Imagine an Internet rendered almost unusable by spam, spyware, and other detritus. Would that be enough to drive you away from your computer? Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet governance and regulation at the University of Oxford, thinks it might.
In a forthcoming book, Mr. Zittrain worries about a doomsday scenario in which computer users, frustrated by viruses and worried about privacy, migrate to simpler but safer tools, like Blackberrys, iPods, and Xboxes. An exodus like that, he argues, would deal a crushing blow to IT innovation.
Mr. Zittrain's view of the future seems gloomy, but he tells Wired Magazine that it's not far-fetched: "It’s entirely possible," he says, "that the past 25 years will seem like an extended version of the infatuation we once had with CB radio, when we thought that it was the great new power to the people." –Brock Read
