Shrinking Planet Statistic of the Day: IP Addresses

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  09.25.08 | 4:09 PM ET

imagePhoto by Daquelle manera via Flickr (Creative Commons)

According to Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, so many people are now online worldwide that the supply of IP addresses—those 32-digit numbers that let our computers identify and connect with each other—are nearly used up.

“This is like the internet running out of telephone numbers,” Cerf told the Times of London, “and with no new numbers, you can’t have more subscribers.” The article has the details on a new 128-digit system that could shoulder the load.

Tags: Global Village, News and Briefs, Shrinking Planet

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


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