For Every Tear I Cried
April 8th, 2008 by matt
An Update on Net Neutrality in Canada, And Why Change Will Only Occur Incrementally
April 5th, 2008 by matt
Ambur MacArthur has an excellent update on the fight for net neutrality in Canada this morning, showing some growing momentum against the traffic shaping (read “traffic blocking”) practices of the biggest ISP’s. The government apparently will begin to investigate traffic shaping policies of Rogers and Bell.
There has been a lot of discussion and debate in the U.S. about the traffic shaping practices of Comast, and other ISP’s. I personally use the Verizon FIOS service and love it. For $53 a month (including taxes) I get 5 mbps downlink and 2 mbps uplink via fiber optics directly to my house. I have not had any issues with my connections, but I don’t do very much P2P traffic, which is what the ISP’s predominantly target in their traffic policies.
The FCC in the U.S. is reportedly considering some regulations on ISP’s to better define and reign in traffic shaping, but given the big money (and therefore big lobby and big lawyers) behind the big ISP’s, I think the FCC is unlikely to enact any significant or sweeping regulations (and Karl at the BroadbandReports also wonders the same thing) . The debate will likely go on and change will come in small, incremental steps.
Why?
The ISP’s currently have the advantage, as they control the entryway to the Internet for most consumers and small-to-medium sized businesses. They will do everything they can to protect their revenue as a value-added service provider, though most people see them simply as a commodity provider.
Do consumers love Comcast? Of course not. Comcast, and most other ISP’s and tv service providers, are necessary evils that simply get in the way of what people really want to do by slowing down traffic, offering high-priced services and inferior applications to those that are available on the Internet.
Do consumer need Comcast? Of course they do. Until, that is, technology for alternative means of Internet access becomes more ubiquitous and cost-effective. See WiMax (the next step beyond WiFi) and 4G / LTE (the next step beyond EVDO and GSM/UMTS) wireless technologies as possible game-changers that will enable other companies to offer broadband access.
However, WiMax and 4G are 2-3 years away from any type of widespread availability. Until then, lawyers and lobbyists will fight the good fight on behalf of the big ISP’s as they war against the inevitable transformation of their business from cutting edge technology providers to purveyors of a commodity than can easily be had elsewhere.
Have you ever seen a lawyer or lobbyist move quickly? How about a big corporation change quickly? Or an industry give up its foothold to smaller competitors easily?
This will take time.
Technorati Tags:
net neutrality, Ambur MacArthur, Canada, ISP, WiMax, 4G, Comcast, Verizon FIOS
The Nikon 55-200 VR
April 5th, 2008 by matt
I just bought a new lens - the Nikkor 55-200 AFS f/4-5.6 VR. I can’t really afford the more serious f/2.8 long zooms, and at $215 at Adorama, the 55-200 is perhaps one of the best telephoto zoom values anywhere.
Up to this point I’ve been using my 50mm f/1.8 95% of the time, and my 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens that came with my D50. That has been the extent of my lens collection, limited mainly by the extent of my bank account.
The 50mm f/1.8 is probably the best $100 you can spend on your photography if you don’t have one or if you’re just starting out with a DSLR. It’s incredibly sharp, very little distortion, fast autofocus and of course a nice big aperture to let in a lot of light. It’s very versatile and really has provided me several new experiences in photography that I couldn’t get with the slower kit lens.
After getting my new (used) D200 last week (oh, did I forget to mention that? more to come then), however, I wanted to get a longer lens. My friend Aamir just got the 55-200 VR lens and he let me borrow it for a few days. That did it - I decided to get one.
After just shooting with the mid-range 50mm focal length, I didn’t realize what a telephoto focal length can really do. And even more importantly, the vibration reduction (VR) allows me to shoot at very slow shutter speeds - even 1/15 of a second if I’m relatively stable - without any noticeable blur!
The slow shutter speeds that the VR enables partially counteracts the smaller maximum aperture of f/4-5.6 by letting me make a longer exposure to let in more light, rather than being able to open the aperture up to, say f/2.8 - all without using a tripod. Of course, if I’m trying to shoot moving objects, like people playing sports, the slow shutter speeds don’t work. That’s where the value of the larger f/2.8 apertures come in. And, you certainly pay for that value.
This is certainly not a pro lens, but for what it offers at the price, it’s an incredible value. For a more in-depth review of this lens, see Ken Rockwell’s write-up. You can see photos I’ve taken with this lens here.
Technorati Tags:
photography, Nikon, lens, 55-200 VR
