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Technology Stocks : The *NEW* Frank Coluccio Technology Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (2014)	2/10/2001 4:56:14 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Respond to of 46821

Hi Frank, I'm not sure I'm following your logic... If I'm reading what I see on the screen, I'm sensing a cool irony, akin to the views espoused by Kerouac, Joe Heller and Kafka. Am I reading this right? Surely the French are laughing at us. The contrived mess we are in is result of some of the biggest crocodilians on the planet letting their greed overwhelm their humanity. Nevertheless, there's no telling where the spread of the current "crisis" will end. Let me give you a hint. There is a game plan. You are not privy to it. Nor am I. But the outlines can be very easily seen. First of all, the California government has made a terrible mistake by not using eminent domain to slap down the arrogance of the likes of Bryson at EI. Davis is taking a wimpy approach that is bound to lead to disasterous results financially for the community at large while the IPPs and pinch-cheeked gas scammers get away with financial murder. All those damn bonds that are going to have to be issued at 8% instead of at a municipal rate? All that money is taking the wealth of the middle class and the business community and transfering it very quickly to the elites, who've created this "crisis", as the bond money goes to pay for the absurdly inflated charges of the past couple of months at rapacious, profiteering and ruinous rates for energy. Then, the bondsmen keep right on nicking the weakened consumer class for years to come. Just as they did in the Reagan-induced deficit spending spree of the 80's. It's called "wealth transfer" and not one man in a hundred understands the subtlety of the theft. The endgame? It has always been the plan of the utility companies, who are in complete contol of this situation, to get a twofer. They want to play in an unregulated "market heaven" and they want to be rid of the annoyance of dealing with uppity unionized employees who demand a fair share of the pie. The interim solution, as discussed in today's LA Times is just a slap on the face for the California small businessman and consumer. Just a grab for as much as the utility holding companies can get their hands on before the inevitable decision is made that energy is too important for the overall economy to be left in the hands of some small-minded, rapacious and greedy operators. JMO, Ray

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (2014)	2/11/2001 7:38:50 AM
From: axial	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 46821

Hi, Frank: The proposition that you have been advancing, that the imbalance of demand and supply at the power grid will have consequences for the telecosm, is substantiated (and then some) by the following article... Regards, Jim ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Assessing the Cost of Ubiquitous Connectivity [Mobile Malaise] Feb 09, 2001 Quentin Mendoza, Associate Editor, AnywhereYouGo.com Upon considering the implications of the energy crisis in California, which some of you are more painfully aware than I, one wonders what impact so-called ubiquitous connectivity will have on dwindling fuel supplies. After all, that is the ultimate manifestation of information technology, right? Furthermore, with the proliferation of wireless technology, many regions of the world that don't have the money and materials to build a wired communication infrastructure, now have the opportunity to be connected for the very first time. Hence, with half the world's population preparing for connectivity and the other half leaving their computers turned on 24/7, while keeping their phones and PDAs charged (not to mention their enormous SUVs fueled), the world is asking for an unprecedented energy crisis. As a result, a crushing economic depression will follow, and all of the economic gains made over the last two centuries will be summarily reversed. Isn't there anyone else out there that's the slightest bit concerned about this? Actually, there is -- my wife. You see, she is an ardent environmentalist and she was quick to point out to me that all of these devices that are supposed to improve the quality of life for the world will potentially be the source of even greater problems. It wasn't too long after I came to work at AnywhereYouGo.com that I became completely enamored with wireless technology and the enormous revenue opportunities that exist in underdeveloped markets around the world such as Africa and Asia. She was quick to point out that no matter what device you are talking about, they all have to be plugged in at some point. As it is, the world can barely sustain its energy consumption levels, so how was it going to supply any dramatic spikes in demand. Personal computers alone account for a massive increase in energy consumption in the United States. According to statistics reported by the U.S. Department of Energy, in 1995 PCs accounted for 13 percent of all energy consumed in commercial buildings, almost as much air conditioning. Additionally, the Energy Information Administration's 1999 Annual Energy Outlook estimates that over the next twenty years, commercial energy consumption will grow at a rate more than double overall all use, 3.2 versus 1.4 respectively. The DOE also reported that between the years of 1992 and 1995, the number of computer terminals in commercial buildings increased 45 percent, from 29.8 million to 43.0 million. That's a tremendous increase in the space of only three years. Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain statistics for the last five years, but it's easy to imagine that the proliferation of information appliances has continued unabated. Indeed, within consumer households, the number of PCs is on par with that of commercial spaces. In 1997, the Department of Energy reported that 35 percent of households owned at least one PC equaling 43 million devices in all. The impact on overall energy consumption is obvious, which is why the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Energy Star Office Equipment Program. Many have you have probably seen the Energy Star label on various components of office equipment. Equipment so labeled usually possesses energy saving features such as going to "sleep" when it's idle. Indeed, it is the amount of time a computers sit idle and unused that inspired the creation of the program. A table of statistics provided by the Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division shows that out of the week, the average PC is on 38.1 percent of the time. This statistic is derived by combining the number of hours the machine is on versus the number of hours the machine is idle. The point is that ubiquitous computing, especially that which is peer-to-peer, depends greatly on the "always-on" concept. As a result, machines that are on 100 percent of the time will conceivably consume three times as much energy as they currently do, and that's just PCs. Ultimately, it's in everyone's best interest to address this problem immediately. No doubt there are more convincing numbers than these I've provided, but these were uncovered after only a few minutes research so it appears obvious to me that it is an important issue. If it isn't now, it certainly will be when we face the difficult issue of powering the next evolution of information connectivity. ayg.com