Apple and Google Are Telecom's Newest Stars 35
In looking back at 2007, CNet views the smash entrance of Google and Apple onto the telecom stage as a major formative factor for 2008's tech scene. Google in particular is going to be a huge factor in the much-anticipated wireless auction. "Google was instrumental in getting the FCC to adopt auction rules that would ultimately give consumers more choice in the devices they use on these new networks. And in November, Google CEO Eric Schmidt committed the company to bidding in the auction, promising to spend at least $4.6 billion on licenses. Exactly what Google plans to do with the spectrum if it wins licenses is still unknown. But its participation raises the stakes, especially for traditional telephony players."
the bluff (Score:4, Interesting)
Telecommunications future. (Score:5, Interesting)
They..
-bought lots of dark-fiber (is it still dark?)
-have portable data centers (you can disprove this with facts all you want, but I think they got the idea from Die Hard4)
-want to buy an extremely usefull chunk of the radio spectrum (that can handle high-bandwidth data)
Looks like a game of chess to me. All pawns are in place, just waiting for the Queen.
Not a player till they really play (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:the bluff (Score:2, Interesting)
Fohootvil doesn't exist.
* * *
This sort of practice makes me think that Slashdot could employ some measures of retrieving the end server of the posted URL (i.e. after all the redirects).
The trouble is that spammers would quickly avoid using popular and easy to see through (i.e. preview the end URL) services like tinyurl.com and instead use their own, more complicated, solutions. Would making the Slashdot engine follow the link and determine the end server, just as browsers do, be too CPU and bandwidth consuming? Especially that some redirecting services could link to an innocent and on-topic website for the first couple of minutes after posting the comment, just to fool /., and then start redirecting to a Web page like the Fohootvil thing.
Re:This should hav e happened a decade ago... (Score:3, Interesting)
So yes Google is being selfish in wanting to provide internet for the masses because it means more money for their coffers, BUT at the same time having internet also means that you can use the internet... and plus its not like you HAVE to use Google when you have access to the internet.