Martial Arts Equipment Online Store demonstrates a Vertial Affiiliate Program

Online stores continue to gain ground. The latest trend is creating affiliate programs as a means to further promote the stores. For example, www.GrandmasterStore.com, a new online store for Martial Arts Equipment Martial Arts Supplies Uniforms Gear: "New martial arts equipment online store carrying martial arts supplies including martial arts uniforms, sparring gear, shoes, belts, protective gear, apparel, accessories, and more." has an affiliate program built in from the beginning. Its purpose is to get the martial arts masters to promote the products. After all, why not get paid for what you and your students are already doing. This vertial affiliate market may just have what it takes.

From "Internet" to "Global Information Grid"

I posit that to say "Internet" is a misnomer because implicit in our current usage of the term is the wired backbone.  We then add wireless (e.g., 802.11) at the "edge" of the network and then "cell phone" capability is yet another beast that we tack on and "internet enable."  This is the wrong thinking.

Another term that is perhaps much better is "Global Information Grid" (GIG).  Unfortunately, its definition comes from the Defense Information Systems Agency and reads as, "The Global Information Grid is the globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities, associated processes, and personnel for collecting, processing, storing, disseminating, and managing information on demand to warfighters, policy makers, and support personnel"  If we replace the user classifications with, simply, "everyone," then this would indeed be a good start for a definition.

I believe this still has several inherent weaknesses (to be explored in the near future) as we consider what will be our future computing environment.

Internet Future Blog Purpose

Welcome to the "Internet Future" blog, whose purpose is to discuss the computing trends (both social and technical) that are converging to yield a substantively different computing environment than we know today.