Future Imperfect
by Vinton G. Cerf
As the second decade of the 21st century dawns, predictions of global Internet digital transmissions reach as high as 667 exabytes (1018 bytes) per year by 2013 (see http://telephony online.com/global/news/cisco-ip-traffic -0609/). Based on this prediction, traffic levels might easily exceed many zettabytes (1021 bytes, or 1,000 exabytes) by the end of the decade. Setting aside the challenge of somehow transporting all that traffic and wondering about the sources and sinks of it all, we might also focus on the nature of the information being transferred, how it's encoded, whether it's stored for future use, and whether it will always be possible to interpret as intended. Read more »
Also this month
IEEE Internet Computing's Jan./Feb. 2010 issue includes essays from 14 experts about where the Internet is headed in the next decade. (Download the whole set for just $19)
