Home > Articles

Frank Remarks: Captain Kirk Was Right!

In his third article, Frank Fiore explains how the Internet acts as the first step on the long road to the "free" society of the 23rd century.
Like this article? We recommend

Friends can be a mixed blessing.

The other day, I went to lunch with a friend I haven't seen in years. Over my patty melt and his chili dog, we brought each other up to date on our interests and activities. As with many a friendly lunch I've had lately, the conversation soon turned to two subjects that are dear to my heart—the Internet and Star Trek.

At first, we discussed the Internet and how it will change the way we live. Among other things, we talked of how the Net culture of "free" has permeated the web—even the once high-flying dotcoms look more like nonprofit organizations these days. He wondered how long this "free thing" was going to last on the web. I thought a second and responded with, "How long will the 'paying' thing last in the real world?"

Being a true capitalist and entrepreneur, he looked at me like I had two heads.

I told him I was a firm believer in the vision of Star Trek, reminding him that when Kirk was asked in the movie Star Trek IV whether they used money in the 23rd century, he replied, "We don't!" In Star Trek's 23rd century, people don't work for money—they work to improve themselves and the common good. Technology has advanced to the point that people don't have to work; all their basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, and safety are met—for free. I told my friend that I believe the Internet culture we see today is a long thin shadow cast backward from the future, giving us a glimmer of a world yet to be, and that "free" is not going to be the exception, but the rule.

He called me a socialist.

He then reminded me that even as we speak the idea of the "free" Internet is being challenged by e-businesses that are looking for ways to charge for the content and experience they offer Netizens. And what did I think of that?

I admitted that some of the free Net experiments didn't turn out as well as expected—for example, free PCs and free Internet access. But these were just experiments, and others such as free operating systems (Linux) and free software applications (StarOffice 5.0) have been joined by peer-to-peer exchange networks such as Gnutella.

He called me a democrat.

He then asked what people would do with all their free time, if not work for a living?

I replied that Net technologies will let people explore their creative side. Anyone can record, publish, and sell their MP3 music over the web, or create Internet radio shows and TV stations with Real Audio servers, and videos with Real Video. Journalism as we know it will change because of the Net. New technologies such as Blogger give users a free and easy way of posting daily thoughts on anything and everything. The key part of the blog experience is linking to and providing commentary on stories or other content elsewhere on the web, thus connecting these new "reporters" to each other.

He called me a republican.

I finished my diatribe by saying that people in the 23rd century, once freed from the need to work for a living, will explore their abilities and share their skills to improve themselves and their communities, and children will be taught from an early age to reach their full potential.

He called me an idealist.

I told him that I couldn't say what organizational forms and institutions would exist to accomplish all this—no one has yet detailed the socioeconomic basis of the Star Trek culture. But I believe that these institutions and organizations will come to pass. I then said that our current economic, social, and political ideas are based on the concept of scarcity—that there's not enough of everything to go around. But that's not what the Internet shows us. With as little as an Internet connection, a universe of opportunity opens for individuals, filled with sophisticated technologies at their beck and call:

  • Want to be a publisher? You can set up a free web site at Yahoo! Geocities or About.com and tell the world about yourself, your family, your interests and concerns—or establish a protest and spread the word. You don't even need to know a coding language to create and maintain your web site. In fact, you don't even need to go to a server on the web to set up your own web site, with the advent of peer-to-peer technologies like Gnutella. These "content-on-the-edge" technologies allow users to search for and exchange various information directly from the desktop, without setting up a web site or uploading files to a server. You can set up your own web site on your PC, in essence becoming your own web page server. Think how this will affect sites like Yahoo!, Angelfire, and Tripod in the future. Gnutella enables real-time searches of vast libraries of content. That's in stark contrast to current search engines such as Excite and AltaVista, which use Webcrawlers to search one site at a time. It takes weeks or months for a search engine to crawl the web and add new web sites. Gnutella's peer-to-peer network works like the old game of telephone. A user's computer is connected directly to 20 others, and those in turn are connected to 20 more, for a total of 400. Add only two more layers, and the original computer can talk to 160,000 computers on the network. It also means virtually no dead links. That's something not even today's search engines can claim.

  • Or how about becoming a popular commentator, like George Will or Walter Cronkite? Anyone can keep a running diary of daily thoughts or tirades searchable by fellow commentators on NewsBlogger. NewsBlogger is like an information food chain. When an article is produced, it's indexed and brought to the attention of a web Blogger. He or she then adds the selection and commentary to create a new, repackaged information product.

  • Got that great American novel under your bed? You can publish it on the Net in the form of an e-book that readers can buy and download onto their computers (see http://myks.sitesell.com). Or perhaps you want to be the next radio personality, like Howard Stern? No problem. Create your own Internet radio station and listen to thousands of stations created by others at Live365.com, where broadcasters, artists, and fans can interact with each other. With just an Internet connection and a computer, anyone can instantly become a DJ, talk show host, or stand-up comedian. At Live365.com, you can broadcast live, or you can make a station, and they'll broadcast it for you—for free.

  • Take these "free" Net service ideas and throw in the revenue-generating opportunities of affiliate marketing—selling other companies' products and services from a web site for a piece of the action—and you have the makings of a new business model for a new digital economy.

No, I said to my friend. You can't stop this online freedom train just because companies can't make their tired old business concepts translate well to the new digital economy. In the end, I believe that the free Net will prevail and that Net-empowered individuals will be rewriting the rules of how we'll survive and thrive in a new economy that will unfold over the next 100 years.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he called me a dreamer.

So what's a few words between friends?

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020