IP: Re: 'New Economy' Is a Thing of the Past

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Read the last paragraph especially djf


> From: "Andy Oram" <andyo () oreilly com>
> To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
> Subject: Re: 'New Economy' Is a Thing of the Past
> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 11:30:58 -0400
> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400
>
> Since you asked for comments on the New Economy article:
>
> I can't understand the "bigger is better" claim. The World Trade Center was
> way big. Centralized computer networks will provide the same temptations the
> WTC did.
>
> If new technology was just a kind of conspicuous consumption, it could be
> dispensed with. But some
> technologies can potentially make real-life processes much more efficient,
> and these technologies (used properly) are needed more than ever. Still, I
> believe their deployment will be held up because of a general unwillingness
> to experiment. We're all pulling inward these days and being more cautious
> about everything.
>
> I'll just say a bit about peer-to-peer, since I've followed (and generated)
> news about it. P2P may be one of those technologies that enable efficiency.
> With the right load and the right division of labor, it might make computers
> more efficient. Even more important, because it leaves files near the
> creators and users of the files, it might make organizations more efficient.
> If system administrators can be persuaded that they don't need to spend
> hours every day updating a corporate intranet, they could become very
> interested in P2P solutions.
>
> But I'm also worried about the future of P2P and the whole distributed
> ideal. The reason is that security now becomes so important. People are
> going to reduce the number of servers they run, disconnect from the net
> more, and check users very carefully using out-of-bound channels before the
> users are allowed any access to services.
>
> Andy



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