One thing is pretty clear: if you take URI's out of the web, the whole thing falls over.
Zen of the Web Programming Model (Part 1)
URI's have some nice properties -- transcribability (the ability to be easily written down) being chief among them. The URI RFC goes into some depth on this feature and how it enables even the low end 'cocktail napkin' style of URI transmission between two humans. This has led to a couple of things -- number one, URI support is pretty ubiquitous throughout the application stack. URI's are supported directly in browsers and file system explorers, and URI-based mechanisms are the defacto app-level metaphor for referencing one piece of information from within another (I know I definitely use Word's Add Hyperlink feature a lot more than I use OLE these days). URI's have become so ubiquitous that folks are starting to optimize away the need for transmission-by-cocktail-napkin by designing systems around URI's that are easy for people reason about and remember directly. They leverage the hierarchical nature of URI paths to logical URI layouts where the hierarchy of the URI path reflects the organization structure of the underlying information space.
Zen of the Web Programming Model (part 2)
Zen of the Web Programming Model (Part 3)
From the MIX07 archives I think you'll find Don Box and Steve Maine's presentation Navigating the Programmable Web entertaining and insightful. The VisitMix site is a maze that's difficult to navigate, like walking into a supermarket and having to wonder all the way to the back of the store just to get a gallon of milk. You can download Don and Steve's talk here, maybe I should open-up a MIX convenience store.
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