Rick - I don't know if the terminology point is so important though. It is very useful to talk about the Internet as a social condition, as Eben does; however, this article is using "the Internet" to refer to the physical structures and protocols that make the social condition of the Internet possible. I don't think this is wrong, though it is confusing. We really need two different terms; however, until we come up with better language, I don't feel like it is useful to say that the word can only mean one thing. We clearly need a word for the latter, and that word is currently "Internet," which is unfortunately the same as the common word "Internet."

-- TheodoreSmith - 22 Feb 2009