On Sat, Sep 21, 2002 at 08:37:13AM +0100, Julian Bond wrote:
> [...]
> But then I spent a lot of yesterday evening wandering round all the WiFi
> sites. My perception is that the enthusiast activity has essentially
> stalled. There was a great outpouring of thought 18 months ago and now
> we're left with a lot of hard work and coding to bring all that into
> reality. And it's not really happening. It would be sad if the BigCos
> (M$?[1]) hijack WiFi and twist it to their ends just as we're on the
> verge of having a critical mass of end users.
>
> That's probably going to upset the people here that *are* beavering
> away. So I'm not belittling your efforts. Just expressing a bit of
> disappointment. And you'll have to excuse me for not doing enough myself
> but my hands are full of other things at the moment.
Actually I know of at least two projects out there that are in the
middle of installing equipment on towers and mountain tops for
community networks in SF.
Projects do have a cycle where there is the brainstorm, the work,
and the roll-out. The work usually takes a while and can be stressful
as you may not encounter that much to show off during the process.
There is also the problem with volunteer efforts as one does have
to pay the rent, so community wireless efforts will be seen as a
secondary priority in life to putting food on the dinner table.
With that, efforts may go a little slower than if someone was working
on it full time.
Tim
--
Snail: Tim Pozar / LNS / 1978 45th Ave / San Francisco CA 94116 / USA
POTS: +1 415 665 3790 Radio: KC6GNJ / KAE6247
"A mass in movement resists change of direction. So does the world
oppose a new idea. It takes time to make up the minds to its value
and importance. Ignorance, prejudice and inertia of the old retard
its early progress. It is discredited by insincere exponents and
selfish exploiters. It is attacked and condemned by its enemies.
Eventually, though, all barriers are thrown down, and it spreads
like fire. This will also prove true of the wireless art."
- Nikola Tesla in 1908
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