1. Smartcard Privacy If you need a lesson on how the technologies of freedom can become the tools of oppression, take a look at smartcards. Years ago, crypto maverick David Chaum almost single-handedly developed the algorithms needed to make digicash possible, and he made sure they provided anonymity without sacrificing security or accountability. Now, as the hype surrounding smartcards grows, Chaum's work is being steadily perverted. Few of the new commercial schemes provide anonymity; worse, some seem poised to become a new kind of identity card. Forget the Clipper Chip: these devices will be the real "Big Brother inside."
2. Caretaker Organizations I never feel as cared for as when I'm online. In the area of securities fraud alone, there are sites from the SEC, the National Fraud Information Center, and NASD Regulation Inc. to help guard against online con men. The only problem is that a quick spin around the Web turns up far more care-taker organizations - from eTRUST to SurfWatch - than it does grifters. Everyone is so busy offering "good-housekeeping seals" that no one has time to do anything worth protecting people from.
3. Virtual LANs The hottest concept in networking is based on a surprisingly straightforward idea. Why not allow administrators to partition networks into small, logically distinct "virtual LANs"? This way, proponents argue, people who work together can be on the same VLAN, regardless of where they are located on the network. The problem is that few applications broadcast data to everyone in a work group, so VLANs don't do much to reduce network traffic. And without a VLAN standard on the horizon, administrators are only creating a giant headache for themselves.
4. Parody Web Sites Perhaps it started last year, when the Web sites that parodied the presidential candidates' homepages got more publicity than the real ones. Or maybe it was when Stale was greeted with more accolades than Michael Kinsley's Slate. Whatever the case, parody sites have become inescapable. Pundits dispute why this kind of humor was so quick to take over, but all their theories seem to boil down to the same thing: The only thing worth discussing on the Web is the Web.
5. Network Computers Network computers remind me of those clunky word processors from the early 1980s. A cheap computer dressed up as a traditional typewriter, it was marketed to technology-weary consumers. But due to the device's tiny screen, limited data storage, and lack of flexibility, it quickly disappeared from the marketplace. NCs simply repeat these mistakes. Which begs the question: If NCs are such a dumb idea, why do Scott McNealy and Larry Ellison believe in them so fiercely? Answer: Because these are the same guys who believed in video-on-demand.
This Month's Overhyped Memes
1. Smartcard Privacy
Hype Level = Meme on the rise
Position Last Month = Meme on the rise
Expected Lifetime = 4 months
2. Caretaker Organizations
Hype Level = Meme on the rise
Position Last Month = Embryonic meme
Expected Lifetime = 6 months
3. Virtual LANs
Hype Level = Meme on the rise
Position Last Month = Meme on the rise
Expected Lifetime = 12 months
4. Parody Web Sites
Hype Level = About to die from overexposure
Position Last Month = Mass-media meme
Expected Lifetime = 3 months
5. Network Computers
Hype Level = About to die from overexposure
Position Last Month = Mass-media meme
Expected Lifetime = 4 months
