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To: ccryder who wrote (1707)	1/17/1998 11:41:00 PM
From: Valueman	Respond to of 10852

Jim: Hughes already has a product, DirecPC, that offers internet access via satellite. Max speed is 400K on the downlink, but you have to use a regular telephone line ISP for the uplink. Reviews I have seen say it is amazing for the downloading of files etc., but for plain old surfing, the internet itself is the limiting factor. The advantages are not there. It still is slow. Probably the ultimate solution is having the info pushed to your computer via satellite. That is what Cyberstar will be able to do. So, when you get home, all these SI posts are on your hard drive, as well as stock prices, news, sports scores, e-mail---whatever interests you. Then, if you need more info, get on the web. I was told that 70% of AOL users get on and look at the same sites each time they connect. If so, they should have that info "pushed" to them rather than clogging up the phone lines. Hughes is just getting started with this type of service for its DirecPC customers.

To: ccryder who wrote (1707)	1/18/1998 12:30:00 PM
From: gdichaz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10852

George Gilder has a somewhat different view. Bandwith abundance is the future. Is he right? Time will tell. Chaz

To: ccryder who wrote (1707)	1/20/1998 9:35:00 AM
From: Geoff	Respond to of 10852

Jim, I agree that bandwidth is a problem, but I am not sure if CStar will solve bandwidth problems. The Internet is not a very organized thing, for lack of a better word, therefore it will be fairly difficult, IMO, to speed up the World Wide Wait, especially at popular sites. The servers are, for the most part, faster than their connection to the Net, so it lies with the companies serving information to pay for more powerful connections. For instance, the company I work for has a web server capable of taking over two million hits per day, yet only has a T1 connection, which allows roughly 250 users at a time. Now that seems a little silly. Granted, that sounds like a lot, but not when we're talking news, quotes, streaming video or sound, downloading whatnots, and sending messages to this thread. Those sites need substansially more firepower, and at the moment, don't have very good ways of coping. Some have T3s or mega-connections that allow thousands and thousands of simultaneous users, but many sites do not. And even then, it is usually not enough. Streaming video and audio make things even more complicated because of the necessity of them to bring the Net closer to its merger with TV. Even with the higher speed modems, sites that are slow, will continue to be slow. The more users logged in to a server that is sending out streaming video, the slower or more buffering is needed to maintain the connection. It is a little known fact that over 1/3, that's 33%, of internet users choose to turn off their graphics, thus viewing only text. If you don't believe me, contact some Internet research companies, not the ad ones because they don't want people to know this fact. They make money on those ads, even though 1/3 of the impressions they charge for are not seen at all. So the moral of the story is that the Net needs to improve its infrastructure first, because high speed connections are great to visit E*Trade at 4am EST, or Comedy Central's South Park section at 3am EST, but even a T1 runs in to problems when everyone is awake and checking the morning news over at yahoo.com. One more thing! My name is spelled G E O F F. Get it right! grr.... :) geoff