Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (
More info?)
Owamanga wrote:
> On Thu, 7 Apr 2005 16:08:44 +0000 (UTC), davem@cs.ubc.ca (Dave
> Martindale) wrote:
>
>
>>Owamanga <owamanga(not-this-bit)@hotmail.com> writes:
>>
>>
>>>Again, you seem to have a blinkered view on problem solving. Yes,
>>>there are physical laws which restrict data transmission on a POTS
>>>line but engineers sidestep these by bending the rules. They
>>>succeeded.
>>
>>They didn't bend the rules, they just replaced the entire telephone
>>system infrastructure with the exception of the last few miles to your
>>house.
>
>
> No they didn't. They improved some things, but I've been inside some
> of the largest exchanges in the US, and a lot of the head-end
> equipment dates back to the cold-war... some of it is still made of
> bakelite.
>
> The fiber is the same fiber. We've laid new stuff, but the old stuff
> hasn't been retired.
>
>
>>The limits applied to the old hardware, not the new. Sometimes
>>that's both possible and economically feasible, so it happens.
>>
>>On the other hand, it's foolhardy to just assume that *all* limits will
>>eventually get bypassed in this way. Some will, some won't.
>>Faster-than-light space travel would be very useful, but it may never
>>happen. Maybe not even faster-than-light communications.
>
>
> Okay, but what I'm talking about is a blend of existing software
> technologies, not faster than light space travel. There seems to be
> some confusion here.
>
>
>>>Technology and innovation *constantly* finds routes around 'laws' of
>>>physics and mathematics without having to break them. This is, and
>>>will continue to happen in image processing too.
>>
>>But only some of the limits. And you may have to replace your camera in
>>order to use the newly-invented techniques.
>
>
> That may be true, but your problem with replacing a camera is what?
>
>
>>Blind faith that all limits will eventually fall is no more sensible
>>than believing that all current limitations will remain true.
>
>
> I don't see any blind faith. Just existing stuff made better.
>
> --
> Owamanga!
>
http://www.pbase.com/owamanga
I should be so lucky as to have fiber! The telephone lines here are
single strand copper wrapped in PAPER wrapping, and inside a LEAD tube.
I KNOW they haven't been replaced in 37 years, because I have lived
here that long. I suspect they may go back to the early 1950's, (when
the houses were built), or maybe even before that.
The BEST speeds I ever got on a modem were 24.6kbps, on a GOOD day.
I couldn't WAIT until they got cable internet available, and was the
first in my area to have it installed.
--
Ron Hunter rphunter@charter.net