A new spectrum policy - the more I use wireless (which is a lot) the more strongly I feel we are on the cusp of another paradigm shift of Internet use. It's one thing to have broadband in your house. It's quite another to have wireless broadband in your house. And at school. And at the coffee shop. And, eventually, pretty much anywhere you can use your laptop computer, or PDA. Wireless Internet access is a mind-blowing thing. So, I'm quite interested in how the FCC will react to the proliferation of 802.11b and other wireless initiatives. And I'm glad to read these remarks by Chairman Powell. It sounds like he understands something important:
All consumers, whether they are John and Jane Q. Public or the Boulder Police Department, deserve a new spectrum policy paradigm that is rooted in modern-day technologies and markets. We are living in a world where demand for spectrum is driven by an explosion of wireless technology and the ever-increasing popularity of wireless services.
....While the wireless world has changed rapidly, government spectrum policy continues to be constrained by allocation and licensing systems from a bygone era. Change is inhibited by the “mother may I” phenomenon – businesses must go to the FCC for permission before they can modify their spectrum plans to respond to consumer demand.
The theory back in the 1930s was that only government could be trusted to manage this scarce resource and ensure that no one got too much of it. Unfortunately, spectrum policy is still predominantly a “command and control” process that requires government officials -- instead of spectrum users -- to determine the best use for spectrum and make value judgments about proposed -- and often over-hyped -- uses and technologies. It is an entirely reactive and too easily politicized process.
Wow! I can't believe I'm hearing this from the head of the FCC. Hopefully, he will follow through and make some meaningful change in an agency that will have increasing importance in our lives.
8:03:03 PM
Scanner by Canon - I just heard about the Canon 2080 scanner, which has a very small footprint, a 50 page sheet feeder, and does 20 ppm, or 40 ppm in duplex mode (see product sheet; PDF format). It does color too. The suggested retail price is $1,000, but I think you can get them for about $600. I'm buying one for home so I can continue my quest to digitize all of the important papers in my life. This scanner is good enough for office use, so if you are a lawyer and haven't discovered the joys of scanning this might be a good machine to start with.
6:48:41 PM
Wi-Fi for your PDA?You betcha. Looks like the price for the adapter is way cheaper for the non-Palm devices. Sigh.
5:11:05 PM
Paula Poundstone: "I don't have a bank account, because I don't know my mother's maiden name."
5:06:29 PM
