Dear Fred — I think your statement:
“In the early days of the Internet, when dial-up was king, the telco companies were in the driver’s seat. They had the customer relationships. They had the on-ramp to the Internet. But they did not create Google, Skype, Facebook, or even TCP/IP.”
… is misleading. It assumes that the telcos and ISPs have at one time ever had a good grip on their internet customers. As a former manager with just such a company, in fact one of the most profitable ones in the world, I can tell you most confidently that this has never really been the case. And since the advent of the consumer internet, Big Telco has never had the opportunity to successfully inflict their business model on the Internet … until now. [click to continue…]
I’m not usually one to get excited about this sort of stuff, but living as I do at pretty-much the epicentre of the coming Olympics in Vancouver 2010 issues of security, terrorism, and other such hysteria have got my spider-senses tingling. I’m fairly convinced that, given Canada’s very active participation in NATO’s Afghan adventure and numerous related transgressions, there will be some sort of attempt at terrorist action during the Games.
I’m doubly convinced that while the VANOC Gestapo is concerning itself on the front lawn with ebbing peaceful protests, sweeping our homelessness and drug problems under the rug, and thwarting any attempt by commercial enterprises to steal some Olympic mojo; they’ve left the back door open for morons who might claim some affiliation to the non-existent Al Qaeda to blow up a rented cube truck filled with god-knows-what in my neighbourhood. [click to continue…]
Dear Fred — I think your statement:
