This article is worth reading because it raises numerous questions about the shape of the future internet. The idea here is that a company like America Online wouldn't sell internet access - that would be left to your local cable provider - what it would sell is access to its corner of the internet. It's about access to market. "The only way to persuade AT&T and Comcast to distribute the cyberspace service over their cable lines was to package America Online as if it were a premium movie channel." Now of course this article in the NY Times considers the relative advantages for the businesses involved. But what does it mean for individual users and online learning? Would there be a special educational internet channel? I could certainly see how a lot of people would lobby for that: it would keep out the riff-raff. But would it also keep out content the publishers don't want to compete with, ensuring a pure (and high-priced) supply of online educational content?
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