World's Longest Wi-Fi Connection 129
axonis writes "The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) announced today that they have transmitted information via a broadband wireless link over a distance of 310km. They believe that this is the longest distance achieved using wireless connectivity. Alvarion (BreezeCom) is also the original consultant to Ericsson for BlueTooth technology"
That last dig is kinda cute... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Developing Countries (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, let's build a community center in BFE for a group of people who don't have running water or electricity in their homes and the nearest hospitol is a 300M charter plane trip away.
Yeah yeah, mod me down. Before you do, realize that they're places in northern Alaska that fit this description nicely - and they have a nicer net connection than a lot of people I know.
Re:Developing Countries (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:6 Watts!? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Developing Countries (Score:5, Insightful)
I can never understand this stuff. You want to give "poor developing countries" internet access? Don't you think we should spend more time actually developing these places before we start laying in the luxuries? (Remember, the Internet is not some god given right, it's a Luxury.)
In the same way that an article of clothing can either be considered a luxury (eg; furs coats) or a necessity (eg; longjohns in Fairbanks), internet access can be viewed as either a luxury (eg; a good game of UT2003) or a necessity (access to the largest single repository of mankind's knowledge).
Aside from the jokes that will stem from that last bombastic statement, just because we use it for primarily entertainment purposes does not mean that's all there is to be had. Internet access means not only the ability to communicate and share ideas (linux comes to mind) but also makes political oppression much, much harder to pull off. If you're a wannabe dictator, you want your citizenry stupid, quiet and weaponless.
Bollocks - play on words and terms (Score:5, Insightful)
Slashdot talking bollocks?? Never!!!
Re:Developing Countries (Score:3, Insightful)
Nice troll. I'll bite anyways.
Do you use linux? BSD? PHP? {insert technology name here}
Well guess what? There are features in each and every technology you use daily which were partly developed and enhanced in places where the unemployment is extremely high, the economy is in the shithole, and average person makes $20/month. That doesn't mean poor/developing/third world countries cannot produce geniuses who might contribute something revolutionary to our existing technology in one way or another. Right? Wrong.
By your idiotic analogy, we should cut off the internet pipes in India. Afterall, majority of India's population lives below the poverty line and doesn't have basic necessities.
Internet is the artery which feeds innovation. It puts the world at your fingertips and expedites the process of gathering mass amount of targetted, specialized information in matter of seconds. (For the sake of arguement) I might be posting this from the Amazon Jungle. In a way, I am making a contribution to this discussion. I am making my voice heard. Internet is Freedom. Why do you think so many people are worried about the restrictions China is putting on the general populace in regards to the filtering of "objectionable content"?
Take a moment and think about that one kid out there in the thrird world country hell, who might have became the next linus torvalds, bill gates, et al. But instead, he has to work 18 hours a day in a field to feed himself and will eventually void his potential, just because a greasy fuck like yourself decided he was priveleged more because you had running water and air conditioning, thus making you somewhat more relevant.
Internet is a luxury? Did I miss the memo on this?
Again going back to my comment about the Great Firewall of China. Why do you think internet makes their heads of state of nervous? I'll give you a clue. It rhymes with INFORMATION. More information you have, more educated you are; the more educated you are, more chances you have to take a stand against bullshit religious fanatics, tyranny, government lies and all that other madness.
Internet is a vast, unregulated library. Do you want to deny those people of it? Because that's what you're saying. It's not like we're setting them up with internet access so they could solely deploy Counter-Strike servers and amuse themselves.
Next time think before bringing up such a stupid arguments. Fucktard.
Give a man a fish... (Score:5, Insightful)
So imagine having a wireless link to a hospital that is 300 miles away. The local semi trained nurse could hook up to the hospital (or another one in another country) with a camera and get expert advice on how to treat a patient without the need to fly 300 miles to the hospital. The money saved on the flight could then be used to supply yet another village with better medical supplies and training.
Giving local people access to resources about building wells and wind turbines and there maintance could empower the people to help themselves instead of been given handouts. Information on better faming techniques...The list goes on.
By itself Internet access will not help but combined with an other things it becomes another tool to help.
Re:Developing Countries (Score:3, Insightful)
According to the fellow I met, one of the biggest problems with laying in any sort of wired infrastructure for electricity, telephone, or data networks into rural places is that the people will dig up the wires for the copper inside of them (or dig up and destroy the fiber thinking it has copper in it.) -- Yet they want to have the phone and the comupter in their village -- go figure. Wireless and solar have been much less expensive for bringing telephone and Internet communications to small villages. The people use them all the time.
The reason people do this is probably because there aren't significant economic resources to develop much other than education and communications programs in the majority of Africa. If you'd like to find some people/governments/whatever that will build, plumb, electrify, etc. hundreds of millions of houses for these people who we've got to "civilize," then go ahead and do it: you'd probably get some sort of Nobel. Just don't forget the countless billions you'll have to spend building all those schools and hospitals and mini-malls to give the newfound suburbanites something to do and somewhere to work!