02.20.21
What Gemini and IPFS Are to the Internet (or Tackling Misconceptions About the Web and Web Browsers)
Summary: There’s a lot more to the Internet than bloated and manipulative Web browsers; let’s examine how we’ve come to the current mess and means of change for the better
THE Internet and the Web are not the same thing. A lot of people cannot tell the difference. To many people the Internet means the Web browser (to some it used to mean “the blue E”) and in some developing nations “Internet” just means Facebook or “apps”. It’s sad, but the terms mean different things to different people and there’s usually a deep or profound misconception. To many young people, for example, Webmail is all there is to E-mail (usually controlled by companies that spy on or “scan” the mail, then “monetise” the data), just as to many people USENET or newsgroups (NNTP) is just “Google Groups”. Many still remember the days a Web browser came with a mail client (SeaMonkey still does this) and trying to explain to people what IPFS is can be rather tricky, unless a Web gateway for IPFS is shown. The same is true for Gemini; gateways or Web proxies do exist, but that’s just not the intended purpose. There’s much more to the Internet than browsers and “apps” (nowadays many people call browsers just “apps”).
“Thankfully, however, there’s a lot more to the Internet than just the Web.”I’ve attempted to explain what Gemini is, how it relates to the Web (almost not at all, it’s light a substitute to it), and how IPFS generally works (it’s related to neither Gemini nor the World Wide Web; its purpose too is different).
Techrights access requires an Internet connection. Whether one then uses it to fetch a text file (daily bulletins can be accessed directly from text editors), access Gemini capsules, open a Web browser or retrieve the latest objects from IPFS depends on one’s preference. At the moment there are at least those 4 options. In theory we could also create an open (S)FTP connection, but we find it hard to believe anyone wishes to read Techrights by retrieving files from an FTP server.
The Web sucks, mostly because Web browsers became bloated and distorted Web standards to suit their monopolistic and user-hostile (e.g. DRM/EME) agenda. Thankfully, however, there’s a lot more to the Internet than just the Web. The image on the right is the one drawn while making the video at the top.
The EPO management is certainly unhappy to see what we publish. This corrupt management is trying to prevent EPO staff from accessing this site. Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos have both blocked the site, but since there are many ways to access the stories they’ve basically fallen behind technologically. We try to stay ahead of the curve. █
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