Sunday, November 25, 2007

Teh Internets: Full?


Or merely gassy?

From InformationWeek:

Report: Internet Outages Could Occur By 2010 As Capacity Stalls

By Paul McDougall

Booming demand for Internet services combined with insufficient infrastructure investment could leave the Web vulnerable to brown outs within three years, a study released Tuesday predicted.

Nemertes Research said Internet providers need to invest from $42 billion to $55 billion -- or 60% to 70% more than current plans call for -- to stave off interruptions to the digital economy that could happen if the 'Net bogs down. "The next Google, YouTube, or Amazon might not arise" if the situation isn't fixed, Nemertes said.

The problem, the group said, is that bandwidth usage is outpacing infrastructure build outs. While core fiber and switching/routing technology "will scale nicely," Internet access resources could soon be overwhelmed in three to five years, Nemertes said.

The trouble could be particularly acute in North America, the researchers said.

"Rather like osteoporosis, the underinvestment in infrastructure will painlessly and invisibly leach competitiveness out of the economy," said Nemertes.

...


Dark times a'comin'...

A world of rationed syllables, and "Frist" abbreviated to a mere "#]t" by federal mandate.

A world where we have to spy on ourselves and mine our own data for hints of disloyalty because the Gummint can no longer afford the bandwidth.

A world where the little ones go to bed crying because there's not enough "Warcraft" to go around.

A primitive world of seedy, corner "Youtube" peepshows where netroots citizens have to stand on line for hours to exercise their God-given right to see this:


A world where porn is only found printed on slippery paper inside things called ma-ga-zines, and the carbon-based life forms behind the counter that guard these ma-ga-zines want actual money for them!

A sad, fallen, "Heh Indeedy"/ "More Thread" world where the survivors will surely envy the dead.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ever use telex? At one time it was the only way to contact a ship at sea, and we had to subscribe to a service somewhere in Texas, using their software to establish immediate contact. We not only paid for the service, we were charged (IIRC) @7¢ a DIGIT. Obviously we became masters at abbreviation. e.g., RCD UR MSG UR ARR 072573 0830. ALL AUTH INF & SCH. THX UR ACK.

Nightmare!

Anonymous said...

why does this study have "sponsored by the telecommunications giants opposed to net neutrality" written all over it?

Frederick said...

Time to stockpile cans, sting, and old servers in the cold war bunker pappy left me.

darkblack said...

I've heard of a process called 'letter writing', creating an item that people used to send to each other via some sort of resented government institution...Apparently, one bought something called a 'stamp' that they licked with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but how these activities were combined together is lost to the mists of time.

Anonymous said...

Dave Neiwert (Orcinus) just eliminated e-mail from the blog. If ya need to say something, write a letter. Put a stamp on it. Drop it in a blue box.

I love it!

Anonymous said...

Paper Lace. Mein Gott, I still have that number tattooed on my eardrum. Must you put me through those memories again?

parsec

Melina said...

Ah Drifty...so, my Google reader at the ready on a painful Monday, I clicked for a moment on eschaton, and quickly said: more of that? and comments please....
and then to my favorite read in these blogospheres, Driftglass, but reaching the bottom and upon clicking your link I kept ending up back at the exact eschaton that I had just fled a moment ago, again and again, so the tabs spanned my screen, till it suddenly dawned on me that it wasn't that Atrios had taken over my little world, but you had linked to the nothingness that it is.
As sure as we soon will be run by one media conglomerate in the M$, I wonder if someday all of us might not be sponsored somehow by the underwritings of Kos and Atrios...
so that every link went there...heh...
imagine!
I guess that my worst fear is that somehow Google bought out the Kos and Atrios' of this world and now send all the reader traffic back there again and again to the world of commenter fame. All links go there...right? Done we all ultimately end up on Kos when we reach the ends of the internets?

Well, I often feel that I have surfed to the ends...and last night I was looking for a tattoo design of some sort of vine or cherry blossom branch for my shoulder, and let me tell you, there are parts of these nets where I have never been yet...and gladly so!
I learned one thing besides the lack of nice tattoos out there: some unknown person out has a Johnny Cash giving the finger tat. Imagine that!

driftglass said...

Ronzoni Rigatoni,
I heard stories; my papa used tell us about it to scare us

damaged goods
Bingo. "To serve you better we'll have to hose you harder"

Frederick said...
I shall corner the market in pneumatic tubes and be rich, I tell's ya. Rich!

darkblack
Burn the witch!

parsec,
Sacrifices had to be made: it was either that or "Billy don't be a hero".

Melina,
Be careful out there; As darling as I'm sure a tat would be, the moors are not safe for a woman alone at night.

Anonymous said...

A sensible society would respond to this with renewed government commitment to expanded infrastructure. Ours will respond with predictable calls to PRIVATIVE EVERYTHING. The dirty hippy Europeans will just raise a few taxes and install more cable laughing the while at the stupid Murkans who will then be paying $150/mo for "deluxe unrestricted bandwidth" that they get for free. Of course since the only Murkans who can pay will be rich slumburban types the internet picture of Murkans will be even more right wing than currently.