 RadioDoc 58ef2c0 Premium,ExMod 2000-03 join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | The problem is...
...that most people don't care.
Good for Chaska, though. At least they walk the walk instead of just talking about it. Hopefully there will be somewhere for them to walk to eventually.
These projects will never bring about a "cultural revolution". Almost all such municipal straw-grasping ends up failing in its original mission. See: Downtown malls. -- Toolmaster of La Grange. |
|
 achuchma
join:2001-04-11 Tampa, FL
| said by RadioDoc :...that most people don't care. Agreed...While things like Chaska, Project Lightspeed, Fios, etc. are nice, they are not going to bring us into some "Buck Rogers" land.
Life will continue as normal, just with faster access... -- Bring back chicken and potato chips - Vote Perot! |
|
  fireflier Coffee. . .Need Coffee Premium join:2001-05-25 Limbo | reply to RadioDoc Hmm. Seems like our utopian dreams of technological wonders are being stymied by excessive numbers of technically illiterate. Damn. . . -- I'd kill for a Nobel peace prize! |
|
 nucci6
join:2004-12-13 State College, PA
| Office workers in the park???
Not likely until management style changes. You can have all the broadband you want but if management wants employees chained to their desks you are *not* going to see reports filed from the park.
In far too many circumstances telecommuting is still dangled as a perk only to the privileged elite. |
|
  dadkins Can you do Blu? Premium,MVM join:2003-09-26 Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| Yeah...
"2,400 households, or 30 percent of homes, subscribe to the service. Many of those use the service from home, instead of via laptop."
Wonder how many even own a laptop. I'm willing to bet those that do, enjoy this freedom. Too bad most people still think laptops aren't real computers. Some laptops eat desktops... and you aren't tethered to a desk!  -- Think outside the Fox... Opera |
|
  TKJunkMail Enjoy the sun Premium join:2002-03-03 Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| BBR users are not typical of average community
City Manager Dave Pokorney is realistic about what broadband means for Chaska - perhaps more realistic than the companies pushing municipal Wi-Fi projects.
"We get reporters calling all the time, thinking everyone is running around holding up their laptops," he said in a recent phone interview. "The biggest draw is affordable high-speed Internet in the home. People who didn't feel they could afford or justify high-speed can now have it."
But Chaska's experience shows that broadband societies aren't created overnight. And for some portion of the population - people who can't afford or don't want computers, for example - cheap or free broadband won't be a presence in their lives. "This isn't a panacea," admits Earthlink CEO Garry Betty. "It isn't going to solve all the problems of the world. But it does provide people with alternatives." This is the reality instead of the hype. Broadband will continue to expand, but at a steady rate. It won't be some explosion that changes the world overnight, no matter how hard some think it should.
P.S.> Link to Chaska's WiFi service: »www.chaska.net/mkpage.cgi?servic···_details
Unlimited usage, always on, internet access, Plus; 5 email accounts and 10 MB web space for $16.99 per month.
Connection speeds are comparable to cable or DSL. Most users will experience speeds that are approximately 1Mb bi-directional, but speeds may fluctuate between 250k and 3Mb. The only question not being asked is - Is the service making enough to cover the cost of the Bonds that financed the project? -- -- Join Red Room Forum BLOG tkjunkmail.blogspot.com My Web Page |
|
  pnh102 Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty Premium join:2002-05-02 Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by TKJunkMail :The only question not being asked is - Is the service making enough to cover the cost of the Bonds that financed the project? It doesn't need to be asked... that's what taxes are for! -- Rove / Rumsfeld 2008! |
|
 RadioDoc 58ef2c0 Premium,ExMod 2000-03 join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to TKJunkMail said by FAQ :
Q) Does the chaska.net service stay connected 24/7 or does it have to connect every time I want to use it?
(A) The chaska.net service is an "always on" connection. We will be requiring that users log on via a web page to utilize the service, but this will only happen once every 24 hours. Ouch. So much for replacing a cable or DSL connection. VoIP? Forget it if you forget to log in every day.
said by TOS :
Processes run by your Account must be run interactively. Unattended processes will be terminated.
"Processes" means bots, server processes such as ftp, telnet, http, ssh, smtp, pop3, etc. running on an automatic or manual basis.
Chaska may terminate unattended or inactive connections. The User shall be responsible for any connection overage charges resulting from extended usage or failure to disconnect. So much for using it for anything other than web surfing and email.
"Connection overage charges"? Hmmmmm...where is that defined or priced out? -- Toolmaster of La Grange. |
|
  soundtank Holy Cow Premium join:2006-02-07 Bloomingdale, IL 1 edit | I wish we have this
Man, why wont they offer this in our area?? $17 for 3Mbps WI-FI, what a deal for my parents because they only use the internet for e-mail and surfing. |
|
  Ignite Premium,VIP join:2004-03-18 UK clubs:
·BlueYonder Interne..
·Be There
| reply to pnh102 Re: BBR users are not typical of average community
Ya... so you said 2 years ago as well:
quote: Nah, it'll be great... they just raise taxes and/or raise rates on other municipal services to pay for it.
Good to see some opinions don't change. For all you know it might be net contributor to local finances. |
|
  TW Mpls
@170.135.x.x | If the author can't get her basic facts straight...
...I toss the whole article.
"But omnipresent broadband has done little to change the rhythm of life in this friendly, mildly affluent town just 25 miles east of Minneapolis."
Chaska is 25 miles *WEST* of Minneapolis. 'Nuff said. |
|
 v_lestat The Blood Is The Life
join:2002-11-09
| 3meg wireless per user ? their dreaming.
too bad it wont work.
any isp wifi access point on the market can only delivery 54meg aggregate bandwidth which leaves 20-30 MAX realtime thruput. and thats best case, best signal possible not very far from the AP. so what they are going to have hundreds of access points up all over the place ? i dont see that happeneing as the cost facotr would be insane and it would take them years to make back their money .. hell even at 512k connections which would be the normal for wireless ISP connections it takes that long to make their money back.
3meg per client i dont see that as a feasible thing unless they are going to literally cake the are with an ungodly amount of access points and then they would still need several microwave backhauls back to the POP or some fiber drops at each AP. -- System SpecsAMD64 3200+ Venice @2.9ghz Water CooledDFI SLI-DR 1gig OCZ PC4800 Elite -Modded Audigy2 ZS w/ 3 AD8620 OPAMPS chips -2x 36gig Raptors + 120gigeVGA 6800GT WaterCooledLogitech Z5300 THX 5.1 spk |
|
  TheTonyMN
@170.135.x.x | re:3meg wireless per user ? their dreaming.
This isn't theoretical. This is what the users in the network, which has been around for a few years, get. |
|
 nasadude
join:2001-10-05 Rockville, MD
·Comcast
| reply to RadioDoc Re: The problem is...
said by RadioDoc :...that most people don't care. ... I don't think it's a matter that most people don't care, it's a matter of using the service with what you have. I wouldn't run out and buy a laptop just to use this service, but I would sure jump on 3M/3M at $17/mo for my home use on my desktop.
I'm not sure why the reporter thought it would be "buck rogersville" with people lounging everywhere hooked to the 'net. Although the article doesn't address it, this wi-fi system is probably the only internet choice besides dial-up for that town.
With the monopoly environment in this country, wi-fi is simply a third way to bridge the last mile and to more easily serve rural areas. |
|
 RadioDoc 58ef2c0 Premium,ExMod 2000-03 join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| I think that if you surveyed people in Chaska the majority would be rather ho-hum about the whole thing. That doesn't mean I don't think it's not a good idea (it appears to be being financed entirely through user fee income, although that water bill tie-in is troublesome). Just that a minority of folks give a crap about high speed access. Most don't even know what "speed" they're getting.
They seem to be getting a lot of fixed installations, which is good. The roaming-with-your-laptop aspect is fluff. Their coverage map shows very spotty hotspot availability. -- Toolmaster of La Grange. |
|
  Tzale Proud Libertarian Conservative Premium join:2004-01-06 Sweden
·Verizon FIOS
·Optimum Online
| reply to achuchma What do you guys want? This is the number one site on the internet devoted to broadband news. If you don't like hearing about municipal wireless broadband that's dirt cheap, or Lightspeed or FIOS or whatever, then don't read/post here, there are many different forums on this site that can cater to your needs, and there are thousands more across the internet for you to choose from.
-Tzale |
|
 fiberguy My views are my own. Premium join:2005-05-20 | reply to v_lestat Re: 3meg wireless per user ? their dreaming.
"it's never work"..
you know, you sound like the guy from the hana barbara cartoons.
I guess to all the people that said nothing above 1.5mb DSL would never work were absolutely correct too, right? |
|
 fiberguy My views are my own. Premium join:2005-05-20
1 edit | reply to TheTonyMN Re: re:3meg wireless per user ? their dreaming.
TheTonyMN or TW MPLS, who ever you are, can you pick a handle already?
So they missed the direction on Chaska.. big deal.
Why is everyone so negative about this article? This may not be "the best thing" for Chaska (which some would disagree) being so close to the major metro area, but this technology has to start somewhere. (For the record, anyone that knows the twic cities would stop thinking and using the lable Minneapolis since MPLS is just one of many cities in a 13 county metro that makes up this HUGE population area)
What is the ultimate complaint in this country? Choice? access? Black holes? This stuff has to start SOMEWHERE... right?
I find it completely rediculous that people are even bitching about this article to begin with in this thread.
For those of you in the boondocks, just remember smaller towns like Chaska and others that are deploying these services when you finally get SOMETHING in your areas..
What this story has proven so far is that people will bitch about anything. |
|
 RadioDoc 58ef2c0 Premium,ExMod 2000-03 join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to Tzale Re: The problem is...
said by Tzale :What do you guys want? This is the number one site on the internet devoted to broadband news. If you don't like hearing about municipal wireless broadband that's dirt cheap, or Lightspeed or FIOS or whatever, then don't read/post here, there are many different forums on this site that can cater to your needs, and there are thousands more across the internet for you to choose from. -Tzale Someone take away your rattle?
Geez, nobody's complaining about the story. What the hell are you talking about? -- Toolmaster of La Grange. |
|