[GRLUG] Linux desktop marketshare

[Greg Folkert]

On Tue, 2007-12-11 at 16:30 -0500, Bob Kline wrote:
> On Dec 11, 2007 12:48 PM, Michael Mol <mikemol at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Dec 11, 2007 12:34 PM, Don Wood <dond at standalelumber.com> wrote:
> > > http://desktoplinux.com/news/NS2414535067.html
> > >
> > > I believe most of this.
> >
> > This line got me to lose interest:
> > 
> > "While all this has been going on, broadband Internet connectivity
> > has become almost as easily available as cell phone coverage." 
> >  
> > Grade A bull.  Much of Muskegon county doesn't even have DSL, and 
> > there are no estimates for when it might be rolled out.  When I 
> > lived in Muskegon, I used 56k dial-up.  I know lots of people *in 
> > Grand Rapids* who can barely afford dial-up, much less broadband. 
> > Should my living arrangements change, I'll likely be dropping back
> > to dial-up myself.

Then you my dear sir is NOT whom Microsoft is worried about. You can
just continue to work with Windows all day everyday.

I've forever been bitching about Dial-Up being forgotten about. In these
high bandwidth fever days.

> > All the buzz is about Verizon's 20Mb/s FIOS, or Comcast's demoing
> > 150Mb/s connectivity.  The controversy over how the FCC measures
> > broadband coverage seems like a distant memory.  Read/Write Web
> > recently had an article talking about the coming Internet slow-down,
> > saying "It will be like the bad old days of dial-up."

20Mbit/sec FIOS is the slow version, Friend of mine, his wife(err yeah)
just retired from Verizon in Delaware. 45Mbit/s is his download speed,
15Mbit/sec is the upload speed. Plus he has all digital TV additionally
through that fiber and his Video Conferencing Phone, Photo printer
service and a few other things.

He can Download 45Mbit/sec (from Giganews), Watch an HD DVD movie from
the Video service, Be talking on the phone, plus his wife^H^H^H^H
significant other (not married, but together for 30 years, no common-law
in Delaware either) doing Video conferencing and sharing photos over the
phone with her Mom and Dad, also watching a different HD DVD... plus
still be able to browse the Internet all reasonably well, without
artifacts.

> > It's amazing how many people fail to realize those "bad old days"
> > are still here for a huge demographic.  It brings to mind people's
> > wonder at the beginning of the Atomic Age.  Nothing really changed
> > (Where are  all the nuke plants now?  Why are we having a debate 
> > over coal plants in Kansas?), people just thought everything was
> > different, somehow.

Everyone is scared of changing from Carbon based energy sources.

> > If you really wanted, I bet you could make a killing with
> > webservices catering to low-bandwidth customers.  Ditch flash, video
> > and large images, and focus on text content.  There's a huge peasant
> > class on the Internet right now that nobody seems to remember.

Okay, that is what RSS feeds are for, Feedburner got bought for quite a
lot. And they really did cater to those that didn't have much bandwidth
at all. They also had services for higher bandwidth customers.
 
> Any number of these points would make for a fine discussion. e.g.,
> you can't site a power plant or a transmission line in most areas
> today. "Not in my backyard," and the lawsuits that go with them.  So
> MI and other states are down to single digit generating reserves.  But
> wait until the lights start to flicker...

That day is coming sooner than we might think, though still a few
decades away.

> Anyway,  satellite Internet connectivity is available anywhere
> satellite TV is.  Not cheap, at about $62 a month,  it is now about
> 1.5Mbps down and 128 Kbps up.  I suspect there are byte quotas for
> each day.

$62 a month is reasonable, considering a T1 circuit and Ineternet
service is typically $500/month.

> But it is the case that bandwidth in general is getting scarce now.
> Most of the fiber laid in the heady dot-com 1990s was never activated.
> There's a lot of potential capacity out there in the form of fiber
> backbone,  but rather less actual capacity.

I have one question for you... do you know whom owns about 40% of all
Dark Fiber in the US, out right... and has at least a 25% interest in
MOST other Dark Fiber in the US and at least a 10% (or more) stake in
much of the Dark Fiber around the world?

I'll let you Google for the answer.

> I suspect one can indeed watch for ever greater bandwidth congestion
> now for a while until someone figures there is a profit reason to
> expand the capacity.  Data traffic is almost pure profit for outfits
> like Comcast, so they will let us suffer slowdowns until some other
> company gets on with it and then start advertising wonderful new
> capacity...  :-(

This is and always has been the case. Seems like the Auto-Industry is
suffering from its own "only do minimal upgrades in efficiency" to
appear to care. Versus, actually changing the technology to extend
mileage on "fuel".

Do you honestly think computers and Internet services are going to be
any different?

----------------------------------------
BTW, see how nicely and well formatted message with in-line replies and
with proper snipage, makes the entire conversation much more readable?

Come on people, it only takes a bit more time to make these e-mails much
more readable, Of course, to reformat Bob Kline's took more time and
effort, but the overall effect means this discussion is much more
understandable.

And, Bob, e-mail is not a Newspaper, its a completely different medium.
If you haven't figured that out yet... I find your e-mails very tough to
read, there are not multiple columns. If there were multiple columns,
then I could understand your argument.

To reformat the previous paragraph (please read in a courier font):

And, Bob, e-mail is not a Newspaper, | tough to read, there are not
its a completely different medium.   | multiple columns. If there were
If you haven't figured that out      | multiple columns, then I could
yet... I find your e-mails very      | understand your argument. 

Cheers.
-- 
greg at gregfolkert.net
PGP key 1024D/B524687C 2003-08-05
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