The Killer App of 1900

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk>
Date: December 16, 2009 5:53:55 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: The Killer App of 1900

Hi Dave:

For IP if you wish.

cheers

Brian

---

> Tech Nerd
> The Killer App of 1900
> by Glenn Fleishman, 12/11/2009, 11:18 AM
>
> It's instructional to look back 100 years, not long after the first electrical generation plants were built to bring 
> power to towns and cities, to assess the situation we find ourselves in with broadband availability today.
>
> A hundred years ago, lighting was the killer app for electricity, the thing that made it worthwhile to have 
> installed. No one particularly understood what else electricity might bring to the mass market, because other uses 
> were generally specialized, the province of experts, the wealthy, or industry. Compressors to allow refrigeration and 
> freezing, electric heat, and other innovations came later to homes.
>
> Arguments raged from the start of electrical power generation against municipal ownership of utilities, partly for 
> practical reasons: Many early efforts around the world had led to huge debt and poor operations when cities got 
> involved. But the experience wasn't uniform, and neither was the quality of privately owned enterprises.
> . . .

Full article at:

http://publicola.net/?p=20687


-- 
School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell




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