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their websites and maybe buy something, that they would leave their credit card numbers and purchase something, or that they would visit a site and then after that go shopping. This is unfortunately what most people think these days when the Web is mentioned. Of course, it was not designed as a shopping mall. It was primarily designed with the idea of retrieving information, to be a sort of archive. As a very rich and diverse kind of world library, which was maybe more the idea of its founders, it enables the exchange of files and for different material to be brought on-line. This material can then be discussed with colleagues or a broader audience. After the dotcom crash, there has been a new wave of Internet applications and possibilities. I would like to take a look at a few of them. First of all, we can see the rise of weblogs, or blogs, a much more interactive version of the webpage or homepage, where people just have information. Unlike the homepage, a weblog lets all users send their comments, to give their input into the site. They employ easy-to-use software, so that users, those visiting the site, can immediately respond and contribute something of their own. This is a very big cultural change, whereas in the time of the dotcoms, websites would be used to push content, to push ideas. In the revolution that is happening right now, we can see much more involvement of Internet users themselves. This is also reflected in another development, in so-called peer-to-peer networks, where people exchange files. Napster is the most famous of these, but now there are many, many more. Although Napster itself was closed down, peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa and others are incredibly popular, especially to swap mp3 files. On the other hand, people are increasingly starting to exchange texts. In my field, for instance, people are starting to exchange course outlines of University programs, thinking: ‘Why shouldn’t we share this information, why shouldn’t we share things like this as well?’ Universities say: ‘Bring all the courses on-line!’ So, you can basically exchange all the digital files in existance. In these cases, we shouldn’t only think about Warner Bros. and Disney and the sets of restrictions that surround them. Peer-to-peer networks and file sharing is a very rich and diverse activity. It’s not the copyright infringement aspect of it, maybe it’s the most well-known, but by no means is it the only way. This could also mean that peer-to-peer networks will have a future beyond the question of intellectual property rights. Personally I think that sites such as Napster and Kazaa are the least interesting, for the simple reason that the level between those who participate and just take something out and those who contribute is very uneven. Unfortunately, a lot of people took information out of Napster, but contributed little to the network. I think that in the near future peer-to-peer networks will only survive if smaller versions of them bring things into balance. You take information out, but you also contribute. I think that’s a more interesting phenomenon. Since the early ‘90s, we’ve seen the rise of Free Software. During the dotcom period there was a very unfortunate sort of infighting in that community. There’s been a split between those who favor Free Software, and those who favor a slightly more commercial approach called ‘Open Source’. This is why we use both terms, which for outsiders are probably the same, but they have a slightly different emphasis concerning the licensing of software production. This difference is maybe a bit too much for insiders, but the principle is the same. A lot of companies actually did survive the dot.com