Joshua Allen wrote:
> That wasn't the question, though -- the question was about why you would
> characterize DNS as "centralized" and Google as "decentralized". I
> don't think that's a defensible characterization, and in fact is
> backwards in spirit.
How about "DNS is centralized", "Search engines are decentralized". It
was pretty clear to me that Paul was talking about issues like barriers
to entry, type of administrative control and availability of consumer
choice.
If Google isn't providing good service, an upstart can arise--it
happened to Altavista and Lycos. That upstart doesn't need to ask
Google's permission to go into business, and I can switch to it just
like I switched from Altavista to Google. None of these things can
happen (easily, at least) in the case of centralized schemes like DNS
and UDDI.
Jim
