GENI To Replace Internet, Gets $12M Funding 295
Postglobalism writes "A massive project to redesign and rebuild the Internet from scratch is inching along with $12 million in government funding and donations of network capacity by two major research organizations. Many researchers want to rethink the Internet's underlying architecture, saying a 'clean-slate' approach is the only way to truly address security and other challenges that have cropped up since the Internet's birth in 1969."
Bottom up vs Top Down (Score:5, Interesting)
Since the Internet is really just a collection of smaller privately-owned networks connected on common backbones, is it even possible to 'replace' it? I'm not sure what the goal is here. Sounds like herding cats to me.
And we all know its about .... (Score:3, Interesting)
... control, as in censorship, and target marketing. Where you can have a web site but nobody can see it .... now that's security....
So, a system where being on the internet is a right, but being seen on the internet is a privilege you have to pay for.
But but... (Score:3, Interesting)
The internet we use today is totally different from 1969 (or 1981, or 1991). The internet evolves Darwin style already. Who uses DecNET or Banyan Vines? How about uunet, gated, gopher, or telnet?
It's gone, baby, gone.
Hell - we're having enough trouble replacing a simply-ass DNS server... who can imagine a peaceful replacement of entire the Internet (other than power-hungry numbnuts?)
Re:Ok I understand the problems of our current set (Score:5, Interesting)
2007 US Military spending: $549.2 Billion. Domestic spending: $457.9 Billion. Welfare is a small fraction of domestic spending, so it cannot be 10x defense spending.
security privacy and freedom (Score:5, Interesting)
when you begin to address privacy and security at the protocol and architecture level, you also begin to enable governmental control
one of the biggest philosophical issues that people don't seem to understand is that there is no such thing as centralized privacy, or government-enforced privacy. you constantly see stories on slashdot bemoaning government's inability to protect your privacy. its completely absurd. the only one who can protect your privacy is you
it is an utter oxymoronic, paradoxical way of thinking to believe government policies and privacy can coexist in the same thought process. people constantly inveigh the government to do more about privacy. no. you don't want to involve the government in privacy, in any way. if you want privacy and security, YOU need to take steps to make that work, on your own. to involve a large controlling entity to do that... what? can we say not getting the concept?
any system built to ensure "privacy" is essentially a command and control system... that can snoop on anything it wants
the same with security
it is GOOD the internet as it is has no internal safeguards for privacy and security. it means it is controlled by no one. get the point?
the riaa and beijing should fund this GENI project
Re:Stronger, Harder, Deeper, Faster (Score:5, Interesting)
It's really easy to talk like that, but look at CB verses Ham Radio. The Internet we have today is like CB radio...anyone can transmit and receive. CB radio has its advantages and disadvantages. More serious radio users got into ham radio where users were more serious about radio communications, you were identified by a license, and it was highly regulated by the government. With the regulation came improved communications.
CB is good for some, ham radio good for others. So too with this. They should have a general Internet like the noisy CB band, and the other Internet with more regulation and better communications.
Re:Just what I wanted! (Score:2, Interesting)
If it only takes $12mil to build an entire new internet why the hell are the ISPs still bitching and moaning and not upgrading anything?
Re:Ok I understand the problems of our current set (Score:3, Interesting)