Exploring the impact of broadband and technology on our lives, our businesses, and our communities.
Broadband saves money
We finally dumped our last analog phone line, which we had kept around in case we needed to send a fax. We decided to get rid of it because we've been using an efax service. We replaced it with an additional VoIP phone line, and our monthly charges for that phone went from an average of $100/month to $35/month.
With a communitywide broadband network in place, every local business would see similar savings on business phones. And with the right business model and network design, those lower cost services could be provided by the incumbent phone company, so the incumbent does not necessarily lose customers.
Technology News:
Get ready for telepresence
Cisco has announced a new marketing effort to expand the availability of high quality videoconference facilities, or telepresence rooms. What is the difference between these rooms and older videoconference systems? Three things:
- HD quality cameras and monitors provide real "you are there" interactivity. No more grainy television monitors or YouTube style images blown up on an LCD projector.
- High performance, high capacity broadband connections that can carry multiple live HD video streams. How much is enough? Figure about 10 to 15 megabits per location, so if you have are having a conference with two remote locations, you need as much as 45 megabits of bandwidth.
- Dramatically improved audio. No more "I'm talking from the bottom of well" sound quality, where you can't really hear half the people in the room. Multiple microphones and sophisticated sound processing software make it easy to carry on conversations without shouting.
If you are trying to attract businesses to your town or region, you should have at least one well-equipped facility available for rent by the hour. It may be just the thing to get startups and entrepreneurs interested in more rural locations for their businesses. Every business park should have a telepresence facility, and every public library should have a meeting room available for both business and community use.
Technology News:
YouTube accelerates transition to IP-based TV
YouTube has inked deals to start offering full length TV shows. The Google-backed company intends to go head to head with Hulu, which has several deals with networks to carry TV shows.
These kinds of alternatives are quickly making it quaint to sit down in front of the TV at a certain time on a certain day to watch a particular show. I'm a fan of the Sarah Connor Chronicles, but I could not tell you what network it is on, what day new shows air, or what time it plays. I simply go to the iTunes Store when I have a little extra time, pay $2, and watch the show at my convenience. For that $2, I enjoy it without commercial interruption.
Cable and satellite TV are rapidly becoming anachronisms.
Technology News:
Mercury fly by pictures
Here is an absolutely spectacular picture of Mercury from a new NASA space probe. It pretty much confirms that Mercury is not a place anyone would want to live, and it is an amazing example of technology in action. The physics of getting a space probe to travel across hundreds of millions of miles to be in exactly the right place at the right time is exacting and difficult; it's nice to know, in midst of this economic downturn, that we still have the capacity to get some very hard stuff done and done right.
Technology News:
Google has its own satellite
Google now has its own satellite, or at least exclusive access to one. The firm made a deal with the U.S. government to help finance a new image mapping satellite in return for exclusive commercial rights to the images. It was probably cheaper than paying for images from other commercial and government satellites.
Technology News:
Monticello, Minnesota telecom lawsuit dismissed
A lawsuit filed by the incumbent telephone company in Monticello, Minnesota sought to stop the city from building its own fiber to the home (FTTH) network. The project was designed as a public/private partnership, with Hiawatha Broadband Communications, another Minnesota telecom firm, signed up to operate the system and provide services.
Yesterday, the 10th District Court in Minnesota dismissed the case, finding that the city had the right to issue bonds for a telecom utility and that the city had the right to operate a telecom utility.
The Court went into some detail about the meaning of a "public convenience," as there is a Minnesota law on the books that gives municipalities the right to own and operate a "public convenience." Part of the lawsuit alleged that a fiber network was not a public convenience, but the court has said that it is.
This ruling applies only in Minnesota, but it still may have some influence in other states. Monticello was particularly lucky, as the case was resolved in less than a year. Courts have generally found in favor of municipalities, but the cases often drag on for years.
Technology News:
Community news and projects:
30 megawatts of power on a flat bed trailer
New Mexico continues to roar far ahead of the rest of the country with a wide ranging mix of game-changing economic development strategies. The state seems to be successfully attracting the brightest and best entrepreneurs and businesspeople in the country, and economic developers in the state are greasing the skids with investments in space, energy, and entertainment.
The latest news out of New Mexico is a firm called Hyperion Power Generation that has licensed nuclear power technology from Los Alamos National Labs. The company has designed a 30 megawatt nuclear power plant that can be delivered by tractor trailer--one tractor trailer--for the basic reactor component.
The system uses a form of nuclear fuel that self-limits the amount of heat generated, and the basic design is so safe that the technology has been licensed by the Federal government for unattended operation. The firm plans to manufacture 4,000 of the version 1 design, and expects to be able to deliver them in less than twelve months from receipt of an order.
Technology News:
Community news and projects:
Ford offers parental controls
Ford has announced that parental controls will be available on some of their new cars, beginning with selected 2010 models. The controls will allow parents to set the top speed of the car, limit how loud the radio can be played, and the car will beep continuously if the front seat belts are not in use.
Now if only they could also include a parental control that forces teenagers into the car at 11 PM and drives them straight home--that is a feature a lot of parents would be pay for.
Technology News:
Static magically creates 1,500 votes
In the continuing saga of voting machines that simply don't work, here is perhaps the most alarming story to date. In a Washington, D.C. voting precinct during the primaries, a "static discharge" magically created an extra 1,500 votes on the memory cartridge that stores the vote tally. The only slightly good news is that someone did notice that the manual tally of voters at the precinct was only 326, but what if it had not been caught?
Technology News:
Knowledge Democracy:
Pages
