Was just reading all the hype about Google Fiber and musing about why it doesn't work.
[
fiber.google.com...]
We've all gone wireless and 100x faster fiber doesn't change the laws of physics on the WiFi router, it still runs the same speed it always did.
Instant downloads? How so? It's all being throttled thru the WiFi.
Clearer HDTV? Um no, my TV runs over WiFi too so NetFlix, Hulu, On Demand, etc are the same as they always were.
OK, granted for the 2 desktop machines I have currently getting 20GB+ connections the upgrade to Google fiber would be amazing, it would have zero impact on my phones, netbooks, tablets, PS3, Wii, HDTVs or anything else connected via WiFi. They're currently downloading as fast as possible already using the existing cable network which far exceeds the speed of the WiFi network.
However, other that raw downloads, which isn't the bulk of what people use the internet for unless you're watching video, most sites don't or can't respond fast enough to make a difference. Even if a site could respond faster, the display speeds would still be throttled by the same old slow Norton AV checking everything passing it along to the same pokey old browsers running on the same 5 year old desktop for most. In other words, what difference does it make if you have a 100x faster connection but nothing else moves any faster than it did before?
Now if Google fiber came with a 100x faster wireless broadband router and USB dongles to connect to it, then we'd be talking.
Another option would be to have a smart router, more like a DVR type device, where downloaded files could be instantly downloaded to local interim storage and then slowly streamed without interruption smoothly to the destination device with it's much slower WiFi connection.
Yeah yeah, obviously we could wire the house to directly connect those devices, but then they wouldn't be mobile or cleanly installed on a wall without wires running all over the house now would they?
One step forward, 10 steps back.
What might work would be a hybrid option using the household copper wiring ala DSL with a decoupling device to get high speed broadcasting over the existing electrical wiring. Since your TV requires being plugged into a wall socket, having that wiring be optional for broadband cable would make sense. One cable and you get both electricity and high speed internet at the same junction, how sweet is that? That would also make sense for any other device plugged in like a charging laptop would have access to break neck speed when tethered to a wall socket. You also wouldn't have to rewire the whole house to make it happen as I've run modems over my house wiring before, works like a charm.
Just a thought.
