[Chuck]

Meh...the net is just the net. No one can really regulate or control it. In 10 years we won't recognize our old lifestyle.

Look at the benefits already. The corrupt, bloated, and evil music industry is being slowly changed (very slowly) byt the Morpheuses and Kazaas and Napsters.

I have said that I enjoy buying real CDs, with the liner notes and cool packaging and covers, but no way am I going to buy Jennifer Lopez' new CD just because I can't get "Jenny From The Block" out of my head. That's when Kazaa comes in. I use it to download songs I like (or songs I just can't get out of my head) without having to go buy a CD from an artist I either don't usually like or don't know much about. Sometimes I download a few other songs from that person or group, and next thing you know, critical mass is reached and I go pick up the CD. There I am, a new fan. Next time that artist puts out a CD, I buy it without even downloading anything first. They have gained a new purchaser. Else I never would have bought anything.

That's what the net is good for. Thank God I can go download a song without having to pay big bucks for a CD single or a whole album. Are they going to return my cash if the rest of the disc is crap? Yeah, right.

We are seeing it now, where some artists are offering free downloads of singles as a "hook" to attract fans. In the future, most bands and artists will most likely do this. The net will lead to a new consumer/producer relationship. We're just going through the growing pains right now.

When I was a kid, a long distance phone call could be $2 a minute or more. Today it's 5 cents. Mark my words, in the future there will be no long distance charge, or it will be a nominal fee bundled in (I think one company is already doing this MCI "neighborhood" plan). Things change.

Don't get too bent out of shape. Everything will shake out eventually. But the future will be different than the past. Hopefully we'll all benefit from the process.

[Leviathan]

I agree with you that there are some good things for economy and commerce that can come out of the net, but I totally disagree that downloading progs like Napster are helping to facilitate it, or that those progs will be around forever. Getting sample music and sample software is good, getting the whole CD or the full program for free isn't. Commercial property is and always will be property, and the rights to own something that others worked hard to produce will always have to be purchased. Companies will only ignore it or allow it to slide as long as they can still line their pocket books at the end of the day - as soon as pirating reaches such a critical point that nobody can make money selling their products, a mighty hammer will smash down on the internet. It's just a matter of time.

I agree with you that the internet will change society, but the barter and trade system of selling work for money can't be destroyed so easily. You say that the internet can't be controlled, but it can and eventually will. Protocols and software encryptions will get tougher and smarter, while pirating and contraband and "hacking" will get more difficult and more niche.

[JH_]

My biggest worry is that it's going to make writers and musicians poorer through not getting royalties on sales of their work, to the extent that some of the most talented may have to give up and go in for another career. If that happens, we'll all be worse off.

[Blake Isaac Gordon]

Another sad aspect of the internet is the concept of Spyware…

Recently my computer has been getting very sluggish, for no reason that I could discern.

Then I read this article in PC mag about spyware. I down load an ant-spy program and test my system. I had over 183 counts of spyware programs in my system; the worse one being Xuipiter.com.

Now… if I used file sharing programs such as Napster, Gozilla… I’d understand BUT I Don’t!

What really pisses my off is I do a lot of online banking and e-bill pay. Now that I know such stuff occurs I’m even more afraid of Identity theft and that is why Xuipiter.com has earned the image of extreme shit-fuck-apps of all time…

PS: Why do I say this? In the advent of a free Internet often it’s not. What you get for free often pays the price in privacy.
 

[E_W]

Getting spyware is usually not caused by using file sharing programs to download spyware... more often, the spyware is installed with the file sharing program itself (Kazaa, anyone?  Comes with total invasion of privacy - no extra charge!).  Always click no in ANY pop-up dialogs asking you to install the free plug-in that you don't quite understand what it does.  Also, be careful not to install freeware or shareware programs from companies that you don't trust without reading the installation options and legal stuff carefully.  Installing additional spyware is usually the default option, and submitting your personal details could be covered by the license agreement.

183 spyware programs?  You need a software firewall BADLY.  That would give you instant notification of any programs trying to sneak your personal data through your Internet connection, not to mention the ability to block these transfers entirely.  It protects against hacking and some viruses as well.  

[Zorlond]

Unfortunately, firewalls don't work against programs that are designed to claim to be something else (like say, your internet browser) in order to get past the firewall. The last few iterations of TSAdBot were like that.

[Chuck]

You say that the internet can't be controlled, but it can and eventually will. Protocols and software encryptions will get tougher and smarter, while pirating and contraband and "hacking" will get more difficult and more niche.

I still say I'm right and you're wrong about this. It's been almost 10 years since we wrote these words, and today Bit Torrent makes it easier than ever to get anything you want for free. Yet still software companies make money, music companies make money (maybe less than before), etc.

The net is the net, it's not changing. The future is more for free, for everyone.