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Aerie Networks May Buy Metricom Network

Cinematique writes: "It looks as if Aerie Networks is ready to pounce on Metricom's assets. Here's the printer-friendly article as seen over at CNET. Maybe all of those plans for using the old Ricochet modems for personal use should be postponed ..." This Denver Post story linked to from the Aerie website indicates that the CNET story's close is wrong about Aerie building its own network, and that they're basically looking for ways to survive without building their own network. If they can make Ricochet pay, a lot of people will be grateful.

31 comments

  1. Muahahaha. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Guess what?
    Done it again.
    All hail the 20 second minimun forcontent-rich Fir5t P05ts!!!

  2. ummm.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    second or third or fourth post

  3. You're all so fucking gay. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Second post!!!
    lashdot requires you to wait 2 minutes between each successful posting of a comment to allow everyone a fair chance at posting a comment.

    It's been 1 minute since you last successfully posted a comment

    If you this error seems to be incorrect, please provide the following in your report to Source Forge:

    Browser type
    User ID/Nickname or AC
    What steps caused this error
    Whether or not you know your ISP to be using a proxy or some sort of service that gives you an IP that others are using simultaneously.
    How many posts to this form you successfully submitted during the day

    * Please choose 'formkeys' for the category!
    Thank you.

  4. geez... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    You'd think that they'd at _least_ proof read the article titles. :P

    1. Re:geez... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Nope. The editors are too busy mass moderating posts down.

    2. Re:geez... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
      Yep.

      Suddenly, as I refreshed the last article, someone (CmdrTaco) had moderated down almost every post.

      The last time I checked there were only 2 out of 52 posts above 0. Unbelievable abuse of power!

    3. Re:geez... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
      Really?

      (Let's watch the parent post "disappear" soon)

  5. This is great news! by TheLinuxWizard · · Score: 0

    I hope they get the whole network back up. Ricochet was great, especially since it all worked so well with Linux laptops! I hope Aerie will keep it Linux friendly!

    --
    Linux Rulez!!!!!!!!!!!
    1. Re:This is great news! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      shut the fuck up you slut happy drooling retard.

  6. um.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    what's a netowrk?

  7. In other news by imipak · · Score: 1, Troll

    ...hats are on heads and ice-creams are in cornets.

    (with apologies to Brian Cant.)

  8. question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    What is the best dvd player to buy? Which ones are hackable? I have been looking at Apex machines cause their cheap and they have hacks(reflash BIOS) that allows no region no macrovision settings.

    What do you suggest?

    1. Re:question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Doesn't matter, anyone is good. No matter which one you buy you can still sleep happily knowing a portion of the money spent on every DVD you buy is going to support valueable and important legislation such as the DMCA. When you buy a DVD you get the warm feeling knowing that you have helped just so slightly jail scofflaw pirates such as the russian hacker dimtri sklyarov. Also a portion of the DVD purchase goes to help silence such outlets of criminal thinking as 2600 magazine, a notorious publication dedicated to undermining American businesses.

    2. Re:question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
      i bet you're one of those guys who don't have a tv and think that they're better persons because of that.

      buying a dvd doesn't tell the manufacturers anything.

  9. eh? by SumDeusExMachina · · Score: 1

    What the hell is a "Netowrk"?

    --

    Is your company running tools written by ma
    1. Re:eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      i was just going to ask the same thnig!

      (above mistype is a joke)

  10. WHAT THE FLAMiNG FUCK... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    is a Netowrk and how does it violate the DMCA?

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    1. Re:An Urgent Plea by core10k · · Score: 0

      http://www.angelfire.com/journal/timbuktu/images /t imspkeys.jpg


      God DAMN what kind of an ego do you have to have to take a head shot with that high a DPI?

  12. Wonder where they got the name... by Mike1024 · · Score: 2

    Hey,

    It looks as if Aerie Networks is ready to pounce on Metricom's assets.

    What kind of name is Aerie Networks? Surely they're not named after the Cleric/Mage NPC in Baldur's Gate 2???....

    Michael

    --
    "Goodness me, how unlike the FBI to abuse the trust of the American public." -- The Onion
    1. Re:Wonder where they got the name... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That looks like a joke, knowing the poster. Aerie actually means:

      "Ae"rie
      LL. area, aera, nest of a bird of prey, perh. fr. L. area an open space (for birds of prey like to build their nests on flat and open spaces on the top of high rocks). Cf. Area.

      The nest of a bird of prey, as of an eagle or hawk; also a brood of such birds; eyrie. Shak. Also fig.: A human residence or resting place perched like an eagle's nest."

      --Webster 1913

  13. Land-based "Iridium" by rjamestaylor · · Score: 2

    Build it high-cost, go bankrupt, buy it cheap make it work. Please.

    --
    -- @rjamestaylor on Ello
  14. Service in New York by dachshund · · Score: 2
    which would enable it to turn on service in California and Colorado as soon as within 30 days, according to a source close to the case.

    This is great! Unless you live in New York, of course, which doesn't seem to be high on anyone's list... Too bad. Manhattan seemed like such a good place for a wireless net like Ricochet, being so small and dense. Although I can't imagine what Metricom had to pay to get their equipment onto the telephone poles out here.

    1. Re:Service in New York by Cato · · Score: 2

      Read the story! New York is listed as one of the states where Aerie want to buy the infrastructure.

    2. Re:Service in New York by dachshund · · Score: 1
      Read the story! New York is listed as one of the states where Aerie want to buy the infrastructure.

      Read my post! I quoted a line from the story, the one that made it sound as if service in California was the priority. The fact that they said California would be ready in as little as a month makes me suspect that New York is going to take a bit longer.

  15. Better Service prices from the new owners.. by A+Commentor · · Score: 2

    Since the new owners don't have the massive debt load that Metricom had, pricing should be able to be greatly reduced, and stilll allow them to make a profit.

    I'm hoping, it can be down to ~$30/month for unlimited access...

    --

    Looking for any old 8-bit Heathkit/Zenith software/hardware - http://heathkit.garlanger.com

    1. Re:Better Service prices from the new owners.. by ewolfr · · Score: 1

      You must be kidding. You can't even get decent wireline broadband for $30/month. I don't want them to price it at $80/mo like it was before but I do want the new owners to make a profit so we don't go through this all over again.

    2. Re:Better Service prices from the new owners.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well what WWC was starting to do towards the end is offer a 64kbs (cut-bandwidth) unlimited service for $39/month... this is good enough for sysadmin types that just occasionally need to connect - hopefully they'll continue to offer this..
      -mark

    3. Re:Better Service prices from the new owners.. by Cato · · Score: 2

      They should probably cut the basic price to $30 per so, including a maximum transfer amount per month, and then bill per megabyte above that - the idea being that low users can still afford the service, opening up the market. Also, having a low introductory price would mean a lot more people would try the service. Higher-volume users could have plans with much higher transfer volumes, and at the top end unlimited volumes.

      Part of the problem with Metricom was not having enough subscriber volume - consumers find that $80 per month is too high, and businesses need much better national coverage. At least by cutting the prices a bit and making them volume based, there's a chance the new owners can make a profit. I'm sure Aerie has its own debts, so it's unlikely they can afford to set very low prices if they want to grow the business - new network build-outs will need to be financed by the promise of future revenues.

      Ultimately, wireless operators of all kinds need to make money - although Metricom's MCDN technology is very cool, it's also quite expensive to build out since it needs a very dense deployment of poletop transmitters, so it's crucial to find a business model that will let Aerie make enough money to grow the business.

  16. Sad News... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

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  17. naked little kiddies???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    are there any nubile young 13 year old girls around here that i can rape? i especially like ones that squeal when you stuff your dick in there mouth. thank you.

    -- the real J'Raxis