Or just a different method of getting at the same old material
>
>That is how big business is using that. But there are parts of >the net that are sufficiently free of that type of top down
>control (usenet, irc, free servers..).

True but at some level, big business or government still plays a role in providing the ability to use those services.

>>Having access to the internet is not that different than >having access to a mall bookstore or direct tv.
>
>The net is more than that.

In what way? It can be more than those things in some areas but it also can be LESS.

>Its not just about getting online, its about what's there when >you finally get on. Its about who controls the content, who
>>controls the search engines, who controls the tolls for the
>>highway, who sets the rules & regulates the highway, etc.
>
>In it's current form you can avoid the control. How savvy you >have to be to do this, is another question. - usenet - no controls content.

I'm taking it a little further than that, I think. Its not about free search engines or newsgroups...its about who controls those groups, who controls the the fiber, who controls IP registration, the technical structures required to have internet access, the monitoring of that access, the laws controlling ways in which we can use web & the enforcement of them.

Its also about awareness....as more & more people gain access & more & more people develop a web presence, the quantity of the information limits individual visibility. The information can be there but whats the point if no one knows. You still are tied to the standard principles of marketing & promotion - you just have a larger audience. Yes, we'll have faster & more access to information but faster & more are only relative to those running along side us. Their capacity to put their information out to an even larger group will increase too.

>I have a feeling we will see that end in the next 10 years.

Yes, not to mention, we can & some are being monitored today.

>No doubt, but access to information is a far better weapon
>than we've had before.

Yes, if we can find it, trust it, and control it. There isn't a plan in place for that.