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Woz on net neutrality

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  Woz on net neutrality RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-07-09 14:11 +0000
    Re: Woz on net neutrality Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2014-07-09 14:15 +0000
    Re: Woz on net neutrality Randy Westlund <Vorzakir@invalid.invalid> - 2014-07-09 16:49 +0000

#3988 — Woz on net neutrality

Good read.  I discovered it via Pipedot at [1]

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/print/2010/12/steve-wozniak-to-the-fcc-keep-the-internet-free/68294/

//--clip
To whom it may concern:

I have always loved humor and laughter. As a young engineer I got an
impulse to start a Dial-a-Joke in the San Jose/San Francisco area. I
was aware of such humor services in other countries, such as Australia.
This idea came from my belief in laughter. I could scarcely believe
that I was the first person to create such a simple service in my
region. Why was I the first? This was 1972 and it was illegal in the
U.S. to use your own telephone. It was illegal in the U.S. to use your
own answering machine. Hence it also virtually impossible to buy or own
such devices. We had a monopoly phone system in our country then.

Imagine that when we started Apple we set things up so that we could
charge purchasers of our computers by the number of bits they use. The
personal computer revolution would have been delayed a decade or more.
If I had to pay for each bit I used on my 6502 microprocessor, I would
not have been able to build my own computers anyway. What if we paid
for our roads per mile that we drove? It would be fair and
understandable to charge more for someone who drives more. But one of
the most wonderful things in our current life is getting in the car and
driving anywhere we feel like at this moment, and with no accounting
for cost. You just get in your car and go. This is one of the most
popular themes of our life and even our popular music. It's a type of
freedom from some concerns that makes us happy and not complain. The
roads are already paid for. You rarely hear people complain that roads
are "free." The government shines when it comes to having provided us
pathways to drive around our country. We don't think of the roadways as
being negative like telecommunication carriers. It's a rare breath of
fresh air.

I frequently speak to different types of audiences all over the
country. When I'm asked my feeling on Net Neutrality I tell the open
truth. When I was first asked to "sign on" with some good people
interested in Net Neutrality my initial thought was that the economic
system works better with tiered pricing for various customers. On the
other hand, I'm a founder of the EFF and I care a lot about individuals
and their own importance. Finally, the thought hit me that every time
and in every way that the telecommunications careers have had power or
control, we the people wind up getting screwed. Every audience that I
speak this statement and phrase to bursts into applause.

That's how the people think. They don't want this to encroach on their
Internet freedom.
//--clip


[1] https://pipedot.org/story/2014-07-09/soylent-news-incorporates

-- 
RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com>

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#3989

On 2014-07-09, RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
> Good read.  I discovered it via Pipedot at [1]
>
> http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/print/2010/12/steve-wozniak-to-the-fcc-keep-the-internet-free/68294/
>
> //--clip
> To whom it may concern:

[snippage]

> What if we paid
> for our roads per mile that we drove?

We do, in the form of the taxation on the fuel they consume. More miles =
more fuel = more tax.


-- 
Today is Setting Orange, the 44th day of Confusion in the YOLD 3180
"I do not believe in revealed religion — I will have nothing to do with your
immortality; we are miserable enough in this life, without speculating on
another." Lord Byron, 1778-1824, letter to Rev. Francis Hodgson, 1811

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#3992

On 2014-07-09, RS Wood wrote:
> Good read.  I discovered it via Pipedot at [1]
>
> http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/print/2010/12/steve-wozniak-to-the-fcc-keep-the-internet-free/68294/

The full article is an excellent read.  Thanks for posting it.

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