internet slippery slope was Re: Yahoo Groups Problems?????

Hello all,

While I don't believe the internet will "die", we certainly must
expect it to become "subscription based". At least those parts which
are deemed by SOMEONE to have "paid for" value to others...

We don't have to look very far to see precedents. The bay bridges in
Northern California were supposed to be free after the original
construction cost was recovered ("They" just approved raising the toll
another buck to 3 in light of the decreased usage due to terroist
threat; yah right THAT'S WHY<G>) Part of the price we pay for our
freedom is the capitalist motto of "where there's a buck, there's a
way"

A better example would be cable tv. Remember the promise of no
commercials if ya just pay the "low" monthly fee...

Professionals in many fields have been paying for "content" for
generations...

The leading moneymakers on the internet are likely "porn sites", which
are also well versed in "getting the client to pay"(maybe not by
volume of dollars, but certainly by number of "functional" setups).

Another "winning strategy" (pun intended) already in place is the
fee-based nature of interactive role-playing games which abound on the
net.

So it(paying for the internet) is already here, it just hasn't
filtered down all the way....,
YET!

I remain hopeful that at least the seriously educational value of the
internet will be preserved at some "flat rate access" fee schedule
(maybe we just pay a "tax" to our ISP, who passes it along to the
"appropriate" people).

Many programs (and a recently released OS<G>) already "report in" to
the mfg. company when they are used. In the name of "security" and
"customer service" (yeah right; it's a pretty short step to
"monitoring usage"). And Mr. Bill (Gates, that is) has long said the
future of the internet (and all computing, if he gets his way; and he
has often enough in the past to make it worth a listen, even iffen ya
don't agree ) is "subscription based... Larry Ellison of Oracle has
wanted a similar situation for some time, remember his push for "dumb"
terminals?

What's really interesting is that we have come/are coming full circle
back to the place we were BEFORE the PC "revolution" took the power of
computers out of the hands of the few, and put them on desktops for
"everybody"...

So I'd have to say, time and ingenuity ARE key, but they are usually
more forcefully applied to MAKE money, rather than to keep something
(which CAN make money) "free". The fact that the world "may" be
entering a recession, will only change the timeframe, IMO, NOT the
results. So I'm gettin' while the getting is good...

One mans thoughts,

Ballendo

P.S. I post online, and am now dealing with a "posting toll", in the
form of a pop-up ad which I HAVE TO "click past", before returning to
the list mesages after I compose and post. Didn't we (as a group)
ALREADY PAY NOT to have ANY "ads"!

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., dlantz@a... wrote:
> thinking that the internet is 'dieing' may be a shortsighted view.
> NON-internet companies are suffering too, the world has entered a
recession.
> things will get back on track, it will only take time and inginuity.
WOW,
> 12000? thats crazy!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cncdxf@a... [mailto:cncdxf@a...]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2001 7:28 AM
> To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y...
> Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Yahoo Groups Problems?????
>
>
> Jon,
> Then when Yahoo pulls the plug you won't care? Everything
> is about money or power and sometimes both. I had a BBS years
> ago. I put 12,000 dollars into it over a five year period. I
> had Fido mail way before the Internet got big. Fido got killed
> because they were Non Profit. The Internet is dieing the facts
> speak for themselves. Some form of the Internet will survive but
> the FREE hosting will be gone very soon! Blue Light, Netzero
> and other have gone or cut back. Go to %&^$edcompany.com
> and you can see the Dot coms that die off everyday.
>
> Bob
>
>
> --- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., Jon Anderson <janders@n...> wrote:
> > cncdxf@a... wrote:
> >
> > > The Internet is not working.
> > > Only a few people are making money with it.
> >
> > The internet is working fine. It was never intended to be the
latest
> > capitalist get-rich-quick scheme...
> >
> > Jon