time-sharing, but has survived into the era of personal computers, client-server, peer-to-peer computer, and the
network computer. It was designed before LANs existed, but has accommodated that new network technology. It
was envisioned as supporting a range of functions from file sharing and remote login to resource sharing and
collaboration, and has spawned electronic mail and ,more recently, the World Wide Web. But most important, it
started as the creation of a small band of dedicated researchers, and has grown to be a commercial success with
billions of dollars of annual investment (Leiner 18).
There is also now talk of Internet2. With the promise of access and transfer rates of up to 1,000 times what is
possible with the Internet today, the Internet2 (I2) project is deserving of the attention it has received. But do not
expect to be cruising at lightning speed anytime soon. Internet2 is currently confined to academia, government
research centers, and non profit organizations (Krueger 302).
It remains to be seen whether Internet2 can accomplish its goals and then merge its findings and advances with the
commercial Internet in the time frame suggested. In the end, improved bandwidth and multimedia solutions that meet
or exceed the goals of the Next Generation Internet, NGI, may be realized — all by the year 2002 deadline. Only time
will tell. If I2 flies, however, we may soon hear the buzzword Internet3 (Krueger 306).
One should not conclude that the Internet has now finished changing. The Internet, although a network in name and
geography, is a creature of the computer, not the traditional network of the telephone or television industry. It will,
indeed it must, continue to change and evolve at the speed of the computer industry if it is to remain relevant. The
most pressing question for the future of the Internet is not how the technology will change, but how the process of
change and evolution itself will be managed. If the Internet stumbles, it will not be because we lack for technology,
vision, or motivation. It will be because we cannot set a direction and march collectively into the future (Leiner 18).
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