Other communication-oriented applications include using the Internet to carry telephone calls, video phone, and Internet radio, three rapidly growing areas. Another application is telelearning, meaning attending 8 A.M. classes without the inconvenience of having to get out of bed first. In the long run, the use of networks to enhance human-to-human communication may prove more important than any of the others.
其他面向通信的应用包括使用Internet承载电话呼叫、视频电话及Internet无线电台。这三个领域正在快速的发展。另一个应用是远程学习（telelearning），这就是说，你不用起床就可以参加早上8点的课。使用网络提高人际通信最终将被证明是网络应用最重要的功能。

Our third category is entertainment, which is a huge and growing industry. The killer application here (the one that may drive all the rest) is video on demand. A decade or so hence, it may be possible to select any movie or television program ever made, in any country, and have it displayed on your screen instantly. New films may become interactive, where the user is occasionally prompted for the story direction (should Macbeth murder Duncan or just bide his time?) with alternative scenarios provided for all cases. Live television may also become interactive, with the audience participating in quiz shows, choosing among contestants, and so on.
计算机网络应用的第三类是娱乐，这是一个巨大且在不断发展的产业。这里的杀手级应用（killer application ，驱动所有其他应用的关键应用）是视频点播。今后十年左右，有可能你可以在任何一个国家，选择曾经放过的电影或电视，立即在自己的屏幕上播放。新的电影有可能发展成交互式的，用户有时可以偶尔提示一下故事的走向（ Macbeth 是否该谋杀Duncan？还是等待时机？），电影为各种可能的情节提供了场景。直播电视也可能发展成交互式的，观众可以参与智力节目，在参与者中选择竞争对手，等等。

On the other hand, maybe the killer application will not be video on demand. Maybe it will be game playing. Already we have multiperson real-time simulation games, like hide-and-seek in a virtual dungeon, and flight simulators with the players on one team trying to shoot down the players on the opposing team. If games are played with goggles and three-dimensional real-time, photographic-quality moving images, we have a kind of worldwide shared virtual reality.
另一方面，计算机网络的杀手级应用可能不是视频点播，而可能是游戏。我们已经有多人实时模拟游戏，像在虚拟的城堡中捉迷藏，以及飞行模拟游戏（玩游戏的人和游戏中的虚拟飞行者为一组，设法击毙对应组的玩家）。如果玩游戏时戴上护目镜，使用三维即时、高质量的移动影像，我们就有与全球共享的虚拟现实空间。

Our fourth category is electronic commerce in the broadest sense of the term. Home shopping is already popular and enables users to inspect the on-line catalogs of thousands of companies. Some of these catalogs will soon provide the ability to get an instant video on any product by just clicking on the product's name. After the customer buys a product electronically but cannot figure out how to use it, on-line technical support may be consulted.
第四类应用是广义上的电子商务。在家购物已经很普遍，在这种模式中，用户可以查询成千上万个公司的在线商品目录。其中有些目录，用户只需轻轻点击商品的名字，便可提供实时视频。用户通过电子方式购买一件物品，但如果不知道怎么使用时，可以咨询在线技术支持。

Another area in which e-commerce is already happening is access to financial institutions. Many people already pay their bills, manage their bank accounts, and handle their investments electronically. This will surely grow as networks become more secure.
电子商务已经进入的另一个领域是金融机构。许多人已经通过电子化方式进行帐单支付、管理银行帐户、处理投资事宜。随着网络变得越来越安全，这一类的电子商务一定会得到更大的发展。

One area that virtually nobody foresaw is electronic flea markets (e-flea?). On-line auctions of second-hand goods have become a massive industry. Unlike traditional e-commerce, which follows the client-server model, on-line auctions are more of a peer-to-peer system, sort of consumer-to-consumer. Some of these forms of e-commerce have acquired cute little tags based on the fact that ''to'' and ''2'' are pronounced the same. The most popular ones are listed in Fig. 1-4.
另一个几乎没人能预见的领域是电子跳蚤市场（e-flea?）。在线拍卖二手物品已经形成了一个巨大的产业。传统的电子商务遵循客户－服务器模式，与此不同的是，在线拍卖大部分是对等系统，也是一种顾客－顾客模式。因为“to”和“2”的发音相同，有些在线拍卖形式的电子商务已经有一些可爱的名字。最流行的一种形式如图1-4。


No doubt the range of uses of computer networks will grow rapidly in the future, and probably in ways no one can now foresee. After all, how many people in 1990 predicted that teenagers tediously typing short text messages on mobile phones while riding buses would be an immense money maker for telephone companies in 10 years? But short message service is very profitable.
毫无疑问，计算机网络的使用范围在不久的将来还将继续扩大，也许有些方式现在没人可以预见。毕竟，能有多少人在1990年预料到，十年后，十几岁的青少年在车上用手机发送冗长的文本短信会给电信公司带来巨额利润？然而，短信服务的利润的确非常丰厚。

Computer networks may become hugely important to people who are geographically challenged, giving them the same access to services as people living in the middle of a big city. Telelearning may radically affect education; universities may go national or international. Telemedicine is only now starting to catch on (e.g., remote patient monitoring) but may become much more important. But the killer application may be something mundane, like using the webcam in your refrigerator to see if you have to buy milk on the way home from work.
对那些在地理位置较偏的人们来说，计算机网络将起着非常重要的作用。它将提供给这些人与大城市中的人们同样的服务。远程学习将对教育产生根本性的影响；有些大学可能因此变成全国性的或全球性的。远程医疗现在正处于起步阶段（如，远程病人监控），但也可能变的越来越重要。然而，关键的应用也许是那些接近生活的，就像在你家冰箱里装一个webcam，来决定你在下班回家的路上是否要买牛奶。