WWW2005 Invited Talks

WWW at 15 Years: Looking Forward

The key property of the WWW is its universality: One must be able to access it whatever the hardware device, software platform, and network one is using, and despite the disabilities one might have, and whether one is in a "developed" or "developping" country; it must support information of any language, culture, quality, medium, and field without discrimination so that a hypertext link can go anywhere; it must support information intended for people, and that intended for machine processing. The Web architecture incorporates various choices which support these axes of universality.

Currently the architecture and the principles are being exploited in the recent Mobile Web initiative in W3C to promote content which can be accessed optimally from conventional computers and mobile devices. New exciting areas arise every few months as possible Semantic Web flagship applications. As new areas burst forth, the fundamental principles remain important and are extended and adjusted. At the same time, the principles of openness and consensus among international stakeholders which the WWW Consortium (W3C) employs for new technology are adjusted, but ever-important.

The Case for Technology for Developing Regions

Moore's Law and the wave of technologies it enabled have led to tremendous improvements in productivity and the quality of life in the industrialized world. Yet, technology has had almost no effect on the four billion people that make less US$2000/day. In this talk I argue that the decreasing costs of computing and wireless networking make this the right time to spread the benefits of technology, and that the biggest missing piece is a lack of focus on the problems that matter, including health, education, and government. After covering some example applications that have shown very high impact, I take an early look at the research agenda for developing regions. Finally, I examine some of the pragmatic issues required to make progress on these very challenging problems. My goal is to convince high-tech researchers that technology for developing regions is an important and viable research topic.

Towards Usable Web Privacy and Security

Internet users now rely on a whole arsenal of tools to protect their security and privacy. Experts recommend that computer users install personal firewalls, anti-virus software, spyware blockers, spam filters, cookie managers, and a variety of other tools to keep themselves safe. Users are told to pick hard-to-guess passwords, use a different password at every Web site, and not to write any of their passwords down. They are told to read privacy policies before providing personal information to Web sites, look for lock icons before typing in a credit card number, refrain from opening email attachments from people they don't know, and even to think twice about opening email attachments from people they do know. With so many do's and don'ts, it is not surprising that much of this advice is ignored. In this talk I will highlight usability problems that make it difficult for people to protect their privacy and security on the Web, and I will discuss a number of approaches to addressing these problems.

Real and the Future of Digital Media

Abstract not available.

Innovation for a Human-Centered Network
-NTT's R&D activities for achieving the NTT Group's Medium-Term Management Strategy-

This talk presents NTT's approach for realizing a Human-Centered Network. Last November, we announced the NTT Group's Medium-Term Management Strategy, which consists of three management objectives: (1) building the ubiquitous broadband market and helping achieve the e-Japan Strategy and the u-Japan Initiative; (2) building a safe, secure, and convenient communications network environment and broadband access infrastructure, while achieving a seamless migration from the legacy telephone network to the next generation network; and (3) striving to increase corporate value and achieve sustainable growth. Since the management strategy takes account of Japan's future social issues such as declining birthrate and aging population, the need to reduce the environmental load, etc, we believe that the R&D activities directed towards accomplishing these objectives consequently lead to the realization of a Human-Centered Network.