At this point in time, have you envisioned a life minus the Internet? Well, that could serve as your worst nightmare, isn't it? To junk it is the last thing you would do..

But a horde of smart people are looking forward to junk it...

Forbes reports:

Government and university researchers have been exploring ways to redesign the Internet from scratch. Some of the challenges that led researchers to start thinking of clean-slate approaches:

SECURITY
THE CHALLENGE: The Internet was designed to be open and flexible, and all users were assumed to be trustworthy. Thus, the Internet's protocols weren't designed to authenticate users and their data, allowing spammers and hackers to easily cover their tracks by attaching fake return addresses onto data packets.

MOBILITY
THE CHALLENGE: Computers rarely moved, so numeric Internet addresses were assigned to devices based on their location. A laptop, on the other hand, is constantly on the move.

UBIQUITY
THE CHALLENGE: The Internet was designed when there were relatively few computers connecting to it. The proliferation of personal computers and mobile devices led to a scarcity in the initial address system. There will be even more demand for addresses as toasters, air conditioners and other devices come with Internet capability, as will standalone sensors for measuring everything from the temperature to the availability of parking spaces.