Thanks, Ray. While reading through the page you posted I caught the point, several times, that the authors would have one believe that broadcasting could be achieved by end users at "no cost." Does this assume that the user has a remote web-based server somewhere, or does it suggest that video content would be launched from the home or office?
If the latter, I'd be concerned about the paltry upstream bandwidth (from user to network) that still characterizes 99% of today's so-called "broadband" DSL and Cable Modem lines. And if the former, one cannot entirely discount the line and rack rental costs associated with remote server usage. In any event, it's a great move, IMO, in the right direction, and the type of application that's needed to add impetus behind the realization of symmetrical first mile access networks.
---
On a related note, I came acorss a piece in Dave Burstein's DSL Prime Newsletter this morning that, at the time I read it, caused me to think of applications like this one. From Dave's newsletter dated today, at dslprime.com :
------begin Burstein:
Rebellion in Korean Paradise; 259,730 vote no to bandwidth pricing. Gripe Number One: Ditch the Caps!
"Though flat broadband rates have contributed to our Internet development, the time is ripe to adopt the usage-based broadband rates," KT (Korea Telcom) Chief Executive Lee Yong-kyung believes. His customers disagree; at Bcpark.net, 375 accepted his suggestion in a poll, while 259,730 said no.
Yonhap News reports the "move has sparked massive customer outrage and criticism." Originally, KT and Hanaro, now a virtual duopoly, believed they had the approval of Chin Daeje, Korea?s minister of information for the price rise. But Stanford PhD and Samsung veteran Chin knows KT costs of bandwidth have been dropping almost as fast as usage rises, and political pressure may persuade him to delay the price increase under popular pressure.
Korea is racing ahead in other areas. Nearly nationwide mobile WiBro connections are likely before other roll WiMax, mobile TV to your car and cellphone is deploying, and video calls just dropped in price by 70%.
Gripe Number One: Ditch the Caps!
Karl Bode at DSL Reports echoes for North America the hatred of caps, writing "Your speed promises mean nothing if your service is capped, throttled, or otherwise restricted. You proudly proclaim that faster speeds make you the ISP we should choose, then you bury provisions in your TOS that effectively take that bandwidth away from us. ... The future of the internet isn't jpg files and text messages. It's massive file-swapping, huge video files, and oceans of data. You're in the business of providing bandwidth, which we pay handsomely for. Provide it, and get out of the way!"
As editor of DSL Prime, I won't go as far as Google and proclaim "Bandwidth is Free." But the cost has gone down to the point that 20 or 40 gigs a month cost many carriers less than their marketing budgets. Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman" should be BT's new slogan for a charge of almost two pounds per additional gig. If they believe the cost is more than twenty pence a gig, they should be firing their internet transit buyers, network architects and especially the cost accountants.
----end Burstein
Getting back to the original post, there can be no doubt that resources on consumer grade platforms used for broadcasting can easily become strained, be it on the local loop, the home desktop PC, or even when using a remote web-based server approach. Some are looking to bit torrent to improve matters, where streaming is used in a background mode. Is there anyone here who'd like to say something about BitTorrent's pros and cons in this regard?
Here's a snippet taken from another forum this morning that speaks to this subject. It's from Dwayne Hendricks on the IP Discussion List:
---snip:
> [Note: Do yourself a favor and go to the 'Panic Struck Productions'
> site and download the trailer for this film. After taking a look,
> you'll most likely be queued up to get the full film on Monday.
The download is 248 MB for Quicktime format,
and Slashdot already knows about it.
Rather than downloading directly off the server,
use BitTorrent so that your download will speed up other people's
downloads instead of slowing them down.
---end snip
FAC
frank@fttx.org |
