What Lies Ahead; Byte Magazine; January 1989.

Ryoichi Mori Professor at the Institute of Information Sciences and Electronics, University of Tsukuba, Japan. Professor Mori has been in the forefront of the Japanese microelectronics industry and the TRON project.

Feature: What Lies Ahead; Byte Magazine; January 1989.

With Alan Kay, Ryoichi Mori, Ray Kurzweil; Jerome Feldman.
Marvin Minsky
Jack Kilby
Grace M. Hopper
Dennis Ritchie
Terry Winograd
Charles Simonyi

Over the past 20 years, I have seen two important innovations come along. In 1973, I predicted that the microcomputer would be the most important issue for many decades. In 1978, I came to the conclusion that the first Japanese word processing machine, the Toshiba JW-10, would change the history of Japanese documentation work. I predicted that the Japanese word processor would reach not only to the offices, but also to personal document work.

Now I believe that "superdistribution" will be the most interesting and important issue in the field of personal computing in the foreseeable future. Superdistribution is a way of distributing programs, using a tamper-resistant module to keep track of usage rights and billing charges.

Steve Weingart of the IBM Watson Research Center and I have designed these tamper-resistant modules. His module uses analog detection of attacks. An IBM system to utiliize the module, ABYSS (A Basic Yorktown Security System, created by Steve White and Liam Comerford), uses a token card. My method uses digital detection and has a system architecture...thus, I named it "superdistribution".

In one way, superdistribution is analogous to superconductivity. In superconductivity, electrons flow without resistance; in superdistribution; digital information flows without resistance. The key to eliminating the resistance is to eliminate copy protection and piracy so as to safeguard the interests of users, manufacturers and distributors, who will then promote free distribution rather than hinder it.

Superdistribution is different from conventional distribution in that it allows users to obtain and test software from anywhere in the world before paying for it, as well as to rent and purchase full usage rights anytime. At the same time, a software vendor can restrict software implementation to a set of qualified users without any need for active verification. No explicit contract is needed. With this system, running new software will be like turning on a faucet and getting water. Billing will be automatic for both user and vendor.

The information that accompanies the superdistribution software includes controls on its usage and testing. The billing information collectedf by the module can be retrieved by means of telecommunications, a system analogous to reading a water meter.

Although software superdistribution resembles the distribution of electricity, gas, and water, it is even more convenient. No material medium is needed for superdistribution, and the information is transmitted at the speed of light. Superdistribution can be used, not just for computer programs but for compact disks and digital audio tapes as well.

Over the past 5 years, the Japan Electronics Industriay Development Association has intensively investigated the superdsitrbiution concept (Among the other projects initiated by JEIDA (unreadible line) tribution Technology Committee, which I cnir, to actively pursue this concept. The committee, which includes experts from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone and from all the major Japanese mainframe manufacturers, foresees no major obstacles to realizing superdistribution in the near future.

Virtual School Middle of Nowhere Brad Cox