On Tue, 8 Oct 1996, Paul J. Zawada wrote:
Commercialization of the 'net may have pushed the development of the router, Unix, IP software, etc., but where did all of these things come from in the first place? The NON-commercial R&E community, that's where. (Modems are probably the exception) ... R&E instituions, by design, go places where the commercial sector only waits for a money-making opportunity. In fact, time and time again, the R&E community creates the money-making opportunity. I'm glad someone isn't happy with status-quo...
I never said that the universities, etc., weren't invaluable to the networking community. They are, and I am the first to admit it. Nonetheless, the assertion that commercialization is responsible for all of the woes of the network is a one-sided mischaracterization of the state of networking. Commercialization has brought huge resources to the table, to the benefit of all, just as have the uni's. Does anyone seriously assert that congestion wasn't a problem before commercialization? Does anyone seriously assert that commercialization has made possible huge increases in available resources? If they do, they are wrong. I don't denigrate the benefits rendered by an active academic participation in networking; I wish others wouldn't denigrate the contributions of the commercial providers and the general public, either. __ Todd Graham Lewis Linux! Core Engineering Mindspring Enterprises tlewis@mindspring.com (800) 719 4664, x2804