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Broadband over Powerlines
scubacuda writes "Today's Bottom Line links to an article on Internet-over-powerline technology. St. Louis-based Ameren Corp and other utilities are testing are testing the technology, and, according to the article, "many consider it increasingly viable." Proponents claim the powergrid technology will bolster broadband competition, lower consumer prices and bridge the digital divide in rural areas. Skeptics say that few tests prove its financial and technical viability. Kludge, panacea, or hoax? (I'd think it was a total crock had I not personally known someone working in India with a PCL company)"
Yeah, there were URLs. I heard the streetlights were blinking them out in binary. Talk about privacy invasion!
Next thing you know they'll be telling us they can send TV over broadband wires!
It's not TCP/IP over power lines that's interesting, it's electricity over TCP/IP (RFC 3251). That is a much newer and hotter idea, and much more interesting to smoke in the long run.
Your next segfault takes down an entire countys power that what!
:)
Now THAT'S extreme programming
next thing you know its gonna get in the phone lines.
I can't be certain, but I'm 90% certain that I have internet all over my pants right now.
There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.
"While existing providers of broadband through cable TV lines or phone wires consider the technology intriguing, they stress that talk of it has been around for years, with nothing to show for it." I remember 4 or 5 years ago there was a company called MediaFusion that was doing the same thing and promised something like 5gb/s on a single power line. Last I heard (5 years ago) they were testing in Florida but I think the company eventually went under and nothing became of it. Then, the price for upgrading the entire US's power grid to provide service: ~$100 million. Cheap stuff.
If this becomes reality I'm sure someone will invent a script to ddos crows sitting on their powerline.
Now THAT is funny. I make a reference to smoking a well-written April 1st RFC, hoping for a couple of "+1 Funny", and instead I get five points of "Interesting".
:-)
I wonder what RFCs the moderators are smoking.
And then the real clever hacks will flicker my light bulbs to induce that alpha-beta wave hypnosis thing I read about on a UFO site, so I know it's true.
And then someone will figure out inductive electromagnetic control of wire-sitting pigeons using the evanescent propagation mode of the power cables. Yeesh! Foul smelling flying rats dive-crapping and generally inconviencing passers-by. Is all this really worth fatser access to alt.linux.leatherfetish.penguins.penpen or whatever?
The saving grace will be that they'll never figure out how to impedance match to random pairs of tied-together sneakers hanging over the cables.
http://www.artgonepostal.com/image/soles6up.gif
--- Ban humanity.
Now they will have to redifine the "peeing on electric fence" expression to "pee on electric fence or broadband fence".
Note to self: get smarter troll to guard door.
This scheme once again goes to show that corporations only look out for the wants and needs of the rich. Broadband for everyone they cry. Bull.
Noone out there even thinks about those without electricity running to thier house. What about them? If broadband over power becomes a reality, it will utterly leave behind those without electricity! Who will stand up for them? When will the digital revolution come to these poor souls?
We should focus attention on ways to solve the last mile problem that doesn't require exotic, heavily shielded copper cable to every house. Only then will we achieve social parity.
-Charlie
(to save you the clicks on the moderator page, it was meant as sarcasm)
Now when Uncle BillyBob overloads his outlet with one too many bug-zappers and blows a transformer, he'll probably get 10-to-20 years as a "cyberterrorist."
Your post is not quite right, since it is missing the obligatory "GET SOME PRIORITIES PEOPLE!!" line.
in the movie "the recruit", the cia supposedly develops a virus that travels along the power grid, which can infect and destroy every computing device in the world.
... now i am forced to rethink all my assumptions ... hmmm ... perhaps "nonlinear crytography" is a real undergraduate degree at MIT, and having such a degree would make one an attractive job candidate to the head of research at Dell computer ...
i thought, this movie is retarded. well what do you know? i guess i'm not so smart after all
-- p
I could have a DISCO!