Bear Flag Republic Radio WeblogLiving out on the left coast |
| Last modified: |
|
8/7/04; 2:28:47 PM |
| Feeds: |
|
LIVE webcam Cumbres & Toltec rail yard in Chama, New Mexico.
Current BlogRoll.
[Macro error: The server, api.google.com, returned a SOAP-ENV:Server fault: Exception from service object: Invalid authorization key:]
|
|
Thursday, March 25, 2004
(Paid subscription required) Wall Street Journal reports on the ARRL and ham radio's claims of broadband power line interference to radio. Needless to say, its a brutally honest assessment of the state of ham radio and the ARRL: "The controversy comes at a sensitive time for the hams. Not too many decades ago, ham-radio operators were on the cutting edge of communications technology, but have since lost their uniqueness. They chatted with people in far-flung places at a time when long-distance calling was still a luxury. They spread word of disasters that otherwise might have taken days to reach the public. In the age of e-mail, wireless Internet access and cellphones that double as walkie-talkies, many operators worry that their hobby will fade away."
During the 1990s, as readers of this web site well know, I have long advocated that the culture of ham radio itself needed to change to remain relevant in the 21st century. Like most "organizations", change has been heavily resisted for some time, to the point that ham radio is today more quaint than relevant, unfortunately. I predicted that eventually it would come down to "a few hams" versus millions of public Internet users, and that line of reasoning is made quite clear in the WSJ article - or in one I wrote in 1999. Compare the above WSJ article quote to my original paragraph from 1999 article titled, "Amateur Radio Has Lost It's Uniqueness, "Historically, worldwide communications was a rarity and amateur radio operators were amongst the privileged few to engage routinely in international conversations, a truly unique experience. Today, through advances in telephone systems and in particular, the Internet, cross border communication is common. This web site, for example, is now read in 107 countries! When war breaks out in southern Europe, we turn to the Internet for news and listen to online radio stations, instead of tuning in shortwave broadcasters." Elsewhere in that column, I mentioned email and cellular phones and digital SMR (Nextel walkie-talkies). Hmmmm..... [Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology] comments < 7:25:00 PM 
>Windows ruling is biggest IP heist in EU history, claims MS. Company plays IP crown jewels card, drops WTO hints [The Register] Let's have some fun: Microsoft is expected to declare war on EU in its battle against innovation. Strategists believe the company may launch its first attack in Belgium, then sweep into France and cross into Germany in its war to spread life, liberty and the pursuit of innovation to the oppressed people of Europe. Analysts suggest Microsoft could air drop lawyers into several European capitals within days, followed by an all out ground assault of Windows XP updates that could shut down the entire EU infrastructure. Some believe the firm could exploit security vulnerabilities known only to Microsoft to launch virus attacks against European government operations. Taking a twist from the Al Queda play book, the company could hijack servers to email bomb EU competitors, even those using the guerilla Linux operating system. Prof. David Kuradjic, a professor of technical history at the University of Indiana says "Microsoft will put forth a formidable offense to achieve its ultimate goal of global domination with Windows on every desktop worldwide". Sources also say that short wave listeners have heard mysterious radio broadcasts, possibly originating in Western Washington but directed towards the EU, referring to "Radio Free Innovation".. Update: Microsoft initiates initial attack using dumb bombs. [Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology] comments < 7:23:41 PM
>Decent article on Mars Rover communications. [Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology] comments < 7:22:52 PM
>Self-serving stupid industry report of the day. After reading that, take a look at this about the very large and very rapid drop in computer science enrollments, nationwide. My own students are very, very attuned to the job market and are making rationale decisions based on what is occurring in the job market. Steve Ballmer previously said, in a Microsoft press release, that U.S. engineer salaries must drop substantially before it is cost effective to hire U.S. engineers, directly contradicting the AeA's phony assertion that there is a shortage of engineers in the U.S. - and that offshoring is not about saving money. The AeA (first story above) is smoking dope. [Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology] comments < 7:22:28 PM
>Comparative advantage vs. competitive advantage. Marc Andreessen sent me some clarification on comparative advantage vs. competitive advantage re: my post on Ricardo (thanks Marc). This is counter-intuitive so follow it closely. He says:
Here is more elaboration on comparative advantage. The key is opportunity cost. However, this brings me back to my original problem: what should the US specialize in? [John Robb's Weblog] comments < 7:19:33 PM
> |
| Archive: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|