IBM Prospects for Future of Internet

    Friday, April 7, 2000

    Computerworld China On Line
    Author: N/A

    IBM vice president for Internet technology John Patrick said that new technologies
    to protect privacy are becoming more important to companies as a result of Internet
    overtaking functionalities of PC in daily life.

    On Wednesday's InternetWorld Expo, Patrick delivered his keynote of future network
    and he talked extensively. He predicted that internet cookies will be replaced by
    digital identities, bringing users more control power of privacy.

    DIgital identities allows users to decide when to get themselves identified and when
    to hide. Patrick said such softwares can use voice recognition or finger prints to
    identify users and it is more secure than signatures.

    One key technology that is undertaken with W3C is P3P which set a standard that
    allows users to select the level of security needed for surfing the net.

    Patrick did not say how much farther it will be towards the mature of P3P but he
    did say that most web sites have not been involved in such test.

    Patrick said that in addition to high speed, the future Internet will be "forever open,
    more natural, more easy for use, more intelligent and everywhere."