richb01803
Rich
join:2001-02-14
02100
| These guys never seem to get it
quote:
Increasingly, in fact, speed now matters less than having an always-on connection to the vast, global database of everything grand and noble...
Ugh. Have they ever gone into an average Joe Sixpack household and seen how people actually use computers and the Internet?
Always-on sells to the 15% of people who can afford to, in essence, ignore their electric and gasoline bills.
The other 85% worries about every light bulb left on in a vacant room. That PC gets turned off every minute it's not in use.
Always-on won't sell Internet connections to the masses. Never will.
The other points made in this article are equally ignorant. |
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jackknife
join:2001-02-24
Phoenix, AZ
clubs:
| You're full of it
Maybe you worry about your gasoline and electric bills, but very few others do! Gasoline is getting cheaper every day. And, electricity is cheap as f**k. BTW, I am poorer than average Joe Sixpack!!!
I want always-on, but I also want speed...the faster the better. But, I would settle for broadband that can last longer than a month or two. I had Northpoint for a month before they went under. Now I have had SprintION for almost 2 months and now they are going!
SOMEONE GIMME BROADBAND DAMMIT!!!!!!! |
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AkumalDave
Life's A Beach
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-20
Minneapolis, MN
| Just what are THEY smoking?
How can anyone call the current Broadband climate "Thriving"? O.K., so their "survey" showed a 42% increase in number of subscribers over the course of a year - but how many of those subscribers will actually have an operational circuit 6 months from now? How many have lost their connections since the survey was taken?
I've suffered through disconnects with Northpoint, COVAD and Ricochet. Apparently, the article's magic "$50 per month" connection simply isn't profitable or sustainable. Who knows what the Baby Bells will crank up the rates to, once the pesky competition is finally eliminated?
Do people want Broadband? Sure, they do. Is Broadband thriving? Hardly.
Dave |
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AkumalDave
Life's A Beach
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-20
Minneapolis, MN
| Oh, P.S. to Ziff Davis:
Dear Ziff Davis (re: the above mentioned article on your web site),
It's bad enough to see flashing banner ads at the TOP of the screen, but at least we can scroll past them. Placing animated gif's INSIDE the body of the text is really annoying. Please reconsider this practice.
Dave |
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Hayward
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
| reply to richb01803
Re: These guys never seem to get it
Actually the average PC uses relatively little electricity, as long as you turn off the CRT when not in use... most newer monitors do this automatically these days.
Notebooks use even less.
Now a fully loaded tricked out PC can suck up quite a bit, but not the average one.
You could leave on a PC 24 hrs and probably not use more than 20 cents of electricity as long as the monitor was asleep half that time.
Mine stays on most of the time, but I do shut it down when I go to sleep or at work... partly just because Windows is happier when it is rebooted once a day anyhow.
It nice when you are expecting important EMAIL or someone to get online, to know as soon as it happens... as well as things like Seti and Folding, etc.
--
-Hayward
»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West) |
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TACSPEED
Premium
join:2001-04-14
Tacoma, WA | reply to richb01803
I don't know about Joe Sixpack, but the reasons I will be buying broadband in the near future are: 1. Speed 2. It will free-up my phone line. 3. Cost, here its only $26.95 a month for cable access. |
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djrobx
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
 ·PHONE POWER
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to richb01803
You're right that a lot of people don't care about the always on part. But joe sixpacks DO care a lot about speed, and they are willing to pay to speed things up. Joe is extremely impatient.
The lure of not tying up a phoneline (and/or not having to pay for a second line) usually makes the overall investment worthwhile.
-- Rob |
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richb01803
Rich
join:2001-02-14
02100
| reply to Hayward
said by hayward:
You could leave on a PC 24 hrs and probably not use more than 20 cents of electricity as long as the monitor was asleep half that time.
If a PC with monitor consumes 25 watts at idle, then it consumes 1 KWH per 40 hours. A month has 720 hours so at 10 cents a KWH the math works out to $1.80.
Even though the cost is low, human behavior doesn't seem to adjust quickly to that reality. Kids are taught to turn off appliances and lights when they're not using them, and it's hard for most people to un-learn that when it comes to deciding to leave something on all the time.
By the way, it's kinda pointless to debate this among ourselves, basing arguments on own personal habits: surely at least 95% of DSLR readers are among the 15% of people who don't care about electric bills, at least to the tune of a couple dollars a month. I ask that you think about computer usage at a relative or friend's house the last time you visited them.
[text was edited by author 2001-10-24 13:48:09] |
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djrobx
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
·PHONE POWER
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to jackknife
Re: You're full of it
quote:
Gasoline is getting cheaper every day. And, electricity is cheap as f**k.
Heh, I can tell you're not from California  My electricity bill reached $600 for a 1400 sq foot home, no pool, during the summer.
-- Rob |
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cybermud
join:2000-08-25
Chicago, IL
| reply to AkumalDave
Re: Oh, P.S. to Ziff Davis:
A) This is DSLReports, not ZDNet.
b) ZDNet has been placing ads in the body of documents for moths now.
c) Those are usually Flash movies, not an animated GIF.
I agree that the ads are obnoxious and distracting, but ad-supported sites are trying to find new ways to attract attention to the ads in order to get more clicks. Being annoying is one way to get attention, but it may not result in more clicks, only negative sentiment. |
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JYoung
G L 2814
join:2000-06-13
Sherman Oaks, CA |  hmmmmmmm
Certainly paints a rosier picture than Robert Cringley.... |
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Hayward
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
| reply to richb01803
Re: These guys never seem to get it
said by richb01803:
By the way, it's kinda pointless to debate this among ourselves, basing arguments on own personal habits: surely at least 95% of DSLR readers are among the 15% of people who don't care about electric bills, at least to the tune of a couple dollars a month. I ask that you think about computer usage at a relative or friend's house the last time you visited them
Actually I do care hence 100% of my home lighting is compact florescent, and water heater is automated. These are important users of energy. I can turn on EVERY light in the house and still only be using under 400 watts. Current monitor is also Energy Star, so does shut down.
Also the computers of average relatives/friends may well stay on more (the old turning off is bad for it myth...and then wonder why Windows comes to a crawl  ) Most of them also still use 400% more expensive to operate incandescent bulbs (which also create a lot more heat, not good in the summer).
--
-Hayward
»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)
[text was edited by author 2001-10-24 15:31:31] |
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depster
join:2001-06-07
Grand Rapids, MI | reply to cybermud
Re: Oh, P.S. to Ziff Davis:
Been to MSNBC.com. They don't allow you to go to a new section without first viewing an advertisement.
At least they aren't porno ads... |
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bujoojoo
join:2001-01-03
Toney, AL
| reply to djrobx
Re: You're full of it
Try Alabama in the summer
I'm thankful we didn't have rolling blackouts here, otherwise you would have found my cooked body rotting quietly in my Barcalounger...
--
This isn't the .sig you're looking for... |
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Optimum1
Hey Macleod, Get Offa My Ewe
Premium
join:2001-08-22
Minneapolis, MN
clubs:
·Comcast
| Duh
quote:
`The real question is whether you can deliver it profitably and have enough financing to get through the growth phase.'
'Starting companies up ``is very capital intensive,'' Brooks added, but the hope is that the company will survive `to the later years where you can turn cash-flow positive.'
Can I get a big, resounding, "DUH!" here? Welcome back to Business 101, as taught for, oh, say....the last 100 years...
--
[root/]# mv -f /bin/laden/osama /dev/nul/ |
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Mike
Premium,Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA
clubs:  | reply to richb01803
Re: These guys never seem to get it
Where can I pick up one of 'dem Joe SixPacks? |
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biggknifeparty
join:2001-03-03
Winnipeg, MB
| reply to richb01803
The beauty of Canada, cheap hydroelectric power.
Here electricity is a little under 7 cents (canadian)/kWh... heh that's what? 4.75 cents US
Power is dirt cheap here. I have 5 additional case fans in my system (overclocked athlon 1ghz) and it still costs me almost nothing to run it 24/7. (I run a web server all the time) |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast
| said by biggknifeparty:
The beauty of Canada, cheap hydroelectric power.
Here electricity is a little under 7 cents (canadian)/kWh... heh that's what? 4.75 cents US
Power is dirt cheap here.
Yes that's true, but your taxes are much higher than ours. GST, PST, VAT, etc. You also pay almost double what we do for gasoline. |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast
| reply to AkumalDave
Re: Just what are THEY smoking?
said by AkumalDave:
Apparently, the article's magic "$50 per month" connection simply isn't profitable or sustainable.
A price of $40 per month seems to be fine for cable companies. The only cable entity in trouble is @Home. Road Runner customers have no such issues. If @Home folds then the cable companies will just find alternative backbone providers. Comcast has already started doing so. I think that @Home will go under soon and the cable companies will not miss a beat. The service will go on uninterrupted. They have too much at stake to allow for a service outage to occur. |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ | savings
The few pennies you save turning off your computer is nullified when you have to pay for a new power supply or other component that prematurely died because of excessive power on/off cycles. Todays "green" pcs really eliminate the need to power off |
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