We consider visible and hidden links that make pages whole. Of special concern is where technology strengthens the whole or destroys it by accident.
Large images provide a useful history and thought experiment because their retrieval and rendering has evolved and will continue to evolve with bandwidth improvements over the decades.
The URL as locator plays contradictory roles in anchor and image tags. The anchor <a> is visible, a new place to go. The image <img> includes src=url attribute which separates text from image for no other reason than technical convenience.
A link not followed is a reader's choice, a good thing. A slow or lost image breaks the wholeness of the page, a bad thing. In short: href good, src bad.
# Wiki
Federated wiki uses client-side javascript to change how both href and src are handled so that pages stay whole as they move throughout the federation.
# Data
What will broadly available gigabit connectivity change in how we assemble parts into whole?
Long running computations.
Uniquely available equipment.
Service Architecture.
Intentional Limitation.