Thanks Art, There are a lot of very interesting points that you raised in your message. I had really not thought in these terms before:
The problem with the normal interrogation of this issue is that there is a failure to recognize that while the physical technology may have been developed elsewhere, the concepts which undergird it's use and operation are often indigenous.
What I had especially failed to consider are some of the cultural implications of the operation of the technology itself, not a minor oversight either. It also seems that once access has been established, any apparent centre-periphery distinctions generally at work in the world system seem to fade away, in that it is hard to establish the operation of a centre and periphery within the world wide web itself in any kind of direct and cut and dry sense. Indeed, large holes can be blown through the centre's technological apparatus, and yet in Trinidad the Internet seemed to function as normal (i.e., during 9-11, the recent blackout, and I recall an incident involving some fire in a tunnel in New Jersey that derstroyed some supposedly critical lines)...but then again, it's not like Internet service in Trinidad was ever really fast and smooth for the average user. Cheers, Max. Dr. Maximilian C. Forte Assistant Professor Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology University College of Cape Breton 1250 Grand Lake Road P.O. Box 5300 Sydney, NS B1P-6L2, Canada E-mail: max_forte@uccb.ca Faculty Web page: http://faculty.uccb.ns.ca/mforte/ Office B.273 Telephone: 902-563-1947