Some help for an overloaded Internet

The Internet8217;s next generation, IPv6, is almost here, with the promise of holding 3x1039 addresses.

The Internet8217;s next generation, IPv6, is almost here, with the promise of holding 3215;1039 addresses. At present, the web8217;s technology is based on Internet Protocol Version 4 IPv4, which has an Internet address limit of 4 billion. IPv4, active since 1981, is headed for 8216;8216;exhausting8217;8217; its limit on addresses that can be registered according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Trai data. As mobile communications technologies advance, the Internet8217;s digital postmen 8212; also known as routers 8212; will find it increasingly tough to manage information. IPv6, which is being tested in three labs in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, will be 8216;plug-and-play8217;, reducing the need for users to configure their machines to receive advanced data. The ten-point agenda of the government has promised a migration to IPv6 in 2006, to accommodate the rising number of users.

Search boom

Search engines are chugging along at a fine pace since Google.com showed Internet-based businesses can more than float. Category-based engines are making a comeback8212;health, education, finance and relationship advise are what people need most help on when surfing. But just as the technology to provide the right information improves itself, customised search responses from real people have also made a slow comeback. One such collaborative, free search tool is Yahoo! India8217;s Yahoo Answers, that lets users ask questions and get answers from real people. Yahoo! promises 8216;8216;straight-forward and meaningful answers from real people on any topic8217;8217;. The answers will be tailored around Indian content as well, implying perhaps that Internet content in India is reaching critical mass too.

e-Waste management

The IT industry is doing good business as companies upgrade their infrastructure to get the latest gadgets, devices and office tools. But guidelines on how to manage what gets left behind in the relentless march of technology are

absent 8212; what can8217;t stored away gets, what, taken? The Hazardous Waste Management Rules, 2003, control how you can import or export e-waste and tax waivers try and reduce some of the burden of wasted technology. Others donate their obsolete hardware, all of which adds up to more than 5,000 tonnes of plastics and metal in the country. At least half of this is reusable.