The Dudeism Forum

Will we ever... face a wireless ?spectrum crunch'?

Our hunger for wireless data is threatening to crash our communication networks - but there are ways to avoid disaster.

If you think city streets are congested and badly planned, consider the air surrounding them. It is infused with data, pouring forth from phone masts, radio towers, wi-fi routers, bluetooth, taxi radios, airport beacons, even remote control garage doors. Our lives have become so saturated with data the fear is that communication networks could grind to a standstill entirely - it's known as the spectrum crunch. Yet could we find ways to avoid this looming data-geddon?

Phone ringin', dude - http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131014-are-we-headed-for-wireless-chaos

This is a huge concern for me too, dude.

I find myself wanting to escape the city more and more to just be somewhere in the wilderness, with nature. Not alone - sharing the joy of nature with other dudes.

No phones. No internet. No constant hurry. No system to guide you.
I'm tightly tied into the system, like we all are, but people should seek for more opportunities to take a rest from it.
We live in a magnificent fascinating world full of places to go, things to see and facts to know. yet we built this huge wall around our comfort zone and spend our whole lives fortifying it, making it harder to climb over and see what's on the other side.

Wi-fi is concrete to this wall. And please don't misunderstand me: the internet is one of humanity's greatest inventions ever. But it has to be a place that we visit, not a place where we live...
What seriously worries me is the fact that we're so used to it that we would get lost and panic if it all came down suddenly, for whatever reason. All despite the fact that only 20 years ago we lived happily without it.

Quote from: Bullett00th on October 16, 2013, 05:45:41 AM
This is a huge concern for me too, dude.

I find myself wanting to escape the city more and more to just be somewhere in the wilderness, with nature. Not alone - sharing the joy of nature with other dudes.

No phones. No internet. No constant hurry. No system to guide you.
I'm tightly tied into the system, like we all are, but people should seek for more opportunities to take a rest from it.
We live in a magnificent fascinating world full of places to go, things to see and facts to know. yet we built this huge wall around our comfort zone and spend our whole lives fortifying it, making it harder to climb over and see what's on the other side.

Wi-fi is concrete to this wall. And please don't misunderstand me: the internet is one of humanity's greatest inventions ever. But it has to be a place that we visit, not a place where we live...
What seriously worries me is the fact that we're so used to it that we would get lost and panic if it all came down suddenly, for whatever reason. All despite the fact that only 20 years ago we lived happily without it.

Good thoughts, dude!

There was an article recently on where to go for "wifi" free zones in Canada. They were almost predominately retreats in the Rocky Mountains (B.C. and Alberta) except for one restaurant in Toronto. This seems to imply that you need to go way up into the mountains to get away from data and the temptation of your smart phone. I guess this is somewhat true, but isn't it a choice as well? You can do your very own retreat in your house, in a park, in a restaurant if you put the fucking thing down.
However, the article seems to be more about a saturated system at the brink of shutting down. I'm thinking back to the big blackout that happened just over ten years ago now (right?).  I wonder what would happen if these communication networks did break down. Would it be the same thing as the blackout, people walking out of their houses / offices, dropping their smart phones, and blinking at the sun and all the humanity around them? Certainly it would fuck a lot up, but come on, we're Dudes. We could abide with that, right?

Quote from: Rev Paddy Cakes on October 16, 2013, 04:16:39 PM
There was an article recently on where to go for "wifi" free zones in Canada. They were almost predominately retreats in the Rocky Mountains (B.C. and Alberta) except for one restaurant in Toronto. This seems to imply that you need to go way up into the mountains to get away from data and the temptation of your smart phone. I guess this is somewhat true, but isn't it a choice as well? You can do your very own retreat in your house, in a park, in a restaurant if you put the fucking thing down.
However, the article seems to be more about a saturated system at the brink of shutting down. I'm thinking back to the big blackout that happened just over ten years ago now (right?).  I wonder what would happen if these communication networks did break down. Would it be the same thing as the blackout, people walking out of their houses / offices, dropping their smart phones, and blinking at the sun and all the humanity around them? Certainly it would fuck a lot up, but come on, we're Dudes. We could abide with that, right?

Looks like Google aims to close up the Wi-Fi free zones with Balloons......

http://www.google.com/loon/#utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Global_semBK

Although, Billy thinks it's a bullshit idea......

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/8/4601202/bill-gates-project-loon-google-org-criticism

Dude, it's almost impossible to run out of radio wave bandwidth. I trashed one guy on a physics website who worked for a major telecom and was spouting this crap. I could build a CB radio that would reach California from NYC, but the damned thing is illegal because it would crush anyone else's signal and start a damned CB radio war for who can broadcast the strongest signal. The telecoms are merely exploiting our over paid mass media propaganda experts to push the public into letting them get away with whatever they want to do.

For example, when the US converted to digital TV recently one suggested use for the freed up bandwidth was to provide high speed internet for free that paid for itself with commercials. That did not go over well with all the companies charging people $50.oo or more a month so it didn't pass. England debated installing Wi-Fi in every lamp post in the country. Bandwidth is about the strength of the signal as much as anything else and the telecoms merely want all the bandwidth and broadcasting power they can sleaze out of congress and the public.