Slashdot Mirror
Cringely's Bank Shot
Michael A. Lowry writes: "You may remember how Robert Cringely used a couple of directional antennas to get an 802.11b link up across a 10.5 km wide valley. The original Slashdot discussion is here. Well Cringely has done it again. This time, he has set up a passive repeater in an oak tree on a nearby mountaintop to bounce a 2 Mb/s signal around a hill that lies between his house and the acces point in Santa Rosa. Read about it here. Details about the homemade hardware he used can be found here. There's going to be a lot more of this in the near future."
A lot more of what? Cringely? Surely.
A lot more homemade hardware and wireless access bouncing? I doubt it. At least proportionately to POIS (Plain Old Internet Service).
I think (read: It is my prediction) that internet access gains will be made mostly in smallish towns, non-business/home urban access, in less developed nations' cities, and in China.
areas 2 and 4 do not need this sort of access because they will use traditional wireless if wireless at all. The majority of China's population lies in the riverlands which has very little line of sight problems.
area 3 will likely not need this sort of solution because (afaik) it is still cheaper to string a wire to a nearby place than to get antenna, especially in places where land ownership isn't totally cost prohibitive.
this leaves small hilly towns, which are by far the minority of the world's population.