Dennis D. McDonald (ddmcd@ddmcd.com)consults from Alexandria Virginia. His services include writing & research, proposal development, and project management.
In A Fire Upon the Deep, Vinge created a universe where different physical laws exist in different locations corresponding to different levels of communications and travel speed. This got me to thinking about the different levels of computing and networking that have existed and are evolving as arguments about what constitutes Web 2.0 continue.
Remember the scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey where NASA official Heywood Floyd, on his way to the Moon, stops to read the lengthy zero-gravity toilet instructions? It’s one of the few humorous moments in this film and usually gets a laugh.