I don't understand what is "hilarious" about this graph.
Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
11–20 of 31 posts
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#12I know some websites (like ESPN3) only allow you access if you're on a subscribing ISP. Could Netflix take a play out of that book and charge a different rate for Comcast customers vs others, and in particular, make it enough of a PR issue that other ISPs would be more willing to cave?
Definitely an interesting idea, retaliating in the same spirit. But would it help Netflix? Switching costs for ISPs are higher than switching costs for streaming services (like Netflix or Amazon), not just in terms of dollars but time and hassle. I don't know that many people would be willing to switch ISPs just because Netflix costs a bit more. And in some areas, Comcast is the only ISP.
Nothing spurs innovation more than a challenge. Maybe we'll see it with large-scale peer-to-peer technology that Netflix may help innovate to respond to higher streaming costs, or it may be an opportunity for an different ISP model to enter the market or expand their existing footprint (like Google).
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#13"The data are from Netflix." Really, Washington Post?!
Is it actually wrong? Data is plural. I kind of assumed it was one of those 'correct grammar' things like 'an historical' that looks wrong but isn't.
"An historical" actually is 'wrong' (for as wrong as anything can be in English, which generally isn't very). "Historical" doesn't make a vowel sound when read (which is the rule).
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it actually wrong? Data is plural. I kind of assumed it was one of those 'correct grammar' things like 'an historical' that looks wrong but isn't.
"An historical" actually is 'wrong' (for as wrong as anything can be in English, which generally isn't very). "Historical" doesn't make a vowel sound when read (which is the rule).
It does if your dialect has a silent H there. A lot of people that pronounce "an historical" do so with a silent H.
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#15"The data are from Netflix." Really, Washington Post?!
Is it actually wrong? Data is plural. I kind of assumed it was one of those 'correct grammar' things like 'an historical' that looks wrong but isn't.
Data was plural. It's definitely singular now. The old way is not necessarily "wrong", just awkward. Correcting people to use the old way is wrong, however.
Remember, if you're pedantically holding on to archaic conventions for data, and you don't use "agenda" as plural, you're a hypocrite ;)
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#16The dependency of the Internet on a small number of ISPs is an anachronistic, unsustainable requirement. When the Internet was first starting, they were necessary to lay cable and maintain network infrastructure. As a nice consequence of building the infrastructure, the ISPs got to charge for routing traffic as well. But this makes no sense. Why should the ISP's have so much bandwidth routing power?
Routing inherently lends itself to decentralized algorithms, and the research is starting to catch up to the ISP's. Mesh networks are growing in popularity, and once they reach a critical mass they will be unstoppable. Expect to see a rise of reliance on mesh networking in universities and urban centers.
BitCoin is going to revolutionize bandwidth routing. In decentralized routing algorithms, payment for bandwidth is a difficult problem to solve because it depends on centralized components of the system. But BitCoin enables 1) micropayments, and 2) distributed transaction storage, which both benefit bandwidth routing research. Some point soon, routing will be completely decentralized, and the infrastructure providers will receive micropayments of BitCoin in return.
As my senior thesis, I'm researching "TorCoin," a proof-of-bandwidth cryptocurrency mined by transmitting bandwidth over the Tor network. This summer I am working to apply this research in a business environment. If any of this interests you, definitely reach out to me and we'll schedule a chat: miles.richardson@yale.edu
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#17Is it me or the graph in the post doesn't say anything about actual speeds, just their changes since Jan 2013.. misleading title?
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#18The dependency of the Internet on a small number of ISPs is an anachronistic, unsustainable requirement. When the Internet was first starting, they were necessary to lay cable and maintain network infrastructure. As a nice consequence of building the infrastructure, the ISPs got to charge for routing traffic as well. But this makes no sense. Why should the ISP's have so much bandwidth routing power? Routing inherentl…
Planet Money recently did a really great show [1] about the ISP routing power in the US vs. other countries, and what led to those decisions. The irony is that they were doing everything they could to not be anachronistic, and to plan for the future. The US chose poorly. Anyway, it's worth a listen.
[1] http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/04/04/299060527/episode-...
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#19The dependency of the Internet on a small number of ISPs is an anachronistic, unsustainable requirement. When the Internet was first starting, they were necessary to lay cable and maintain network infrastructure. As a nice consequence of building the infrastructure, the ISPs got to charge for routing traffic as well. But this makes no sense. Why should the ISP's have so much bandwidth routing power? Routing inherentl…
Algorithms can't change the fact that backbone providers control the main pipes. Smaller pipes and indirect routes are less efficient.
Re: Graph of Netflix speeds shows the importance of net neutrality
#20I know some websites (like ESPN3) only allow you access if you're on a subscribing ISP. Could Netflix take a play out of that book and charge a different rate for Comcast customers vs others, and in particular, make it enough of a PR issue that other ISPs would be more willing to cave?
Netflix shouldn't have caved and should have displayed a simple graphic about the slowness in their player along with the number for Comcast support. Displace the anger and support issues around the slowdown to the proper party, the one that's at fault. Cost them some customers. Of course, the problem with that is that Comcast has a monopoly in many areas they serve. Just like Time Warner does. And folks simply can't…
As a Comcast customer I would have called and complained. If enough people complained, it might have had some effect. However, in my area, there's only two choices: crappy DSL from AT&T and Comcast. There's really no comparing the two services. I had the DSL offering for a few years and it was absolute crap. With Comcast I get amazing speeds, but when service is needed, it's Comcast. In other words, it's horrible. Here's what happens when you call them due to an outage:
You tell them you power cycled the modem. They make you do it anyway. You ask them to do a traceroute and they either say "I don't know what that is" or "I can't do that" or "Yeah, we'll get to that after a few other things".
Last time I called, 20 minutes into the call he does a traceroute and finds the problem is a few hops from my house. Yeah, he wouldn't do it it first thing, so he wasted a bunch of time.
Sometimes, if they won't do the traceroute, they'll send someone out, in a 4 hour window, only to tell you when they get there at the problem is not near your house. Or, the problem is fixed by the time they arrive.
It's one of the most frustrating customer service experiences you can have.