Now the impossible has been made real. Much of the control in Vinges and Maddoxs stories that struck many of their listeners as Orwellian now seems quite reasonable. It is possible to imagine the system of perfect regulation that Vinge described, and many even like what they see. It is inevitable that an increasingly large part of the Internet will be fed by commerce, and most dont see anything wrong with that either. Let business self-regulate the Net.
Net commerce is now the hero.
This book continues Vinges and Maddoxs stories. But I dont share the complacency of the self-congratulatory cheersechoing in the background of that 1996 recording. The future is Vinges and Maddoxs accounts together, not either alone. A spying and invasive Net controlled by Washington is not our future. 1984 is in our past.