PatGratton writes "Keeping in mind that digital technology has strong direct and indirect effects on the development of nanotechnology and other transformational technologies… How do we get what we want from the digital industry in regards to: openness, privacy, security, robustness, rapid development, intellectual property distribution, etc.?
To answer this question, I'm writing a book called "Digital Needs" which examines the next 10 years of consumer facing digital technology – from the consumer's point of view. It lays out consumer requirements for hardware convergence, digital publishing, privacy, etc. and then suggests how they might be implemented.
For example, for digital publishing, I require that: Once a consumer has bought a digital good (book, music etc.) from a publisher, he should be guaranteed that he'll be able to access that good for the rest of his life, regardless of: loss of original copy, damage to or destruction of viewing hardware, changes in technology (e.g., html replaced by xml replace by ???), or even demise of the company that sold him the good. I then describe a system that makes this guarantee possible.
To help enforce these requirements, I suggest that commercially motivated Digital Consumers Unions be formed – some focussing on the needs of private consumers, others focussing on the needs of corporate consumers.
That's the brief introduction. For more information, see the Digital Needs Homepage.
Read more for more detailed links.
