Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: rbowman Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Re: What's Wrong With LinuxMint ? Date: 19 Aug 2026 14:10:10 GMT Lines: 19 Message-ID: References: <1161423$1kgeu$3@dont-email.me> <_46cnQgXs593jBj3nZ2dnZfqn_SdnZ2d@giganews.com> <11649mk$2le0s$5@dont-email.me> <1164anq$2l1f7$5@dont-email.me> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net HV5HYHY6c0tmrqgbOaG5JQtP5B9vETr40cacpnBiI5OXJw3ekW Cancel-Lock: sha1:bUzJoumjIVfH0OCLbzRLLr5vorE= sha256:vnnLp03YmUODPiS9/JsdhScMf8btFlg8dbFnjjC5E70= User-Agent: Pan/0.165 (Kostiantynivka) Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:90139 On Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:23:06 -0000 (UTC), Rich wrote: > Those same rural areas have electricity and POTS phone service (where it > has not been retired) only because back in the 30's through 50's there > were major government programs spending tax dollars to "wire up the USA" > and so the capital cost of installing 12.9km of "wire" just to connect > one home was borne by the govt., not the "ISP" (phone company or > electric company back then). When the service providers received the > transport medium effectively free of capital expenditure they could then > profit from their usual monthly fees, and were happy to oblige at that > point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_Electrification_Act I'm still in an electric co-op. It's never much, maybe $50 a year, but it's nice to get money back as a member. It was very nice when the company serving the city was privatized and rates jumped. There phone system is copper. No DSL or that other fancy stuff.