tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post3108561097061970635..comments2023-09-11T08:58:24.710-06:00Comments on Reach Upward: The Need for SpeedScott Hinrichshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-46092957084988672222007-09-06T18:16:00.000-06:002007-09-06T18:16:00.000-06:00I'd argue that we've totally flubbed telco policy....I'd argue that we've totally flubbed telco policy. We gave them a $200B subsidy as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and we got none of their promises? All copper upgraded to fiber optics? Nope. 45Mbps broadband? Nope. Multiple competing providers over this advanced network? Nada.<BR/><BR/>We've got two options: sue the scoundrels into bankruptcy or line up behind projects like UTOPIA that provide that infrastructure to private competitors.Jesse Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468928702710912142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-26778736954916047252007-09-06T16:39:00.000-06:002007-09-06T16:39:00.000-06:00Monopolies have a lot of power. But they ultimate...Monopolies have a lot of power. But they ultimately limit consumer choice. And that goes for both private sector monopolies and government monopolies.<BR/><BR/>One of government's jobs is to provide a regulatory and legal structure that fosters competition. We've got some things right in this arena. But we obviously also have some things wrong.Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-24499876555597060332007-09-06T12:03:00.000-06:002007-09-06T12:03:00.000-06:00Consumers want the highspeed internet. Since our u...Consumers want the highspeed internet. Since our utility system is overregulated, it is unlikely that anyone, other than the Comcast monopoly, will be able to bridge that last mile and get us the bandwidth we desire.<BR/><BR/>BTW, you don't need to be able to download the whole movie in a minute. All you need is a bandwidth that is faster than the display rate. You can download movies with Comcast On Demand. <BR/><BR/>Since Comcast has a monopoly on the last mile, there won't be a market for any independent online film rental agencies.y-intercepthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389285761013186443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-12329161786931131232007-09-05T17:12:00.000-06:002007-09-05T17:12:00.000-06:00The infrastructure upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet, li...The infrastructure upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet, like they've done in some other countries, seems to be lagging here in the U.S. When consumers demand it, however, I'm sure the market will comply.<BR/><BR/>And, yes, my 2007 laptop uses significantly less power than any of my previous computers, despite the fact that we can still only get so much juice from a battery.Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-81474760722473824092007-09-05T15:07:00.000-06:002007-09-05T15:07:00.000-06:00It will be nice when movies become to DVDs like MP...It will be nice when movies become to DVDs like MP3's became to CD's. Some people still buy CDs because they provide the full range of sound, but I prefer the compact organization of my 40GB portable MP3 player. It will be great when we can download a full-length movie in a minute or less.<BR/><BR/>Whereas a year ago, I didn't even have wireless in my home, now we have 4 computers hooked up as well (and it's often that at least 3 of them are being used). It is so nice to be able to sit in my zero-gravity camp chair with my laptop on the back deck and check the news and blog to my heart's content. <BR/><BR/>I just upgraded to 7mbps DSL, which is 5 times faster than I had before, but it's still slower than it should be and definitely slower than places like Japan.Frank Stahelihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01822334061980912687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-46667824668328713412007-09-05T12:30:00.000-06:002007-09-05T12:30:00.000-06:00DL!You just said a paradox! I am so very proud of ...DL!<BR/><BR/>You just said a paradox! I am so very proud of you. You are getting better at the Dialectics with each attack. You have a bright future as a brown shirt in the new order.<BR/><BR/>Not only was it a paradox. It was a particularly inane one to boot. Inane paradoxes are always the best. Don't ya think? You should be so proud of yourself.<BR/><BR/>BTW, Reach's article on wireless networking is a case where a new technology reduced the need for the older more resource intensive wired technology. The same thing happened when client server computing wiped out the market for the more complex 4GLs.<BR/><BR/>Jesse Harris makes an interesting point about batteries. There seems to be physical limits to the chemical energy you can store in a mass of a given size. As there is a physical limit on batteries, I think the real frontier in portable technology is efficiency. So, although battery technology isn't changing, the bang we get from each battery is increasing.<BR/><BR/>There is also a promising future for remote generation such as fuel cells and solar cells. I think the thing to concentrate on at this moment is the technology of conservation.y-intercepthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389285761013186443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-53627835494417262972007-09-04T20:01:00.000-06:002007-09-04T20:01:00.000-06:00The one thing that the market will never do is dev...The one thing that the market will never do is develop a technology that reduces the need for more technology. The software innovations that catch on in the market require more powerful hardware. The ones that could run circles around the "winners" but on antiquated hardware are losers in the marketplace. Hmmmm.Charles Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02975241234146573609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-43272941125915266182007-09-04T19:22:00.000-06:002007-09-04T19:22:00.000-06:00The one area of technology that seems to be the pe...The one area of technology that seems to be the perpetual laggard is batteries. Try as we might, we still can't find a lot of good ways to squeeze more juice out compounds like NiMH and Lithium ion. The capacity we get per pound of material has barely budged in the last 30 years; we've only managed to cheat more out of the battery by cutting consumption repeatedly.Jesse Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468928702710912142noreply@blogger.com