Ricochet... The Death of a Wireless Network
Created: 06 August 2001

It was a bold idea. And a service that I had the privilege of using, even as far back as the slow 19.2k days. The concept that I could be sitting anywhere, either at a park or at a local coffeehouse, and have access to unlimited high speed internet access is still a mindblower. The fact that it was all done without any kind of government sponsorship (other than using municipal telephone poles on some cities) is even more amazing.

Now they're turning the network off. *poof* All gone. Gone with it is the reality that I could do my job anywhere, anytime. Gone is the sharing of photographs via the web at the local coffeehouse. Gone is the reality that if my DSL bites the dust, I'll have some kind of [decent speed] backup (which during my recent move Ricochet did the yeoman's work of providing me Internet access until I could get an install date). And gone is the reality of high-speed Internet everywhere... and all that's left is the promises of 3G cellular networks, still a couple of years off.

What did Ricochet mean to me? It meant a lot. I've been on the Internet now for 15 years, and been telecomputing for a lot longer (since 1979, before most people even knew what a "modem" was). The Internet is my news outlet (through websites like CNN.COM and slashdot), it's my telephone (not only in the literal sense of IP telephony, but also though the instant communications offered by services like AIM and even E-Mail), it's even my television and radio. I'm a part of the generation that was born online, and live a significant portion of my life there.

Ricochet allowed me to carry all of that away from the stuffy small room I keep my computer equipment, out into the Big Room and experience a side order of Life along with the network. It allowed me to stay connected even when I was sitting at a coffeehouse at The Block sipping latte. It allowed me to look up maps on Mapquest while sitting at the side of a road, lost in a bad part of town. It gave me freedom.

Yes, there are other options. CDPD will give me 19.2kbps again, but I'm not sure I can go back to using modem speeds again. I've been bitten by the broadband bug ever since I had my ISDN line in Oildale... and I can't imagine using the Internet at such anemic baud rates.

But more importantly, there are things I just can't do at 19.2k. Gone is any kind of video or audio. In fact, even pulling down maps from Mapquest will prove painful and time consuming.

Will I survive? Probably. Will I be happy? Probably not. And I'll lose a good part of my freedom to not be bound by the four walls of my computer room to keep my life connected.

Comments

Took the day off and was just reading up some blogs and thought I would post here

Post a comment

Name:


Email Address:


Enter this code:


URL:

Remember personal info?
YesNo
Comments:

---

the world needs more mayo © 1998-2007 C. Sullivan (random.2.feedle@spamgourmet.com) i like honey [Creative Commons License] [No-Spam Notice] [Legal Stuff] ricochet.shtml, Updated: Sunday, 07-Sep-2003 10:06:04 PDT .