This is pretty cool, but it makes me wonder. (And Noemon, you seem like a space guy - you might know this) What is all this WiFi stuff doing to the poor souls trying to see things with radio astronomy? Are we going to have to do everything via hubble when our atmosphere gets too loud to see anything from earth?
On anther note, this sparks my brain towards a really cool revamping of Narnia stories...
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote: The eventual dream, of course, is that people won't have to drive any more. Computerised motor vehicles will automatically travel at a safe speed and a safe distance from other traffic; tired drivers won't be able to kill themselves and others, and you won't have to take a train in order to get work done on the journey. But to make that possible, a telematics network has to be set up first.
Yes! Finally, a plan to do this that DOESN'T involve digging up highways, which is prohibitively expensive. Not that this is going to be cheap! But much more doable, looks like.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
That's an interesting question Annie. I have no idea.
Anybody else have any information on this?
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
What was wrong with taking the train? Oh right - we don't have any in America. My bad - carry on with your fossil fuel consumption.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I'm fairly certain the frequencies used by telescopes and WiFi (and other technology) are quite distant on the spectrum.
Annie, I'd LOVE a dependable public transport system. My favorite SF concept of all time is the once-ubiquitous (seems to have gone out of fashion) 'slidewalks' -- I so want them!
A positive of a system such as the one proposed is that the regular, even driving patterns that computer-controlled driving would create would use less fuel.
Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
From this article, it seems that the WiFi concept is much more advanced in Europe than it is in America. Does anyone here know of any American companies that specialize in consumer WiFi products, and more importantly to me, are any of these companies publicly traded?
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
That would be awesome, Rivka.
I've found that there are two major things that originated in America but are used far more in Europe - trains and tobacco.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Anybody know if Heinlein invented the concept of the slide walk in his short story "The Roads Must Roll", or just contributed to it?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
But there is also hope: Paris (be careful! don't fall!) Japan (all kinds of stuff!)
OTOH, who the heck decided to name these -- bleah! -- "travelators"? It's not even a new name. "Slidewalk" is much better. Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Getting back to Wireless Lamp Posts taking over the world, who else believes that Lavalamp is behind it all?