2012: Death of the Internet?

The year 2012 has long been prophesied as a time of major world changes. The ancient Mayan calendar marks 2012 as the end of time. This can be interpreted in many ways including Armageddon; or it can mean the dawn of a new age of enlightenment. However, it seems that 2012 may be the year that marks the end of the Internet as we know it.

I have recently read news reports that major worldwide ISPs will be destroying the current free model to access the Internet, and replacing it with a pay-per-use model similar to the cable television model by the year 2012 (Bell and Telus may be implementing these changes here in Canada earlier, perhaps by 2010). Currently Internet users pay a flat fee and are able to essentially access any web site in the world they desire. However, with this coming initiative users will be paying for web site packages, where for example only the top 40 web sites will be accessible. Any sites not included in the package would cost users extra to access.

This would mean that independent sites like CanDevs will cease to exist. If there are no visitors, then there would be no point of having a web site. This will also mean that free speech, free knowledge, and innovation will be destroyed since only top sites like CBC, CNN, and Amazon will be accessible only if they are included in your subscription package. The bottom line for doing this is money. If you want more access, then you have to pay the ISPs more money.

I do hope this is a hoax. Something tells me this might possibly not be true. It would be insane if the ISPs went ahead with this and the logistics of it would be phenomenal. Would users get to pick sites by content, by theme, or will they be hand-picked? If you think about it, then search engines like Google would become obsolete since most of the search result links would be blocked if the results sites aren’t part of your subscription package. How about web sites you would otherwise only access once in your life – would you need to add them to your subscription package just to find out it’s not what you were looking for? What about new sites – would you need to add a video games promo site to your package every time a new game comes out? All these things would seem incredibly inconvenient to users from what I can see. I’m not sure how ISPs will be able to convince people to agree to this.

However, if this is all true then the word has to be spread and this has to be stopped.

Read the original news report here

Video explanation:

CanDevs

Canadian Gaming Record Day!

 

I’m passing on the following for Shannon of MDG Associates:

Guinness World Records is releasing the first annual Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008!

The Guinness World Records: Gamers’ Edition 2008 is not just a collection of scores – this job has been left to the experts in scores and times – Twin Galaxies. While TG supplied the scores, Guinness World Records amassed a team of video game experts to focus on all the other record-breaking aspects of gaming, such as:

• Longest prison sentence for playing a video game – In September 2002, the UK’s Faiz Chopdat was jailed for four months for playing Tetris on his mobile phone on a plane. Nobody has been jailed longer for playing a video game

• Largest virtual beer festival – Once a year the warring factions of the Horde and the Alliance put down their arms and celebrate “Brewfest”; the world’s largest virtual beer festival.

On March 11, 2008, Guinness World Records is calling on all Canadian gamers to visit the new Gamer’s Edition website to register their record attempts for Canadian Gaming Record Day! Maybe your name will be included in next year’s edition!

Visit http://gamers.guinnessworldrecords.com on March 11, 2008 to register your record attempts. Guinness World Records HQ will be on hand that day to monitor the number of entries! Let’s set a record, Canada!

CanDevs

::::::::::