HTTP is obsolete. It's time for the Distributed Web (2015)

Except, you're gonna have to have servers unless you've got the entire web backed up on everyone's computer. Otherwise, you don't and can't know how many copies of a page or other file are out there. But who's going to pay for servers to retain random peoples' and companies' web detritus? This whole project exists because that's not feasible in the long term...

It's not "crazy", it's pure, thoughtless hype.

Also: https://hashbase.io/

But I suggest that internet is 'centralized' not due to any technological function, but due to the nature of information, particularly the economics and business of information.

The 'protocol' used to pass information from A-B, were it changed to something better, would not yield what the author is suggesting. Google 'would still have all our stuff' - I believe.

When 'individuals' can 'run services' from a variety of physical locales, with robustness - we will see more decentralization, I think.

I believe this will happen probably by accident, gradually, as 'more tech' creeps into our homes, one day, most people will have enough 'gear' to run some kind of service from home/small office - and other places.

Finally - despite the obvious failings of HTTP ... incumbency is what it is. I'll be we're stuck with it for a very, very long time.

If a powerful enough entity decided to change that - like Google AND Amazon together, or the US Government, or the Chinese Government ... that could change. Funny enough I think it's China that's best positioned to do it. They have the wherewithal and the tech momentum, they could do it by 'fiat' and in 10 years implement some kind of 'new, better network' that we'd all eventually move to.

Hey - America is still using 'swipe cards' and doesn't even use 'smart cards' though they've been in use for 40 years around the world :)

In fact the “web” is consolidating onto those who have the capital to do servers at scale.

In some ways this is good as it makes computing power more accessible to the masses with good ideas but on the other hand it puts the power of what happens with that business in the hands of far fewer people.

You mean Filecoin?

Anyway, I'm also a skeptic about this model but I do think there is a sliver of chance that it may work. There ALWAYS is a sliver of chance that something crazy may work. That's how it's always been.

IBM laughed when personal computer vendors and OS creators thought that they will put computers on everyone's desk, and I'm pretty sure if I was back then I would have thought the same.

Also, before criticizing some technology it would help to actually understand how the technology actually works. As far as I know, IPFS is working on all the problems you mentioned. Now whether they will succeed or not is a whole different issue, but it's not such a trivially obvious thing that one could easily say that it's a "thoughtless hype".