Slashdot Mirror
World's Fastest Internet Cafe
Thyrus writes "An internet cafe offering connections 50 times faster than typical broadband services has opened in Cornwall. Computers at Goonhilly satellite station, on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, are connected to BT's global internet protocol network. That means users can download data at speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps). It is thought to be the first time such high speeds have been seen at a UK internet cafe. The service will be free to visitors."
First, I am glad they said in the UK, because 100mbit cyber cafes aren't special everywhere.
Also, I notice they have had to tip toe around what it can be used for:
Adrian Hosford of BT said: "It would be possible to use the cafe's computers to download in less than 15 minutes a file the equivalent size of the DVD version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, with its 19,000 illustrations, 629 audio and video clips and 100,000 articles.
It seems like they are trying almost too hard to explain how quick it is, afterall, I never rate my downloads in terms of how many "dvd copies of a paper encyclopedia with illustrations and video clips" I just say its shit-hot.
We need it in terms we can understand like how many TPG/s can we view?
will google earth run smoothly without appearing to break up or pixelate no matter where I zoom or rotate to?
can I wipe out my friends in CS:S by having a l33t connection?
Another article I was reading earlier about this mentions why the special people were chosen to open it:
The new internet café will be officially declared open by Helston Community College pupils Chloe Smith and James Evans, both aged 17, who have demonstrated outstanding acumen in the field of information technology.
from here.
(Yes, sisco appear to be hyping this more than the BBC, but then again they supplied some of the high tech equipment.
liqbase
The world's biggest Adult Theater is opening up next door. Coincidence?
+5, Truth
Emphasis mine.
But the article is "World's Fastest Internet Cafe" according to ./ mods. ... but then again we know how reliable they are, eh?
+5, Truth
100Mbps connections are not that uncommon. Besides, it's the overall download speed that counts, and that is often determined downstream from you local connection. The bandwidth bottleneck is rarely (if ever) your local connection speed.
Ok, you have this blazingly fast connection at the internet cafe...
What server, gaming or otherwise, will be able to transfer information that fast back?
I do have to say that this connection would be perfect for the final destination for the "relaying" internet connection in the $100 MIT laptop.
Joe
In other news, if they notice a suspicious looking network cable snaking out to the curb and in through a barely opened car window, it might mean that this former St. Petersburg, Florida resident has moved to the UK, and is, apparently, still not a coffee drinker.
So...it is free for guests, what if I want to move in? Would I have to pay for it :o)
----- I have bad karma for a reason! -----
the 61 dishes were there already.
Its a massive communications centre.
the cafe is just a tiny part of it which they have hooked into the direct net feed.
Like having the microwave at springfield nuclear power plant linked directly to the reactor core.
liqbase
bistromathics is the answer. Finally, they understand ...
Remember, if you don't pay your tab, you might have to wash the dishes...
+5, Truth
Damn, "at a UK internet cafe" was supposed to be in italics. Oh well.
What's the purpose? Reading emails really quickly? I mean what kind of activity (other than nefarious) does one really need that requires that speed, when sipping coffee?
But how much does a cup of coffee cost??
are you kidding me?
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
...I can download inordinate amounts of images and movies to.. my screen? Or can you take it with you somehow?
Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
Is it me or does it look like that backhoe just took a big bite out of the dish in that picture? Wonder how many megabits you can get with a a 5' section missing from your receiver?
I first heard of Goonhilly from a hardly-noticed story I once read. Not being a European, I had to look it up at the time to see what the hell it was.
No real relevance, I just like the name Goonhilly.
[
Why would you need a connection that fast in an internet cafe? Users will be checking mail and news, not downloading "Cornish gone Wild" Vol 3.
Well, hey, tentacle hentai doesn't download itself...
they finaly got a cafe - a while back the staff used to moan like crasy about the closeure of the staff resturant - I belive all that was left was a chip van that called on wednesdays.
Real question does the caff do engineering breakfasts
You will never get to heaven with an Ak 47... But A Zu 30 is good for Low Flying Cherubim
BT's global internet protocol network
That may be the most verbose/obscure way of saying "the Internet" that I've ever seen. And why do they imply that BT owns it?
Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.
Who cares? I can barely tell the difference between my old 4 megabit connection and my current 10 megabit connection. Servers can't even typically send it that fast. It only comes in handy when I'm doing multiple downloads at the same time.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Someone's nicked your emphasis, mate. And before you ask, it definitely wasn't me.
...
Besides, even old people in Korea get gigabit access in their cybercafes these days :-)
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
"Visitors" or "customers"? There is a distinct difference, mainly the latter pays money to the business for some coffee and gets the internet perks along with it.
Can't wait to do this wirelessly on my 802.11b notebook.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
The activity centre was quite boring, as was the tour, and the selection at the cafe. The gift shop was a complete sell-out, they sold telephones! Anyway, the cyber cafe was not a pleasant experience, mainly due to the 'new' keyboards. They're made of pressed metal, like public phones, meaning that you can't achieve any decent typing speed. The keyboard is missing the ALT key, instead they had the bright idea of replacing it with a "www." key. The keyboard was embedded into the wall and was at a very steep slope, making it difficult to get around. There was some arse-backwards system where, if the web browser is closed, it locks out until a technician logs you back in. While the bandwidth makes it seem like a good idea, what good is it, when there is no access to portable media. Quick streaming media is it's only advantage, and when it backs out into the cafe, porn is completely out of the question.
A company I worked for (now closed) delivered 4 gigabits of ethernet connectivity to the buildings it lit in 2001. We designed and built our own gigabit ethernet DWDM injectors to link in-building Cisco 3508 switches with Cisco 6509 switches in the CO. One of our customers was Web2Zone (an Internet Cafe) at 62 Coopers' Square. We never saw the kind of bandwidth spike that indicated they used even 1/1000th of the bandwidth, except when they caught code-red or some such Internet worm. We believed that the limitation was the destination server bandwidth. To compensate for slow servers on other providers, we made extensive use of static page caching to speed performance and reduce our bandwidth costs.
Since December of last year, Swedish ISP Bredbandsbolaget have upgraded all 10mbit customer feeds to 100mbit downstream (10mbit upstream) connections free of additional charge. For this connection, I pay 350 Swedish Kronor per month, and this news would never turn up on the Slashdot front page.
Bredbandsbolaget serves over 300 000 households in Sweden, a nation of around 9 million. It's not some curiosity out in the boondocks or goonhills or whatever you call'em.
/ Per
Seconded. I also wonder about this with regards to the 100BT connections quoted in reference to the UK cafe. If the backhaul is only 1Gb, then I hope they don't have more than 10 clients connected when they're quoting 100Mb.
If I saw a cafe advertising "Gigabit Internet Connections," my immediate suspicion would be that they have either: (in order of decreasing crapitude)
A) Gigabit links to each machine, and then some shitty 128kb backhaul
B) A Gigabit backhaul, and then 10/100 links to each client
c) A Gigabit backhaul, and then Gigabit links to each client
The third case might, I suppose, be borderline honest, since theoretically if you were the only person in the cafe, you could enjoy gigabit speeds to the Internet, but that's barely practical. Although I suppose given the advertising of most consumer internet connections (advertising "burst" rather than continuous throughput, etc.), it's not as bad as it could be.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
It enables them to connect to links like this quickly.
What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
"Monster Island" was already taken...
Judge: In that case I sentence you to a lifetime of horror on Monster Island. [to Lisa] Don't worry, it's just a name.
[Lisa and others are chased by fire-breathing monsters]
Lisa: He said it was just a name!
Man: What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula.
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
Sounds to me like you haven't been around much for the last few years. Alright UK internet access isn't the best but unless you live right in the middle of nowhere you can certainly get ADSL speeds. 90% of uk households according to this (alright I've never heard of them but it was this or theregister).
Personally I get 8mbs (theoretically) more like 6.5mbs in practice. Where I live you can get up to 24mbs if you feel like it. Telewest (if they are still called that) are trialing a 100mbs connection to a few select areas and offer 10mbs to their other customers. Let's be honest it's nothing like your description.
I'm sorry, but you're just wrong. While the state of high-speed connectivity in the UK might not be ideal, we're not doing badly and the rate of broadband uptake in this country is higher than pretty much everywhere else. You might have been right a few years ago, but things are much better now.
I mean what kind of activity (other than nefarious) does one really need that requires that speed, when sipping coffee?
You don't drink much coffee, do you?
Grandparent is talking shit. I've got a 10 meg cable connection here in the UK and it'll max out whenever the remoter server is up to it. I usually get bittorrent running over the 1000kb/s mark, pulling in 300 meg in around four minutes or so.
Customer support is as always understaffed. But I've never had a problem with them. Perhaps no more than 24 total hours of outages (that I know of) in five years service.
Job-wise, things are pretty good right now. Been better, but has been worse (.com bubble). London pays more but they'll get it back out of you (and more) with the cost of living there. Try Scotland, we're much more fun!