Here’s why we SHOULD let the telcos and cable companies create the “fast lane”: Currently, things like streaming HD video and audio content over the net in realtime just can’t happen. The networks need to be faster and/or data transmission needs to be constant. Sure, you can download it and watch it later, but as more and more content becomes on-demand, being able to get the content in realtime just makes sense.

This opens up a world of possibilities… Imagine not having to buy any movies or music, but instead paying fractions of a penny to listen to each song or a little more to watch a movie or TV show whenever you want to at the highest quality. Moving from storage technology to storage technology (such as record to cassette to CD) would no longer be an issue. Would we have to make sure companies couldn’t abuse prices? Yes. But imagine listening to any song or watching any movie or TV show you wanted to right now and being able to do so legally and affordably. The artists and creators get paid for the amount of time people view their work. Instead of owning the content, you use it. That would solve a lot of copyright issues the net is currently having, but that’s a completely different topic.

What we SHOULD NOT let them do is censor or prioritize information within each lane or realm. CNN’s site should load just as fast as your blog, Cartoon Network should be broadcast in the same quality as the History Channel, and you should be able to access both savetheinternet.com and handsoff.org.

In an ideal world, networks would be so fast that this wouldn’t be an issue. You could send the data faster than it was used. For something like streaming hundreds of HDTV channels, prioritization of packets is just a reality. HDTV packets would have to be given higher priority than your grandma’s e-mail. Grandma’s e-mail can afford to get pushed back a millisecond or two (again, as long as the practice isn’t abused). Time critical applications such as high def video and games can’t. Some day, maybe the pipes will be big enough that we can just shove everything through one pipe, but right now they’d just choke.

So, in summary… I think the majority of the posters here would agree that this would be the ideal situation: Additional lanes (whether conceptual or physical) such as a high-def content lane or medical lane should be able to be added, but the data in each “lane” (all web sites, for example) should not be prioritized or censored. Data from msn.com and savetheinternet.com should travel at the same speed, as should data from the channels ABC and CBS. Innovation in ways content and information is given to us is possible, but the freedom and integrity of that information remains intact. With complete net neutrality as I’ve seen it described, we’d be stuck where we are now forever. But I agree that with no regulation at all, it means the telcos and cable companies could have their way with us and charge extremely high prices.

Some regulations are needed, but not full-blown “net neutrality”. Yes, that means we’ll have to watch the big dogs to make sure they play fair while building their better network, but as consumers we should always be doing just that.

“Bill Gates has had a huge impact on the industry. For good or ill, Microsoft, along with IBM, was responsible for turning the personal computer from a somewhat exotic device used by hobbyists and a few early adopters into a ubiquitous tool used by billions of people. Along the way, Microsoft evolved from a small software company to an industry juggernaut with its fingers in pies ranging from cell phones to game consoles to big iron servers.

Of course, the company was later reviled by people who believed it was suppressing innovation and competition through hardball marketing and sales tactics. Microsoft has been investigated by just about every government in the developed world for antitrust violation.”…

“Love him or hate him, Bill Gates had a consistent vision of what technology could do for all of us. These days, clear vision seems to be lacking in the technology game. Let’s hope that someone else—not necessarily from Microsoft—can step in to fill that void.” (read full story at: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1977432,00.asp

It always ends up about the money. Maybe we should all put in our notice & move to Korea.

WHERE IS OUR CONTREY?!!???
LETS TAKE IT BACK, STARTING NOW!

By the way, it’s funny as hell. Thanks!