Re: why Senator Stevens is right on Net Neutrality

["Brian Loe" <knobdy () gmail com>]

On 7/6/06, Dude VanWinkle <dudevanwinkle () gmail com> wrote:
> On 7/6/06, Gadi Evron <ge () linuxbox org> wrote:
>
> > He nailed down the subject into the point that matters:
> > Business. It's about profit.
>
> BullShit, the net _can_ be all about profit, but it should be more than that.

Yes, it can, but not with out a profit for someone. The Internet is
what it is today because business leaders saw an opportunity to make
money - otherwise it would still be the US DoD and a few Universities.

> Humans currently turn everything people enjoy into a business, but the

You're a human aren't you? You like to eat don't you? A roof over your
head, clothes on yoru kids?


> fact is business as usual(as it is here in the states at least) is bad
> for the continued development of an idea or service.

While I might be as annoyed as anyone about the commercialism of some
holidays and events, I understand the requirements of business to make
money. Aside from the stray independent inventor (who is also looking
for money to feed his family), MOST ideas come from businesses who
fund research and development. Where would be if it weren't for
Xerox?! You think those guys just hung out there for fun? Ok, well,
maybe they did - but they were also getting paid.

> Music is now a business, and its mostly schlock.

Music has ALWAYS been a business. I defy you to find a time period
where it wasn't.

> Cars and gasoline are businesses, thats why all the trolleys were
> dismantled and also why the electric car was put on the shelf.

That's a laugh. First, electric cars were put on a shelf initially due
to their inconvenience, high price, high maintenance and low
performance. The hybrids are going like crazy now - even in places
where it's not legislated as mandatory. Second, Americans view their
cars as a symbol of their independence and freedom - THAT is why we
have so many. We have big engines because we demand the performance
they provide. They're not simply marketing us crap - they're
responding to what we're asking for, which fluctuates virtually every
ten years.

> Light bulbs are a business and thats why they burn out in a year, even
> though they are capable of lasting almost indefinitely.

At what cost? What good is a bulb that lasts 10 years if when it does
burn out, you can't afford to replace it? What good is a bulb that
lasts 10 years but requires more energy?

> Energy is a business, thats why .... err you get the idea.

Yeah, you hate a free market. You hate the US. Easy fixes for both...

> If we let businesses do what businesses do, the Internet will become
> nothing but a big AOL landscape, full of schlock.

It already is, for the most part, and that's what funds the good stuff.

> The net was paid for partly by billions of taxpayer dollars in
> incentives (and student tuitions), Why should these monopolies (some
> of which were forcably dismanteled and are now buying each other up
> again [see at&t and bellsouth] be the only ones in control?

Because they put THEIR money into the current infrastructure. Were you
under the impression that ARPANET had a fiber backbone?

> Since you like the Tubes description so much, why not think of the
> Internet as a Subway system, which is paid for and maintained by the
> Government.

Not one that works - and supports itself...

> I give it a max of 4 years before _proof_ of that comes out. Just wait
> till the short term memory of the american public drifts away, then
> alter your QoS and blame any service interruptions on "system
> failures".

That's a good one. Where I come, a "system failure" is a business
failure - and people get fired for those (whether it be a customer
dumping a provider or a provider firing its CIO).
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