Tim May 1992 Post on Future of Cyberspace/Cryptology/Digital Money/Transnationalism

[juan]

On Sun, 23 Dec 2018 22:55:23 +0000 (UTC)
jim bell <jdb10987 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> >> 26 years is "forever" in technology.   26 years ago, very few people had even heard of the "Internet".  
> 
> >    Actually in the last 26 years there hasn't been any significant 'technological' change *at all*. The only thing that happened is that microelectronics got relatively cheaper.
> 
> You forgot that in 1992, typical dialup modems worked at 9600 bps.  Now, most people have access to 25 megabits/sec Internet.  


	I don't think I've forgotten that. That fact isn't just too relevant to what I'm saying. 
	
	TM : "Networks are multiplying beyond any hope of government control," 

	Point is, 26 years ago there was no 'technological' reason for that to be true just like there's no reason for that to be true now. Networks were (supposedly...) beyond govcorp control simply because govcorp wasn't devoting many resources to control them, not because they lacked the 'technology' to control them. 

	Yet another point is who 'owned' those networks. Oh wait, they were and are owned by a few monopoplies chartered by the government, monopolies that are of course just arms of the government. 



> I occasionally see people in discussion areas claim that "the U.S. Government" was responsible for making "The Internet".I shut that talk down, 


	You do? =) Yet it is a plain historical fact that the US govt and military were heavily involved in the creation of the internet. 


>by pointing out "Do you think that The Internet would have 'worked' if a person, at home, had to connect up to his ISP at with a 300 bps modem?  1200 bps?  2400 bps?"I counter by pointing out that the people REALLY responsible for a usable Internet were those who developed the 9600 bps, 14,400 bps, and 28,800 bps modems.  Rockwell, USR (US Robotics), Hayes, Telebit, and a few others.  Had that not existed, it would have been hard to make the Internet available to most people.  


	The main or only reason those audio modems were developed was to use the existing telephone lines. Yet in 1995 ethernet run at 100 megabits...
 
	

> It took a lot of work to learn how to shove 28.8Kbits/sec down a 3000 Hz channel.
  By and large, those people who did that were the ones who made the Internet of the late 90's possible.  


	Nah. On the other hand, it's true that all the hardware was produced and is produced by pseudo 'private' government chartered firms. Which is how highly corporatist mixed economies work. 

	Bottom line : the belief that freedom is 'served' by 'technology' is fully detached from reality.