Author: Kai Zheng

Response to Long Live the Web

When Tim Berners-Lee introduces the world wide web, how (physical desktop), where (Geneva, Switzerland), and when (December 1990) it went live, it made the web feel instantly more personal and specific, and less abstract. Prior to reading this article, I did not question where and how the web became itself; I simply naively thought it always existed. And, since we know the origin of the web, we now also have to “make sure the Web’s principles remain intact- not just to preserve what we have gained by to benefit from the great advances that are still to come” (Berners-Lee 82). Otherwise, the good effects that came from the Web would become isolated into the “fragmented islands” Berners-Lee mentions (82). So, in keeping the web in good shape, with its useful design and continued growth, we must think about universality as the foundation. The experience of using the web should not be impaired by disability, language, or computer software.

Later, Berners-Lee points out several threats to Web’s universality such as cable television companies’ interference and social-networking sites tendency to bubble users’ information within their own sites. These problems make transferable data from one site, or one company, to another much more difficult. This isolation, fragmented connection makes the Web a less universal space. The rest of the article touched on privacy, rights of internet users, and the yet-to-come. I was most uplifted by the Looking Ahead segment which gave way to possibilities in the future. Free bandwidth and open data are just a few in particular I hope to see in store for the future.

Response to The Strange Geopolitics of the International Cloud

Ingrid Burrington’s article and “Long Live the Web” definitely parallel each other quite a bit. The universality mentioned in “Long Live the Web” can be mirrored when we learn that “the things that shape data-center geography outside the US aren’t all that different from” those that are in the US. And, I think that means it’s a good thing, because this means regardless of region or climate, you could potentially have the same access to the Cloud. Then, legal matters will always make for complications, because data sovereignty and a citizen’s personal data is now becoming a key topic for nations. Unfortunately, examples of the geopolitical disputes, such as the one between Microsoft and the US government, are of course, “framed within a US-centric lens”. That may be an issue because the citizen’s personal data may not be in the US, say Ireland where their data-center economy is booming, and yet the Cloud spans international borders.

“The Machine Stops,” the dystopic, futuristic story by E. M. Foster wrangles my mind into a knot. On one hand, this fictional piece has many unrealistic qualities, such as human’s incapability to live on the surface of earth. However, in contrast, the underlying concept of a machine that occupies human worship is far too real. The machine, to some extent, resembles our humanity’s addiction to technology. Indeed, the two main characters of this story, Vashti and her son, Kuno, have differing opinions on the necessity, power, and appliance of the machine. While Vashti views the machine as a flawless piece of man’s invention, Kuno is more suspicious of its facilities, stating, “its hum penetrates our blood, and may even guide our thoughts” (13).

I was reminded of the climatic statement, “The Machine stops” (same as the title) in section 3. In the denouement of this story, I begin to realize that Foster may have intended readers to leave with the same sense of suspicion to technology as Kuno had, or at least a measured amount of caution towards channels of communication that diminish the human experience.