The invisible Internet meets desktop applications

We are about to enter a new era of the Internet. To access information over the Internet from my Windows NT desktop in today's era of the visible Internet, for instance, I use a generic application such as AltaVista Discovery. However, as we move toward the era of an invisible Internet, all applications and hardware devices will transparently access the Internet, without requiring us to authorize a Web connection to retrieve information. This evolution from stand-alone desktop applications to network-aware applications is not just about downloading and viewing files. It raises interesting questions about future technological models and their competing pricing models.