When I visited a friend in Barbados in 1997 there was a "blockbuster" in a mall. It looked normal from the outside but if you looked closely at the sign it was hand painted. We rented several videos they were all high quality copies and in the middle of the video subtitles popped up and said if you would like to buy a copy of the video call 1800xxxxxxx.
also we did not worry about drinking and driving because they rummer was there was no law against it as the police had no breathalyzer equipment.
Broadband access has become increasingly essential to economic growth,
health care, and education. What electric power and telephones were to
the 20th Century, broadband access will be to the 21st. Towns that
don't have affordable broadband lose jobs. Their children suffer a
serious disadvantage in college or in the workforce, where fluency
with computers and the Internet is increasingly assumed as a matter of
course. Communities without broadband cannot take advantage of new
breakthroughs in tel-medicine or the economic opportunities created by
telecommuting. Even in crowded urban areas, the availability of
broadband can vary from one neighborhood to another, stranding one
neighborhood on the wrong side of the "digital divide" while two,
three or even four broadband providers serve their neighbors.
Municipalities have a valuable role to play in filing this gap.
Municipalities have a long history of providing necessary services for
citizens and stimulating local businesses. In the 20th century,
municipalities built power plants and telephone lines when private
services did not move fast enough. Our competitive power and telecoms
industries today demonstrate that these services by municipalities
complement private industry rather than compete with it. In addition,
municipalities have a long history of spending money to benefit their
citizens and encourage business development. They should have the same
opportunity to offer public hot spots and broadband access.
From 2001- 2004 the United States dropped from 4th to 13th place in
global rankings of broadband Internet usage. Today, most U.S. homes
can access only 'basic' broadband, among the slowest, most expensive
and least reliable in the developed world. Nearly all Japanese have
access to 'high-speed' broadband, with an average connection time 16
times faster than in the United States - for only about $22 a month.
South Korea, which has the world's greatest percentage of broadband
users, and urban China, which last year surpassed the U.S. in the
number of broadband users.
The solution is not to protect the baby bells and cable companies from
competition; it is instead to encourage more competition. Communities
across the country are experimenting with ways to supplement private
service. And these
experiments are producing unexpected economic returns. Some are
discovering that free wireless access increases the value of public
spaces just as street lamps do. And just as street lamps don't
make other types of lighting obsolete, free wireless access in public
spaces won't kill demand for access in private spaces. Yet we will
never recognize these externalities unless municipalities are free to
experiment.
Talking on a cell phone and driving is easy, it is much harder to read slashdot and post this message on my treo but I am doing it as I drive home right now !
Slashdot Mirror
also we did not worry about drinking and driving because they rummer was there was no law against it as the police had no breathalyzer equipment.
Municipalities have a valuable role to play in filing this gap. Municipalities have a long history of providing necessary services for citizens and stimulating local businesses. In the 20th century, municipalities built power plants and telephone lines when private services did not move fast enough. Our competitive power and telecoms industries today demonstrate that these services by municipalities complement private industry rather than compete with it. In addition, municipalities have a long history of spending money to benefit their citizens and encourage business development. They should have the same opportunity to offer public hot spots and broadband access.
From 2001- 2004 the United States dropped from 4th to 13th place in global rankings of broadband Internet usage. Today, most U.S. homes can access only 'basic' broadband, among the slowest, most expensive and least reliable in the developed world. Nearly all Japanese have access to 'high-speed' broadband, with an average connection time 16 times faster than in the United States - for only about $22 a month. South Korea, which has the world's greatest percentage of broadband users, and urban China, which last year surpassed the U.S. in the number of broadband users.
The solution is not to protect the baby bells and cable companies from competition; it is instead to encourage more competition. Communities across the country are experimenting with ways to supplement private service. And these experiments are producing unexpected economic returns. Some are discovering that free wireless access increases the value of public spaces just as street lamps do. And just as street lamps don't make other types of lighting obsolete, free wireless access in public spaces won't kill demand for access in private spaces. Yet we will never recognize these externalities unless municipalities are free to experiment.
Source: NY Times & http://www.pbs.org/now/
Do you have twice as much fun if you go to a strip joint w/ a wad of $2 bills?
Talking on a cell phone and driving is easy, it is much harder to read slashdot and post this message on my treo but I am doing it as I drive home right now !
Are there any guides on the web to setting up a "homebrewed Linux based recorder box"?