Over the years I've been critical of Vint Cerf, one of the original gearheads credited with TCP/IP.

(One look at the hairline, of course, and one must admit he's a Truly Handsome Man. The picture is from Computerhistory.org, a page describing his early work.)

When Cert looks into the future today, he gets it. He understands where we should be going, and perhaps more importantly where we should not be going, in regards to the Internet.

He shared some of that wisdom Wednesday at a dinner called Freedom to Connect.

Following are some of the high points:

• We've got the Internet on everything, now get it under everything. That is, make sure all devices on the Internet can access all Internet services. That's bad news for the cellular companies.
• Regulation should aim for competition in every layer of the Internet Protocol. "Also, transparency is an important principal. We do not want one layer controlling another. That's a layer violation."
• Peer-to-peer is central to the Internet's design. Attention Hollywood.
• People should be free to innovate without permission from ISPs.
• Cerf did caution that he's ambivalent over what might be termed "port violations," applications that trash the concept of specific ports for specific functions. Skype is just one example. Many p2p programs also violate this principle, in their efforts to get around ISP law enforcement.
• Internet traffic is becoming symmetric, that is, you're uploading as much as you download. BitTorrent has something to do with this. But most phone and cable companies are asymmetric, offering more download than upload speed.
• Internet rights also need to be symmetric. We talk about freedom of speech, we should also be free to hear.

Here's my favorite line. "Speakers need listeners. Listening should not be prevented by legislation, regulation, or bad business practices."

We love Vint Cerf.