That depends on where you're located, and if competition has reached your area. Where I'm located (Southeast Louisiana) there are only a very few ISPs providing DSL services, but their cost is on average higher than the service from BellSouth. Yes, you can have a dedicated connection and a static IP, but at that point the companies no longer view you as a consumer but as a business, and charge business rates ($275-$350/mo average) in this region. Competition also requires a large user base looking for options, which again my region does not have. [The fact that we also have a Public Service Commission that sets prices based on what the companies tell them it should be doesn't help the pocketbooks, either.]
I would welcome a decent ISP and DSL or cable modem service, but I don't forsee that happening for at least three years here.
I would suspect that there's a number of reasons why NOAA went with the solution they did, and not just merely because it's a fast set of machines running a fast operating system.
Every six hours the National Weather Service sends out to all of it's forecast offices around the country a series of models to help in local forecasting. Each model is based on a massive amount of information that comes in to their central office, and that information is used in preparing the next set of forecasts. Now, you would want a) a system that is capable of processing all of this information rapidly and reliably, with b) redundancy built in so that if a part of the system goes down, you're still able to digest and transmit those models. Using a cluster of systems gives you that backup redundancy, and using a stable operating system gives you that speed and reliability to churn out models reliably.
The people at NOAA likely could care less about advocacy in this respect. What they want is a system that they can use, provide them the reliability and performance that is demanded, for a reasonable cost. $15 million for a distributed cluster that gives them a lot more bang for the buck is definitely money well spent. And remember, this IS your tax dollars at work, one of the few times you will ever see it spent for a truly worthwhile cause.
-Tal Greywolf
Re:General linkage on shortwave for beginners?
on
Spooks in the Wire
·
· Score: 1
For a general beginning guide to shortwave, along with receiver reviews, links and frequencies, I'd recommend Radio Netherland's Media Network pages. You can start at: http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/index.html From there, it's nicely laid out for beginners and experienced listeners alike.
Slashdot Mirror
That depends on where you're located, and if competition has reached your area. Where I'm located (Southeast Louisiana) there are only a very few ISPs providing DSL services, but their cost is on average higher than the service from BellSouth. Yes, you can have a dedicated connection and a static IP, but at that point the companies no longer view you as a consumer but as a business, and charge business rates ($275-$350/mo average) in this region. Competition also requires a large user base looking for options, which again my region does not have. [The fact that we also have a Public Service Commission that sets prices based on what the companies tell them it should be doesn't help the pocketbooks, either.]
I would welcome a decent ISP and DSL or cable modem service, but I don't forsee that happening for at least three years here.
I would suspect that there's a number of reasons why NOAA went with the solution they did, and not just merely because it's a fast set of machines running a fast operating system.
Every six hours the National Weather Service sends out to all of it's forecast offices around the country a series of models to help in local forecasting. Each model is based on a massive amount of information that comes in to their central office, and that information is used in preparing the next set of forecasts. Now, you would want a) a system that is capable of processing all of this information rapidly and reliably, with b) redundancy built in so that if a part of the system goes down, you're still able to digest and transmit those models. Using a cluster of systems gives you that backup redundancy, and using a stable operating system gives you that speed and reliability to churn out models reliably.
The people at NOAA likely could care less about advocacy in this respect. What they want is a system that they can use, provide them the reliability and performance that is demanded, for a reasonable cost. $15 million for a distributed cluster that gives them a lot more bang for the buck is definitely money well spent. And remember, this IS your tax dollars at work, one of the few times you will ever see it spent for a truly worthwhile cause.
-Tal Greywolf
For a general beginning guide to shortwave, along with receiver reviews, links and frequencies, I'd recommend Radio Netherland's Media Network pages. You can start at: http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/index.html From there, it's nicely laid out for beginners and experienced listeners alike.