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June 29, 2002
Wi-Fi Basics
PC Magazine has a pretty decent intro to setting up Wi-Fi networks, including links to some CaptivePortal sites. Rick Gee and I were just discussing captive portals (although I admit I didn't know the term) on Friday in connection with planning wireless networks for the state.
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Technology Growth and Commercialization
The other day Steve Fulling asked me "what ever happened to P2P?" My response was "its still there and interesting." His view was that it was gone because he didn't see company announcements, new products, etc. After some thought we came to the conclusion that in tough economic times, technology doesn't slow down as much as its commercialization. My view is that P2P, Web Services, etc. are growing and thriving. At some point someone is going to add some capital and, like an algae bloom, we're going to see another season of dramatic commercialization of information technologies.
I think this is especially true for software. Think of all the programmers out there experimenting with P2P, 802.11X, SOAP, WSIL, etc. None of this costs very much and folks can develop all sorts of interesting ideas without much capital investment. One day some capital or an intersecting idea comes along and "wham!" a company is born.
05:01 PM | Recommend This | Print This
Broadband Changes Lives
A report from the PEW "Internet and American Life" project reports the following:
There are three major ways in which broadband users distinguish themselves from their dial-up counterparts. For high-speed home users, broadband lets them use the Internet to:
- become creators and managers of online content;
- satisfy a wide range of queries for information, and;
- engage in multiple Internet activities on a daily basis.
Home broadband users have a new proximity to information and a convenient tool for communication that changes the way they find, generate, and manipulate content. Some uses of the high-speed connection are of the everyday sort -- checking the time a movie is showing, finding a recipe, or settling a friendly argument about a factoid. Many are of greater weight, such as getting health care information off the Internet, taking an online course, or working at home. Home broadband users are typical early technology adopters -- that is, they are wealthy, educated, and male. Our research shows that even though these demographic characteristics are factors in the broadband difference, the high-speed connection matters most in spurring these online Americans to new levels of Internet use.
My earlier posting relates why I'm not convinced the capital markets will take care of rural (and even not so rural) Americans. I can't imagine daily life without an always on (relatively) high-speed net connection.