Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: psh who wrote (4979)	8/15/1999 1:34:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

psh, ATHM's backbone design, inclusive of their servers and caching, were designed to meet the demands which were perceived by ATHM in a quieter, gentler time. When they thought that they stood a chance for being the center of the surfer's universe, it made prominent sense for them to do what they did. But because those servers are not a part of the WWW, it is doubtful to me, at least, that they will fit into the grander scheme of things when the next big wave hits. And that wave which I speak of is heading towards the shore at a rapid pace. Other ISPs are now doing open caching on the Internet, which means that they are not using exclusionary measures but instead are making their features available to all. Those caches are a part of the larger Internet, in other words, as opposed to being part of the ISP's intranet. The fact that ATHM's are on their intranet is a shortcoming for them, IMO, because it detracts from two of the public Internet's greatest attributes, namely, those of resource sharing and cooperation - while still reconciling these attributes with competition. Hence, we see here the biggest dilemmas which face all ISPs and backbone providers: Reconciling cooperation and competition. Most competent providers learn to persevere through, and prosper around, these forms of conflicts, nonetheless. It's what's made the 'net tick all these years. You note: "...my impression is that cable internet will require a more sophistiacted infrastructure that dial ISPs cannot duplicate easily-regional data centers, cacheing etc." I look at it a different way. The problem that the cablecos will face is not that of creating infrastructures which are more sophisticated, rather their biggest problems will be de-sophisticating their networks, and bringing them back into the fold of regular ISP parameters, since they have departed into a proprietary shell, so to speak. Their greatest distinguishing characteristic many be their increased potentials for speed, at the present time, but this has nothing to do with sophistication. On the contrary. The greatest enabler of cable infrastructure speed, in this case, also happens to be one of the simplest, most pervasive and dumbest natural elements found in nature: Sand. Regards, Frank Coluccio