> “I thought 32 bits ought to be enough for Internet addresses”. “I didn’t pay enough attention to security”. “I didn’t really appreciate the implications of the World Wide Web.”
Most experiments, prototypes, and even full blown systems designed for the long term die well before 30-40 years and those extra addresses and features would ever be needed.
Much more human effort is wasted prematurely 'future proofing' systems and trying to predict the future. The brilliance of TCP/IP is its simplicity - if it had got more complex perhaps it would have been replaced in its entirety. We could be using Gopher over OpenDECNet.
Most experiments, prototypes, and even full blown systems designed for the long term die well before 30-40 years and those extra addresses and features would ever be needed.
Much more human effort is wasted prematurely 'future proofing' systems and trying to predict the future. The brilliance of TCP/IP is its simplicity - if it had got more complex perhaps it would have been replaced in its entirety. We could be using Gopher over OpenDECNet.