On the Net

with Alex Clarke

The other internet revolution

The internet has become such a part of our daily lives that it's almost as familiar to people as the TV (which some even use to surf the net!).

Much has been written about its impacts, potential effects on society, and so on. However there is one very remarkable thing about the net that is often overlooked.

The worldwide web doesn't belong to anyone. It is an open standard - which means that the people who choose to contribute to it are the ones who shape its future. There is no single corporation or individual who decides what will happen. There are no interests who can use it from a privileged or vested position.

Instead there are committees of contributors who meet yearly to beat out the standards that define each technology. There are people right here in this region who contribute to the development of this important medium.

Large corporations and even governments, not too surprisingly, aren't that keen on this aspect of such a powerful technology.

Telstra, for example, or Microsoft, might like you to believe that the internet somehow belongs to them. Using MSN, BigPond or Hotmail might even reinforce this impression, but it is a great big net out there, and these huge organisations are merely a fraction of it.

For example, the government may say it is tough on internet porn, but they simply don't have jurisdiction over the whole web - in reality they can do nothing to stop people in their homes accessing whatever they please offshore.

Even the Chinese government, which has exerted effort on the largest scale attempting to control the net, has difficulty restricting content if people are determined to see it.

The stupendous diversity and low cost of the net have so far kept it free of over commercialisation. Prices keep coming down as it grows.

For all its flaws, I believe the democratising influence of the net far outweighs its downsides.

HotNews

Chris stole my thunder last week by mentioning the release of Apple's new G5 iMac. They're likely to be very popular machines, but it remains to be seen if Apple can overcome its traditional supply problems to deliver them by the end of September as promised. Apple has seen a tremendous jump in demand for its computers in recent months, which ironically has only made their problems worse - suppliers all over Europe are reporting long delays for most Macintosh products. Australian Mac customers are doing little better, with several product lines non-existent. It's hard to understand how Apple can let this opportunity to increase their market share slip past.

HotSites

www.grinspoon.com.au

Every rocking Lismore-ite knows Grinspoon, local boyz dun good. Their site has recently been revamped in preparation for their new Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills album, which is released next week. Fans will love the Hard Act To Follow game - you get to riff along with Pat.

www.geekculture.com/mindnumb/mindnumb.html

Mind-numbing stories: Computer horror, mind-dulling jobs, I had a crush on Bill Gates, Is your mate an alien? Weird but kinda fun. After all that thinking, sometimes I just wanna numb my mind.

• Chris Goh is taking a holiday and Alex will be writing on the internet and computers over the coming weeks.