In the Beginning

          The internet was a bunch of us freely sharing information, ideas, and opinions. We all had a hand in "pushing the envelope" on the possibilities as new technology was developed in an "everything you can do I can do better" atmosphere of fun and games.

          Conservatives want to steal it from us. Capitalistic Pigs.

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Arrow's picture

We do need to protect 'Aunt Millie' from these bastards.
Fortunately us nerds are all over what to do.
WWW is a client/server model. So these bastards think they can put up a toll booth at the server. Guess what?! Net 3.0 is happening. No clients. No servers. Only Peers.
The distributed internet.
You see Bitcoin. But that is just the start of it. A proof of concept.
If you want to Geek out, google IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) content driven not server driven It's the most fun I've had with the web since the only website was CERN and I got the MOSAIC browser globe to spin.

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I want a Pony!

@Arrow

Telecoms are signing their own death warrant by pushing to end net neutrality.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

Arrow's picture

@Timmethy2.0 and your Mama... I brought you into this world....I can take you out.
Mic drop!

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I want a Pony!

Wink's picture

@Timmethy2.0
telecoms is, how can Varna, Bulgaria give me way better internet upload /download speeds for $8 /mo. USD, when all you bastids can give me is a lame 5 mbps upload speed at $65 /mo.? Huh? Huh? Bueler?

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@Arrow

I always trust that information and communication will find a way to us, even if humans try to block it. But, it's an act of faith when you haven't imagined what the new way will look like. The page at IPFS is very inspiring in that regard.

A review of the technology over at TechCrunch ended with a most uplifting final paragraph:

Beyond improved service, IPFS would help the Internet grow into the system we’ve always aspired it to be at our most idealistic, but cannot become with our current protocols: Truly capable of connecting everyone around the world (even offline) to a permanent but constantly evolving expression of who we are, and aspire to be.

Its arrival is one of those "just in time" things. I think most people can grasp the distributed web, especially with the adoption of Bitcoin, but basic access will still requires a telecom, no? Will they remain the privatized and profit-seeking gatekeeper?

The trend toward authoritarianism in general, and the state's complete reliance on propaganda, surveillance, and manufactured fear to govern seems to be fast-tracked now. The people's growing awareness of this reality could be regarded as a material threat to the nation. I think the rapid deployment of counter-intelligene on the American people in terms of fake news and Russia paranioa indicate they are alarmed. I could see much of the web yanked suddenly, except commercial endeavors and Facebook, where people do the NSA's work for them, spying on themselves and preparing their own dossiers. Things are developing quickly. I wonder if it is prudent to create a backchannel for communication for this community's peace of mind.

I notice people nibbling at the edges of that idea, here, relative to so many topics and conversations. Things seem tenuous and uncertain in the hivemind, which could be peering into the entangled future. Just a thought.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
SnappleBC's picture

this is not the post you are looking for

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

SnappleBC's picture

@Arrow

The internet routes around damage. The internet sees restricted data flow as damage.

You'd think the telecoms would know this. You'd think after watching various other industries along with the US government beat their head against that self-same wall they'd be smarter. But by now I think we all need to come to grips with the fact that our rulers are not smart. The plutocrats are, for the most part, venal, greedy, and short-sighted.

Heck... the US Government was the one who designed the internet to prevent this very sort of thing. I fully expect the internet to route around whatever bypasses are made and I also expect those preferred sites to quickly make themselves irrelevant... well... more quickly.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

CB's picture

And can they filter the message?

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@CB @CB

Everybody's computer and phone becomes a node in a huge web. Impossible to censor or give bandwidth priority to any one site.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

CB's picture

@Timmethy2.0
They're the connections between the nodes. Telephone line, cable, fiber optics, satellite, etc. There's the power supplies, amplifiers, splitters, maintainence. Then there are cell phone towers which have to be constructed and maintained. All of these are potential choke points.

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@CB @CB

At first you do need pipes to connect the various clusters of wifi connected nodes, but as the network grows everything eventually gets covered. I think Elon Musk is launching satellites to help fill in the gaps. Phone and internet of, by and for the People.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

CB's picture

@Timmethy2.0
of this new web requires a modicum of knowledge and expertise to keep the system functioning. Less than 5% of my neighbors have a clue how WiFi works. They can't even check for basic things like disconnections. Entering router passwords is completely beyond them. They need help to fix their TV remote if the cat steps on it and inadvertently changes it's function. I know this because I fix these problems for them - for some, constantly.

Direct node to node would be a 'pipe' dream nightmare. We'd need at least 50% PLUS participation with reasonable computer configurations - speed, memory, software. In addition, maintenance would be required. Imagine if two of your neighbors went down.

Google has the big bucks to engineer a new node to node web that would be suitable at extremely cheap rates - Project Loon. The following is what is in store for Africa and other areas that currently have little coverage. One balloon can replace 100 towers. Unfortunately, Google is a corporate pig that sucks off the internet teat.

Balloon-powered internet for everyone

Equipment

Project Loon has taken the most essential components of a cell tower and redesigned them to be light enough and durable enough to be carried by a balloon 20 km up in the stratosphere. All the equipment is highly energy-efficient and is powered entirely by renewable energy - with solar panels powering daytime operations and charging a battery for use during the night.

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@CB @CB @CB

Just like solar energy, there's a huge, untapped, small business potential. The corporations which manufacture the new wifi routers can see huge profits too, and will advertise the new network.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

CB's picture

@Timmethy2.0
teh 'net. Gaming, porn, cat videos, regurgitated crappola, tweeting for twits, more porn, information on the size of the Kardashian's asses, propaganda (they eat this shiite like it's chocolate), did I mention porn. That's 99.9% of the web. I could go on but you know what I mean.

Sorry. Haven't had breaky yet so my blood sugar may be low.

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@CB @CB

The majority of the great unwashed like all the crap on the 'net. Gaming, porn, cat videos, regurgitated crappola, tweeting for twits, more porn, information on the size of the Kardashian's asses, propaganda (they eat this shiite like it's chocolate), did I mention porn

Depressing, makes me want to watch a cat video:[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-vR2g_jflw]

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Beware the bullshit factories.

CB's picture

@Timmethy2.0
Had to put my cat in the next room so wouldn't get any more ideas. He has enough control over me as it is.

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SnappleBC's picture

@CB Sure, in the beginning that will be true but not necessarily as things progress.

A mesh network is much like P2P file sharing. There are few key central resources and they are easy to put up and easy to move. For the most part it handles itself peer to peer. So when my wifi router connects to my neighbor's which connects to their neighbor's etc, what happens to the big O3's running the backbone? Well, the obvious question is "backbone to where?" The only destination I can think of on that backbone will be paid propaganda sites and corporate advertising. If people want to consume that stuff then they will and they'll get it really fast. If people want to consume the REST of the internet they'll do it by sharing with their neighbor.

If that proposal succeeds the internet will fragment into the corporate internet and the human internet. All the sites I spend my time on will be on the human internet. Sites like DKOS and NYP will be on the corporate internet. They'll be fast, reliable, glitzy, and pre-labeled as bullshit by their very presence there.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard