             The End of the Scene?

As the Internet and other large networks spread,
more  and more people give up the single machine
workstyle,  and  connect  to some of these WANs.
Concepts   of  developing  Internet  programming
languages  are  now  projects,  and I won't give
three  or four years to see a completely new and
previously never seen informatical world society
borning, based on the Internet. In this society,
or  better  call  it system, local networks will
serve   computer   users,  who  will  only  have
terminals in their homes. When you want to use a
software,  for example, want to play DOOM (I bet
it   won't  ever  be  forgotten  :)),  or  use a
compiler,  you  call the server, use the program
via  the  terminal, and when finished, you get a
bill   for  machine  time  and  software  usage.
Television, radio, and all such things will also
work this way.

Well,  I am not an anarchist, but if this is the
future, we would better blow up all servers now.
Boring,    lame   networks,   having   tons   of
uninteresting  stuff  online, all for dumb "good
citizens", who do not steal software, do not use
rude  words  in their letters (which will be all
checked,  of  course),  and most importantly not
interested in software companies' business. Some
little  guys  will  get good marks in the school
for  their  Visual Basic programs, and they will
be  reported in the news as young geniuses. Be a
good  guy,  shut  up,  and  do your work. Do you
think,  scene  has any chance to survive in this
environment?

My  most pessimistic opinion: No, the scene will
die,   demos   will  be  forgotten,  and  sheepy
lameness  will rule the world. This would be the
point  of  my  suicide,  but  I think I won't be
alone  with this. Another version of future: The
scene will leave the Internet, as now moves onto
it,  and  form  underground networks. These will
work  the same like the Internet: local servers,
connected  to terminals, but with free software,
elite stuff. Of course, it will work in complete
secrecy  to  avoid  the police. Just like in the
old  C-64  times, when crackers formed networks.
Of course, these networks will be separated from
the  Internet,  so  they  will not use the legal
ways  -  high  speed lines, satellite links - to
maintain  contact.  They  will not use telephone
lines,   as  telephone  becomes  past  with  the
worldwide  spread  of  IRC  and e-mail. Maybe AM
micro  broadcast  channels  will  be used, maybe
illegal  radio  stations  will  be the solution.
Anything it will be, it must be cheap, discreet,
and easily maintainable.

On  this  network,  the  old  scene  spirit will
flourish  once  more.  People  will work for the
reputation,  not  for  money or compo prizes. Of
course,  no  more parties will be held. Crackers
will  be  replaced  by hackers; as once crackers
removed  protection  from  softwares  to make it
usable without buying it, now hackers will break
into legal servers to get the warez.

This  future  plan  reminds  me  some  cyberpunk
novel,  but  is it completely nonsense? Well, we
will see it within just a few years.

