When Carl Howe, principal analyst at Forrester Research, issued his report on the X-Internet just over a year ago that proclaimed the Web was fading fast, he had some experts virtually foaming at the mouth. Critics dismissed the idea as nothing more than a buzzword, saying that with the Web in a constant state of evolution, it was foolish to announce the end of one era and the beginning of another. But a number of startups and some very high-profile old timers, such as Apple and Sun Microsystems, have taken the concept seriously. One year later, there are some intriguing developments that may just bring us closer to an Internet that enables greater interactivity with less hassle, on devices that go far beyond the desktop PC or even consumer hand-helds. "What the Web did was make us very tolerant of bad user interactions," said Howe. "We got used to things that take 10 to 15 minutes to respond. Basically, it made people wait for all the things they want to do on the Net. And weren't these machines supposed to make us more efficient? The Web is great for things you read, but if I'm actually trying to do a transaction or have a media experience, it's dreadful."
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