Free-Market Computing and the Global Economic Infrastructure
- D. W. Walker
- Department of Computer Science
- University of Wales, Cardiff
- P. O. Box 916
- Cardiff CF2 3XF
- U. K.
Abstract
In this article we argue that the World-Wide Web can achieve its full
potential as a computing medium only if it is fully integrated into
the global economic infrastructure. Thus, we envisage a world in which
"the web" is the universal medium for computing, and in which users
pay for the hardware and software resources that they consume.
The idea that the web embodies the future of computing is not new.
However, the main point being put forward here is that
electronic payment for resources at the point of service is essential
if the web is to progress from being mostly a passive supplier of
information (from advertisements to virtual libraries) to being a
truly interactive medium for commerce, science, education, and
entertainment having a broad societal impact. This free-market computing
approach will permit the law of supply and demand to regulate the uses
to which society puts its computing resources.
D. W. Walker,
Free-Market Computing and the
Global Economic Infrastructure,
IEEE Parallel and Distributed Technology, Vol. 4, No. 3, pages 60-62,
Fall 1996.