RE: Internic address allocation policy
At 10:14 PM 11/18/96 -0800, you wrote:
Bah, humbug! I've seen the Internet these kind of people try to create. They call them FREE-nets and then tangle everyone up in petty politics, power struggles and mindless sniping. Instead of bringing people together, they divide people between the commercial providers (with 95% market share) and the community networks (with 5% market share) all the while claiming that they are great because they have brought the power of the Internet into the community. Internet access in North America costs less than a month's supply of cigarettes. How many poor people can't afford cigarettes? Not many.
The barrier to entry for that poor person is significantly higher, in the real world, for the poor person. Net access may be had for $20/month. But the hardware is a significant barrier for the poor person. To expand your analogy, poor people don't have to buy hardware to smoke. We all come with lips :) Eric
Eric Germann writes:
The barrier to entry for that poor person is significantly higher, in the real world, for the poor person. Net access may be had for $20/month. But the hardware is a significant barrier for the poor person.
Used PCs capable of providing net access are very cheap these days -- $100 will get you a not entirely unreasonable setup for many purposes. Perry
You could also get (Dare I say) One of those web TV boxes. They are about $300, and are self containted. - Jared Perry E. Metzger graced my mailbox with this long sought knowledge:
Eric Germann writes:
The barrier to entry for that poor person is significantly higher, in the real world, for the poor person. Net access may be had for $20/month. But the hardware is a significant barrier for the poor person.
Used PCs capable of providing net access are very cheap these days -- $100 will get you a not entirely unreasonable setup for many purposes.
Perry
On Tue, 19 Nov 1996, Perry E. Metzger wrote:
Eric Germann writes:
The barrier to entry for that poor person is significantly higher, in the real world, for the poor person. Net access may be had for $20/month. But the hardware is a significant barrier for the poor person.
Used PCs capable of providing net access are very cheap these days -- $100 will get you a not entirely unreasonable setup for many purposes.
Even cheeper. Used VTs are excellent for this sort of purpose, etc. However, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of providers offering shell or text-based Internet access. The biggest problem I see to the situation is when users _and_ providers believe they need high-powered computers to access 'the net'. -- Billy Biggs ae687@freenet.carleton.ca
participants (4)
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Billy Biggs -
Eric Germann -
Jared Mauch -
Perry E. Metzger