All Animes: Re: [animeontv] The Internet

Hi Robert, nice post.

Newspapers, radio and TV do not have the instant interactivity which
is possible on the Internet. For instance, someone posts a classified
ad for something on Craigslist. The respond they get is almost
immediate, while with a newspaper they have to wait until their ad is
published in the next paper and then only if someone reads it. Or,
goto the website www.digg.com, this is a social news site meaning that
the news article posted here are ones discovered by Digg users on
other websites around the Internet. Other Digg users can up-mod or
down-mod the post to move it up the list to the front of page of the
website or down to the bottom, and Digg users can also comment on the
posted articles and their comments can up or down moded to other Digg
users based on whether they agree with you or not. Digg was
co-founded by Kevin Rose, a former alumnus of Tech TV and co-host of
"The Screensavers" next to Leo Laporte who now runs the technology
podcast site TWiT.tv (TWiT is named after "This Week in Tech" the
site's flagship podcast). Digg isn't alone, there is Reddit.com, the
technology focused Slashdot.com, and even Yahoo News features
Digg/Reddit style user up & down modding. Another site with similar
features is the popular StumbleUpon.com which allows users to submit
websites they've found, and if other users like the site they can up
vote the posting until it reaches the front page. The medium of
newspapers, radio and TV are unable to provide these kinds of
services, at least not easily. Imagine if NBC offered a service where
viewers could text on their cell phones and vote for what shows they
liked the best and only those shows would be aired. Something similar
to that is done now called the Nielson Ratings system, but the system
can only record statistics from a limited demographic; those people
who are from Nielson family households who are a part of the ratings
recording system.

It will take more innovations and new ideas from people like those who
masterminded the current batch of popular online services before the
Internet totally usurps print media, radio and newspapers. Net
Neutrality Laws will need to be in place to make sure ISPs do not give
certain service preferential treatment while others received limited
bandwidth. The infrastructure of many ISPs will need to be changed as
well. If you notice many ISPs who have imposed caps on their service
and also do traffic shaping are all Cable TV providers. There problem
here is their networks are outdated, these are shared networks where
your computer is sharing available bandwidth with your neighbors.
Services like DSL and services similar to Verizon's FiOS optic fiber
service are dedicated networks where you do not share bandwidth with
any other users and thus monthly caps and traffic shaping are
irrelevant and unnecessary. Cable providers like Comcast, TimeWarner,
Cox and others will need to eventually invest in changing the way
their infrastructure works or be left behind. Its already happening
here in an area serviced by Comcast and Verizon FiOS. Most people in
this area are switching over to FiOS, you see their installers in FiOS
trucks all over the place. Competition between cable providers is a
good thing and this region Comcast is learning this fact. Eventually
their antiquated shared-network infrastructure has to go. More and
more online services are appear which would quickly have users hitting
their monthly bandwidth caps. Services like video streaming from
Hulu.com, Joost.com and the upcoming OnLive "cloud gaming" service.
Eventually there will be an online cable TV service carrying most or
all of the available cable channels in the Northern Hemisphere, such a
service is possible right now with the current technology and a few
new startups are right now actually headed in that direction. Cable
Internet providers will have to change their service to compete with
ISPs who don't need to shape their traffic or impose monthly bandwidth
caps. This is how free enterprise works, its basic high-school
economics. To compete you must offer a better more affordable service
than the other guy.

Internet connected mobile devices are also becoming ubiquitous. No
longer is the realm of connected wireless devices the exclusive domain
of cellphones. Verizon is becoming first major wireless Internet
carrier to offer 3G connected netbooks. Sprint has opened their
wireless network to other non-cellphone devices with 3G connectivity
like Amazon's Kindle 2 ebook reader, Internet connected GPS navigation
systems, MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices), ultraportables (PCs that fit
in the palm of your hand) and 3G broadband modems for traditional
notebooks. In the near future game consoles and portable game systems
will have 3G connectivity with the Internet. The new Nintendo DSi,
the successor to the popular DS handheld, will feature 3G
functionality. Rumors abound that Sony plans to release a successor
to the PSP with a 3G wireless modem inside and the Zeebo
(http://www.zeeboinc.com/) a game console with 3G connectivity has
launched in Brazil, Russia, India and China. They have the support of
big game companies like EA, Capcom and Namco. So, you see, my
predictions are already happening.

Entertainment will not be the only area which will benefit from this
connected revolution. Imagine a man with a pace maker and heart
fibulator implanted in his chest. If he has a sudden heart problem
and needs prompt medical care he'd need someone else to call for help,
but what if he's alone and doesn't have something like Life Alert
("I've fallen and I can't get up"). Imagine if a device on his belt
could be monitor those devices which could instantly call for an
ambulance and alert the hospital that something is wrong. Such
devices are already being tested right now. My father "RIGHT NOW"
uses a device which sends a medical report to his doctor on the health
of his heart implants (pace maker and heart fibulator) once a month
via landlines, but one day that system will work via wireless and fit
into a device small enough o fit into his pants pocket. Being on a
wireless network his doctor would check the status of his implants
more than once a month and if its equipped with GPS it could even call
for an ambulance if it detects trouble without my father having to
push a single button.

This is just one of many ways the Internet will change or has changed
our lives in these modern times and possibly make our lives better.
Its an optimistic view, yes, but this is the direction things are
going. Anywho, I've lectured enough for now. These are some pretty
serious discussions we're having here. Our world is changing around
us, some parts for the better and some parts no so much so, but we
can't focus on all of the bad stuff all of the time. If we did we'd
be seriously depressed people. We can only look towards the future
and grasp upon the hope of brighter days.

--
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
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