Is the Web 2.0 Era here?

[DudeAsInCool]

In his article 'Silicon Valley (Version 2.0) Has Hopes Up,' NY Times Technology writer Gary Rivlin ponders whether Silicon Valley is back or not..

With developments like this coming :bigsmile: "For example, we know that experiments now going on at CalTech and Internet2 and other high-technology centers, the (download) periods--well, at CalTech they have brought down a DVD in five seconds. Internet2 has brought one down in one minute. So we know it will be minutes for takedown time in--I'd say 18 months to two and a half years" (http://news.com.com/Jack+Valenti%27s+curta...l?tag=nefd.lede) :bigsmile: I think you can count on it!

***

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 21 — "Silicon Valley is back" is on the lips of eager entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, who are rejoicing over the success of Google and pointing to the modest comeback in computer sales. The three-year-long depression, they say, is over.

But other signs tell a different story. The famed traffic jams of Silicon Valley's boom times are still uncommon. A last-minute reservation at some of the area's hot restaurants, like Tamarine or Spago Palo Alto, can still be had. And a suite in a gleaming office park that would have cost nearly $10 a square foot in monthly rent in 1999 can now be had for less than $3.

Big portions of sprawling projects built on optimism in the mid-1990's, like the Midpoint Technology Park in Redwood City, sit dark and unoccupied. On Mission College Boulevard in Santa Clara, 750,000 square feet of office space is still available in an archipelago of office parks built during the boom.

The optimists tend to compare today's prospects with that of the mid-1990's, when Netscape Communications' initial public offering in August 1995 touched off the greatest boom the area has ever witnessed. They believe that a new era, which some are calling Web 2.0, is here.

You can read the full story in today's NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/22/technolo...ml?pagewanted=1

[Malicious Intent]

It's subscription. :(

Anyway, I'm glad to hear it is making a bit of a recovery. Hopefully lessons have been learnt and everyone wont jump straight back in again. Without sounding too much like a New Labour advert board - Silicon Valley will need steady growth this time, instead of boom and bust.

[DudeAsInCool]

Wall Street played a big role in the boom and bust cycle of Silicon Valley - lets hope they act more responsibly this time

[Psychotronic420]

Lets hope that Internet2 is available to the masses and not just Gov/military/research which is who will have access to it in the beginning. If curent trends continue on the "open" internet we use now (ie worms/trojans etc) the powers that be may not be so quick to let the gen population in on this amazing new network.

I have a feeling that they want it to be a closed system with strict controls involved.

[DudeAsInCool]

Lets hope that Internet2 is available to the masses and not just Gov/military/research which is who will have access to it in the beginning.

I hope to get involved with it early...