WEB TOLLS AHEAD?

摘要

The real force behind the Web, many software developers argue, is that it's free. What makes the Web truly worldwide, after all, is its interoperability―you can call up virtually any Web page on virtually any device connected to the Internet―and that depends on free software. But now members of the World Wide Web Consortium, the MIT-based industry forum devoted to promoting interoperability, are locked in a debate with outside critics over whether the royalty-free tradition can continue in a world where many companies hold patents on―and would like to start profiting from―the software needed as the backbone for next-generation Web standards.