"If the Internet can automatically respond correctly to various changes in the outside world like a biological neural network, wouldn't everyone have a lot less worries and worries."

"I personally think that if the Internet wants to achieve this ideal state, it must first be achieved. Each grid and each node are equal and have the same rights and obligations. The original intention of p2p is to build such a platform. ."

...

In this comdex Las Vegas Fall Exhibition Industry Forum, in addition to "retreatist" Robert Metcalf shouting, "explorer" Tang Huan talked about practice, etc., there are also "pragmatics" directly Fight for real money.

Jim Barksdale, CEO of Netscape, is one of the most representative. He directly criticized Zheru software company by name, using its own industry advantage to engage in monopoly and suppress the development of competitors.

It’s not hard to imagine that Jim Barksdale’s cursing is much more straightforward than Robert Metcalfe, Tang Huan’s and others’ "profound" topics. It can be described as extremely entertaining and attracts a lot of it. attention.

When the richest man was interviewed by the media on a routine basis, he was naturally asked what he said about it.

"Now everyone is enthusiastically discussing the spirit of freedom and equality displayed by the Internet, but it is unavoidable to be used by some people to confuse and gain sympathy with the attitude of the weak." Tang Huan said indifferently: "We should not turn a blind eye. , Netscape’s various very aggressive actions in its operations—you can’t just start playing pitiful, kidnapping public opinion and morals just because you rushed too hard and hit your head badly—what everyone competes with is technology. Which is better or worse, is it interesting to talk about those useless things?"

The richest man's disdain and contempt for Jim Barksdale jumped up and down. The reporters, who have always been responsive, suddenly became energetic-they can make a big fuss.

Another reporter asked sharply: "Tang, someone recently discovered that the operating system of Zheru Software will generate a string of codes related to the user's name and address according to the user's computer hardware configuration, that is, a globally unique identification code. , And this identification code will pass through the electronic registration procedure, without the user’s knowledge, be transmitted to the website server of Zheru Software."

"Some analysts believe that Zheru Software Corporation uses this method to determine whether a set of software is installed on multiple computers, and then finds pirated software."

"The New York Times even disclosed that Zheru Software has quietly collected a huge database of user information in this way."

"There is also a rumor that describes the cooperation between Zheru Software and the intelligence department, in the world's most widely occupied operating system-the code for tracking and collecting information is hidden."

"Excuse me, Tang, has Zheru Software Company set up a ‘backdoor’ in its products that may leak user information?"

The richest man listened patiently to the other party, followed the notebook and quickly finished asking the question, and made a powerful gesture. Although brief, he replied in a serious manner: "Zheru Software Company always attaches great importance to computer security. Respect the privacy of users, and leave the choice to the user to make the decision."

"Specifically, as far as I know, in order to enhance the experience of the browser polestar, the data collected through cookie technology is stored in a secure area on the user's computer and can be cleared at any time; as for those uploaded to the website server Also allows users to clear the information."

"The rapid development of the Internet has indeed led to some new problems at the level of ethics, law and so on. In this regard, Zheru Software has always maintained a humble and awe, and stand with the most users. It is inviting people from all fields. Experts, discuss how to keep up with the times and update the terms of the software license agreement to restrict everyone's behavior."

Although Tang Huan's answer is suspicion of avoiding the important and lightening it, the reporters also know that he can only do this. After all, there are some unspoken rules, as long as he is not mentally handicapped, he will understand.

Anyway, there are already topics that can be hyped.

Faced with Jim Barksdale, the richest man scolded Zheru Software’s monopoly and hegemony, which caused Netscape to be treated unfairly. He showed great disdain, and in turn criticized the opponent for competing in technology. After being inferior to others on the right way, he embarked on the wrong path in desperation, pretending to be pitiful and sympathetic.

Don't slap someone in the face, don't swear, don't expose shortcomings-Tang Huan's counterattack is not generally embarrassing.

In addition to the full-blown verbal battles, people have also noticed the p2p technology and application plan mentioned by the richest man-his style of behavior is as always as before, and when things come out, they are already in place and fully usable in one step. , There is no need to make a "trilogy" like Microsoft ~www.readwn.com~.

Naturally, p2p's unique advantages in data transmission have first attracted wide-ranging attention.

Although the p2p technology has copyright, it is open source. It can be described as "unselfish", without the suspicion, suspicion, and fabrication of those bullshit.

As a result, its software was installed on countless computers almost overnight, and the p2p network took shape.

There are even hackers racing, and it only takes three days to launch third-party download software that conforms to the p2p specification.

As a result, even ordinary Internet users who are least sensitive to technology know-it turns out that downloads can be so fast! So cool! Any pictures, music, and even videos can be shared heartily!

At this stage, the modem dial-up Internet access method most commonly used by ordinary users in the United States has popularized the access speed of 56kbps; while the adsl most used by commercial users is at least 128kbps.

This level is a leap compared to ten years ago. The industry is proud of a voice claiming that "network bandwidth is sufficient", such as He's company, which has focused on modem products for more than ten years.

Now that p2p came out, various line providers were overwhelmed with their voices—the cable communication load remained high, and it seemed that financing was needed and infrastructure was being built. However, equipment suppliers such as AT&T and Zheru, etc. Prepared calmly to meet the purchasing trend.

The record industry pessimistically predicts that p2p will invisibly contribute to the spread of unauthorized digital music, and the sales performance of traditional record companies will be further hit.

These disturbances are only caused by the p2p communication function, and the influence of the authentication function is also subtly fermenting.