"Too cheap to meter"

At 2:38 AM 5/16/96, Alan Horowitz wrote:
>Hey, let's build faster and faster fiber-optic networks. Let's create
>bandwidth so cheap that it won't even pay to meter it.

"Too cheap to meter"? Wasn't that what nuclear power promised in the 1950s?

(I'm actually a supporter of nuclear power, for a variety of reasons, so
this is not meant as just a cheap shot against nuke plants. But this was
one of the "selling points" of nuclear, later shown to be a falsehood.)

Alan's irony is well-placed. The most egregious repetition of the "too
cheap to meter" nonsense is George Gilder's "dark fiber" vision...a vision
of "infinite bandwidth" to all users.

Guess what? If Gilder's "dark fiber" is ever built, there are a lot of
folks who will "fill it" rather quickly. Canter and Siegel were just the
beginning. "Too cheap to meter" goes away pretty quickly.

--Tim May

Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software!
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist         | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

On Fri, 17 May 1996, Timothy C. May wrote:

> At 2:38 AM 5/16/96, Alan Horowitz wrote:
> >Hey, let's build faster and faster fiber-optic networks. Let's create
> >bandwidth so cheap that it won't even pay to meter it.
> 
> "Too cheap to meter"? Wasn't that what nuclear power promised in the 1950s?
> 
> (I'm actually a supporter of nuclear power, for a variety of reasons, so
> this is not meant as just a cheap shot against nuke plants. But this was
> one of the "selling points" of nuclear, later shown to be a falsehood.)

Actually, nuclear power, per se, is damn cheap. It's the collateral
effects (real, i.e., waste disposal and keeping fissile materials secure
from terrorists, and imagined, i.e., overregulation) that are so
expensive.

Just like the net. We could have a virtually free flow of information, but
that's not exactly what the gubmint wants, is it. Not to mention that it's
not exactly what we want, either -- Canter & Siegel are only the tip of
the iceberg of the Tragedy of the Commons we'd see on a truly free
network. 

We don't need the CDA or anything quite that stupid, but I'll drink to
overpriced, arbitrarily restricted net access any day.

-rich

You write:

! On Fri, 17 May 1996, Timothy C. May wrote:
! 
! > At 2:38 AM 5/16/96, Alan Horowitz wrote:
! > >Hey, let's build faster and faster fiber-optic networks. Let's create
! > >bandwidth so cheap that it won't even pay to meter it.
! > 
! > "Too cheap to meter"? Wasn't that what nuclear power promised in the 1950s?
! > 
! > (I'm actually a supporter of nuclear power, for a variety of reasons, so
! > this is not meant as just a cheap shot against nuke plants. But this was
! > one of the "selling points" of nuclear, later shown to be a falsehood.)
! 
! Actually, nuclear power, per se, is damn cheap. It's the collateral
! effects (real, i.e., waste disposal and keeping fissile materials secure
! from terrorists, and imagined, i.e., overregulation) that are so
! expensive.
! 
! Just like the net. We could have a virtually free flow of information, but
! that's not exactly what the gubmint wants, is it. Not to mention that it's
! not exactly what we want, either -- Canter & Siegel are only the tip of
! the iceberg of the Tragedy of the Commons we'd see on a truly free
! network. 
! 
! We don't need the CDA or anything quite that stupid, but I'll drink to
! overpriced, arbitrarily restricted net access any day.

CAPITALISTS' SUCK

! -rich

On Sat, 18 May 1996, Dave Harman wrote:
> 
> CAPITALISTS' SUCK

	Capitalists took this 'net from a government/educational 
/military-industrial complex playground to what it is today. I prefer
being able to use it without being apart of any of the above.

HTH. HAND. 

Petro, Christopher C.
petro@suba.com <prefered for any non-list stuff>
snow@crash.suba.com

On Fri, 17 May 1996, Timothy C. May wrote:

> Alan's irony is well-placed. The most egregious repetition of the "too
> cheap to meter" nonsense is George Gilder's "dark fiber" vision...a vision
> of "infinite bandwidth" to all users.
> 
> Guess what? If Gilder's "dark fiber" is ever built, there are a lot of
> folks who will "fill it" rather quickly. Canter and Siegel were just the
> beginning. "Too cheap to meter" goes away pretty quickly.
> 
> --Tim May


The same George Gilder that is Newt's buddy?  And part-owner of Valujet?

bd