W9LQI
04-14-2004, 12:53 AM
Dear Fraturnity:
I just got my May issue of Linux Mag. Please reference P.2. "Booting Up", "HIGH POWERED LINES"
This was written by the editor in chief, Martin Streicher of Linux Magazine. It sez that you can read his "nacent" weblog at http://blog.streicher.us
The article reads as follows:
"In the near future, the City of Cincinnati, Ohio will become the first municipality in the country to receive broadband over power lines (BPL). The service, which promises at least one megabit per second download and uplaod speeds, can be accessed via any electrical socket using an adapter that closely resembles a large cell phone charger. The technology is proven, the Federal Communications Commsiions is endorsing it, and unlike DSL or wireless, BPL can go anywhere that power goes. And BPL is cheap: the basic mbps service is priced at $29.95 per month.
While BPL is cool, the implications of ubiquitous broadband are far cooler, even disruptive. Imagine what your television, game, console. stereo, TiVO, and any number of other devices could do if connecting them to the internet required nothing more than plugging them in and turning them on. Wireless hotspots would require nothing more than an electric socket and an antenna.
And just think what will happen when your local power utility challenges your local telephone company for your broadband dollar. In my neighborhood, Pacific Gas and Electric could easily become Pacific Gas and Electric, Internet and Entertainment. Plug in (literally) a voice over IP (VoIP) phone and PG&E can tack on Telephone to their miniker as well.
Other "What if?" questions spring to mind: What if all television signals traveled over broadband? What if every device was truely addressable (via something like IPv6)? What if everyone had internet access?
The first question is fun to ponder- would independent Internet Protocol television stations crop up? - but the two latter issues are especially interesting, because ubitquity requires infrastructure. BPL may provide access over existing power lines, but computers are a luxury for many, and few gadgets sport a broadband connection, let alone an operating system capable of running internet-aware applications........
(he launches into a diatribe on Sony)......
(last paragraph) The promise of BPL seems enormous. Like other services we depend on and simply assume are in place - water, electricity, telephone, and even the personal computer - BPL could make broadband a commodity, and more importantly, combined with Linux, a convenience we can take for granted."
Well good folks out there in QRZ land, I did write the "Nacent Bloger" an e-mail and accued him of a shoddy job of researching the subject. I suggested that BPL is not proven technology. I also suggested that he do some research on the downside of this monster.
My final point is write him. His e-mail is:
mstreicher@linux.mag.com
I would also suggest that the good contributors of QRZ.com may want to carefully pour over the current crop of computer rags and make appropriate responses.
Somebody's got a real "BS" script going and it appears to me to start with Chairman Powell, who is endorsing this "proven" technology. Tell me good readers, isn't this a conflict of interest in the worst form for a public offical who is supposed to be safe guarding our spectrum?
The watch word is Cincinnati folks. Those good hams over in Cincinnati if you're looking out for our collective interests please take note. Has anyone or any of the clubs done a baseline for noise levels before the "din" sdtarts up delivering "proven technology" to all the hungry users? Time to get active guys, the seige is about to start.
Oh-boy, I do hope someone else out there in qrz land has an interest in stomping this hyped up "BS". Here we go folks. It doesn't take a very high IQ to see what this does in the hands of a City Council or pseudo tech savy type that seems to haunt every rag and newspaper. All the wannabes are going to be busy with the thick pumped up hype....."and for those nasty hams causing interference, why shut'em down!" Yep, I see it coming.
Thanks,
Hutch
W9LQI
I just got my May issue of Linux Mag. Please reference P.2. "Booting Up", "HIGH POWERED LINES"
This was written by the editor in chief, Martin Streicher of Linux Magazine. It sez that you can read his "nacent" weblog at http://blog.streicher.us
The article reads as follows:
"In the near future, the City of Cincinnati, Ohio will become the first municipality in the country to receive broadband over power lines (BPL). The service, which promises at least one megabit per second download and uplaod speeds, can be accessed via any electrical socket using an adapter that closely resembles a large cell phone charger. The technology is proven, the Federal Communications Commsiions is endorsing it, and unlike DSL or wireless, BPL can go anywhere that power goes. And BPL is cheap: the basic mbps service is priced at $29.95 per month.
While BPL is cool, the implications of ubiquitous broadband are far cooler, even disruptive. Imagine what your television, game, console. stereo, TiVO, and any number of other devices could do if connecting them to the internet required nothing more than plugging them in and turning them on. Wireless hotspots would require nothing more than an electric socket and an antenna.
And just think what will happen when your local power utility challenges your local telephone company for your broadband dollar. In my neighborhood, Pacific Gas and Electric could easily become Pacific Gas and Electric, Internet and Entertainment. Plug in (literally) a voice over IP (VoIP) phone and PG&E can tack on Telephone to their miniker as well.
Other "What if?" questions spring to mind: What if all television signals traveled over broadband? What if every device was truely addressable (via something like IPv6)? What if everyone had internet access?
The first question is fun to ponder- would independent Internet Protocol television stations crop up? - but the two latter issues are especially interesting, because ubitquity requires infrastructure. BPL may provide access over existing power lines, but computers are a luxury for many, and few gadgets sport a broadband connection, let alone an operating system capable of running internet-aware applications........
(he launches into a diatribe on Sony)......
(last paragraph) The promise of BPL seems enormous. Like other services we depend on and simply assume are in place - water, electricity, telephone, and even the personal computer - BPL could make broadband a commodity, and more importantly, combined with Linux, a convenience we can take for granted."
Well good folks out there in QRZ land, I did write the "Nacent Bloger" an e-mail and accued him of a shoddy job of researching the subject. I suggested that BPL is not proven technology. I also suggested that he do some research on the downside of this monster.
My final point is write him. His e-mail is:
mstreicher@linux.mag.com
I would also suggest that the good contributors of QRZ.com may want to carefully pour over the current crop of computer rags and make appropriate responses.
Somebody's got a real "BS" script going and it appears to me to start with Chairman Powell, who is endorsing this "proven" technology. Tell me good readers, isn't this a conflict of interest in the worst form for a public offical who is supposed to be safe guarding our spectrum?
The watch word is Cincinnati folks. Those good hams over in Cincinnati if you're looking out for our collective interests please take note. Has anyone or any of the clubs done a baseline for noise levels before the "din" sdtarts up delivering "proven technology" to all the hungry users? Time to get active guys, the seige is about to start.
Oh-boy, I do hope someone else out there in qrz land has an interest in stomping this hyped up "BS". Here we go folks. It doesn't take a very high IQ to see what this does in the hands of a City Council or pseudo tech savy type that seems to haunt every rag and newspaper. All the wannabes are going to be busy with the thick pumped up hype....."and for those nasty hams causing interference, why shut'em down!" Yep, I see it coming.
Thanks,
Hutch
W9LQI