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Wireless Networking Hardware

Pigeons Faster than Internet 265

Posted by timothy from the naturally dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The topic of pigeons and modern technology has come up a number of times now. For instance, we have the Google pigeon rank method, and there have been several April fools hoaxes like this previous story and RFC 2549. Now the Waikato Times is reporting in this story about how pigeons are being used to transfer large amounts of data in a short amount of time. The pigeons have proven to be faster and more relieable than electronic means. However, as you will see from the story there is still the occasional packet loss. This is definitely a case of high bandwidth wireless networking."
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Pigeons Faster than Internet More

Pigeons Faster than Internet

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  • Rimshot (Score:5, Funny)

    by tcopeland ( 32225 ) * <tom AT thomasleecopeland DOT com> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:29PM (#7711444) Homepage

    [...] the pigeons were 99 per cent reliable, Mr Andreef said. "They also work for peanuts."
    Heh.

    • Re:Rimshot (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Wellspring ( 111524 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @04:22PM (#7712027)
      You laugh, but check this out [ananova.com]. Drug cartels in Pakistan are using carrier pigeons to route messages. The logic is obvious: any landline medium is expensive and can be traced. And any RF technology can be intercepted by American spy satellites.

      If a signal (ie pigeon) is caught, the signal isn't received by the intended receipient. You can also send signals without the sender knowing the physical location of the other party-- useful for security.

      Actually, now what I think of it, that is the area that bin Laden is believed to be hiding out in. If I were him, I'd be using carrier pigeons and dead-drops to communicate with my followers. I'm not sure if we're even looking for them, but even if we were, finding a species of bird in those mountains? Separating it from the non-pigeon birds? Catching the RIGHT pidgeon (if too many pidgeons disappear from being intercepted, you stop talking for a while)?

      Navajo was devastatingly effective in WWII. There was a plan to drop bats equipped with timed incendiaries-- a town was devastated in a test using this weapon. Don't underestimate steam-punk methods.

      • Re:Rimshot (Score:5, Interesting)

        by raehl ( 609729 ) <(moc.oohay) (ta) (113lhear)> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @05:17PM (#7712279) Homepage
        If a signal (ie pigeon) is caught, the signal isn't received by the intended receipient.

        Or after you're done reading the message, you could just put it back on the pigeon and let the pigeon go again.....
        • And while you are at it, add a small tracer allowing you to track where the pigeon goes. You can trace it to the destination and the sender rather easily this way.

        • Re:Rimshot (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Wellspring ( 111524 )
          It will be very difficult to capture a pigeon without killing it.

          Special equipment could pull it off, but we'll have to build / buy that, get it to the right people, and even then we still won't know where to use it. Finally, how do you identify pigeons? Only way I know is visually. Soldiers would have to be trained to identify a pigeon themselves (or relay pictures to trained experts, in which case they'd get a response only after a long delay).

          Bottom line: very tough problem to solve.

  • Yes, but my internet connection (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Doesn't poop all over the place. I keed! I keed!

  • So (Score:5, Funny)

    by Pingular ( 670773 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:29PM (#7711447)
    Increasing bandwidth would be cheap enough. Either by more birds or bigger birds. Kind of like servers :)

  • Mental imagery (Score:5, Funny)

    by TWX ( 665546 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:30PM (#7711450)
    Just reading the slashdot blurb, I get the image of a pigeon with a couple of DVD data discs tied to it's feet, and the resulting attempt to fly is quite comical...

  • Yeah... (Score:5, Funny)

    by MikeXpop ( 614167 ) <mike@noSPAM.redcrowbar.com> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:30PM (#7711451) Journal
    *writes note saying "ping" and ties to to a pigeon*

    This is going to take awhile...

  • Still true (Score:5, Funny)

    by msgmonkey ( 599753 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:31PM (#7711456)
    "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway"

    • Re:Still true (Score:3, Informative)

      by Pingular ( 670773 )
      "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway"
      -- Andrew S. Tanenbaum

      • Re:Still true (Score:5, Interesting)

        by SurgeonGeneral ( 212572 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:56PM (#7711890) Journal
        +4 on that post? Wow. You have singled out an author for a quote that comes in many different shapes and forms. The motivation for doing so is hard for me to comprehend, but I'd like to show you some other forms of it, including the original :

        Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station
        wagon full of tapes.
        - Dr. Warren Jackson, Director, UTCS

        heres some more variations :

        "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of magtapes.";

        "the highest bandwidth transatlantic data channel was a freighter fully-loaded with punch cards."

        "the bandwidth of magtape and a pickup truck." (c. 1973, DEC, Maynard MA);

        and,

        "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a kid on a moped with a backpack full of CDs.";

        finally,

        Dai Davies, director of Dante, which provides high-speed networks to Europe's research institutes, said that before now the highest data transfer speed was achieved by putting the tapes in a van and driving them to where they need to be analysed.

        Delivery vans can carry lots of tapes at the same time which means that Europe's roads have a relatively high bandwidth. "You can send a few hundred megabytes per second through DHL," he said.
        - BBC News, 16 September 2003.;

        Now I thank you for finding one of the many people who have spoken a permutation of the quote, but really it is quite a superfluous and trivial effort. Especially considering we all have the same access to Google that you do. =\ Tanenbaum's version appeared in 1988, but as you can see the line was spoken as early as 1973.

        In conclusion, singling out a person who might have spoken the sentance is pointless. And adds little to the conversation.

        • Re:Still true (Score:2, Funny)

          by Anonymous Coward
          Score: +1, Pedantic

        • 747s (Score:2)

          by LauraW ( 662560 )
          My favorite variant on this is from Snow Crash [amazon.com]:
          In order to transmit the same amount of information on paper, they would have to arrange for a 747 cargo freighter packed with telephone books and encyclopedias to power dive into their unit every couple of minutes, forever.
          (describing the bandwidth the protagonist has available in the storage unit where he lives)

    • Re:Still true (Score:5, Funny)

      by inburito ( 89603 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:55PM (#7711598)
      Or, "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a flock of pigeons with blue-laser dvds strapped on to their feet flying on the sky."

  • Hmmm (Score:5, Funny)

    by mandalayx ( 674042 ) * on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:31PM (#7711457) Journal
    The concept had just hit a snag however.

    Nesting karearea (native falcons) have attacked and killed some of the pigeons mid-flight.

    "A pigeon can fly at a cruising speed of 65km/h, 100km/h when pushed," said Mr Andreef. "But native falcons fly at up to 250km/h."

    Once he discovered what was happening to his birds Mr Andreef grounded his 50-pigeon operation.

    He expected the falcons' nesting season to finish within the next few weeks.

    The pigeon communicators better get ready to welcome their new overlords--the Falcons. Can you see the DDoS attacks coming?

  • Games (Score:5, Funny)

    by fredrikj ( 629833 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:32PM (#7711458) Homepage
    I tried playing Quake III over this, but the ping time made it rather frustrating :|

    • Re:Games (Score:5, Funny)

      by daeley ( 126313 ) * on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:46PM (#7711538) Homepage
      Now we know the real reason "Duke Nukem Forever: Rats of the Air" was delayed.

    • Re:Games (Score:3, Funny)

      by arcanumas ( 646807 )
      If there was significant lag then your connection is low bandwidth. Try purchasing more pigeons.

      If there was 100% packet loss then your firewall may have barbequed the pigeons. Check your back yard.

      Thank you.

    • You obviously don't remember the old play by mail RPG games - you know, before common home computers. By common I'm talkin TRS-80 era kinda stuff.
      • Mail RPG games? Man, that's even geekier than sitting in someone's basement on a Friday night. At least in the basement you get some human contact, even if it's with a bunch of dudes that are either skinny or fat.

        -B

  • so.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by xao gypsie ( 641755 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:34PM (#7711465)
    does packet colision occur when the pigeon hole principle comes into effect?

    xao

  • Pigeons Dropping Packets (Score:5, Funny)

    by fastdecade ( 179638 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:34PM (#7711467)
    "the pigeons were 99 per cent reliable"

    The thought of pigeons transferring data gives a whole new meaning to dropping packets.

    I speculate they would become only 60% reliable when flying over statues, park benches, and human beings.

  • How about .... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:35PM (#7711473)
    ... swallows ?

    (European or otherwise).

  • Netflix (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The Good Reverend ( 84440 ) <.michael. .at. .michris.com.> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:37PM (#7711484) Journal
    Remember also the story posted last year - Snail Mail Still Winning The Bandwidth War [slashdot.org], where the discussion focused on Netflix.

    I think it's an interesting way to compare the two, but it's ultimately pointless. I can carry my 60 gig HD across the room (or the house) in much faster time than I can send all that data over my home network, and that's likely going to be true as both transfer rates and storage capacity increase with time. Pigeons are novel, of course, but as mentioned earlier, packet loss is a bitch.
    • Pigeons are novel, of course, but as mentioned earlier, packet loss is a bitch.

      Not to mention hardware loss, when the pigeon with your 180GB HD tied to its leg doesn't come back.

  • I wish I were a kid again... (Score:3)

    by segment ( 695309 ) <sil&politrix,org> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:37PM (#7711488) Homepage Journal

    Follow That Feather

    Fully aware of the gravity of the situation, Dick Dastardly and his proud men try to eliminate the pigeon with a feather seeking homing missile. the cartoon [tibonia.com]

  • check this page out for wireless pigeon database access [interbug.com]

    no idea if the wireless protocol they are using involves avians in transit ;-)

  • cartoon throwback (Score:5, Funny)

    by segment ( 695309 ) <sil&politrix,org> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:41PM (#7711509) Homepage Journal

    Muttley you snickering floppy eared hound, When courage is needed, you're never around! Those medals you wear on your moth-eaten chest, Should be there for bungling at which you are best!

    So, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop that Pigeon

    How?

    Nab him! Jab him! Tab him! Grab him!

    Stop that pigeon

    Now!

    You Zilly, stop sneaking it's not worth the chance, For you'll be returned by the seat of your pants! And Klunk, you invent me a thingamybob, That catches that pigeon, or I lose my job!

    So, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon, Stop The Pigeon

    Stop that Pigeon

    How?

    Nab him! Jab him! Tab him! Grab him!

    Stop that pigeon Now!

    The mp3 [tibonia.com]

  • One hell of a rush (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Space cowboy ( 13680 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:41PM (#7711510) Journal
    "A pigeon can fly at a cruising speed of 65km/h, 100km/h when pushed," said Mr Andreef. "But native falcons fly at up to 250km/h."

    Wow. I realise they won't be going at 250kph for very long (presumably during a swoop down from above) but that's a fantastically fast speed for something of flesh and blood...

    "The terminal velocity of a falling human being with arms and legs outstretched is about 120 miles per hour (192 km per hour) - slower than a lead balloon, but a good deal faster than a feather!" (from falling feather [exploratorium.edu])

    So I guess until someone straps a jetpack on their back and power-dives, no human will ever experience it...

    Simon.

    • Of course someone did ! (Score:3, Informative)

      by Jesrad ( 716567 )
      So I guess until someone straps a jetpack on their back and power-dives, no human will ever experience it...

      Michel fournier [legrandsaut.org] is planning to attempt to skydive from 130,000 feet and reach supersonic speeds (1200 to 1600 kmph / 750 to 1000 mph).

      Nick Piantanida tried and failed to do that in 1965. And all these are unpowered skydives.

  • Imagine.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:42PM (#7711514) Homepage Journal

    50,000 pigeons with a note saying "SYN" tied to them flying to Utah..

  • On "Packet" Loss (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:42PM (#7711516)
    Nesting karearea (native falcons) have attacked and killed some of the pigeons mid-flight.

    Puts TTL into perspective...

  • Time for an upgrade (Score:5, Funny)

    by Stalus ( 646102 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:43PM (#7711523)

    "A pigeon can fly at a cruising speed of 65km/h, 100km/h when pushed," said Mr Andreef. "But native falcons fly at up to 250km/h."

    Looks like a perfect opportunity for an upgrade. They just have to train the falcons, and then they'll get a network that's 2.5 times faster, and less likely to be devoured.

  • Faster than the internet? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Trbmxfz ( 728040 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:45PM (#7711534)
    Nick Andreef's pigeons are faster than the internet, but no match for falcons.

    Faster than the internet? Let's see:

    - The picture shows a Memory Stick. That's at most 1GB (the blue MS like the one on the picture are at most 256MB, but let's be generous),

    - the pigeons go at 65 kph,

    - they have to travel over 20 km.

    That's 20km/65kph = 1107 seconds. Which converts to slightly less than 942 KBps. Now, I don't know what kind of ISPs they have in New Zealand, but 1MBps shouldn't be that hard to achieve! Even using the announced 3GB capacity of a single bird, that's just 3MBps.

    Maybe if they had used one of those wireless networks they wouldn't need to feed pigeons (and clean up after them)? Even the falcons go at a mere 10MBps bandwidth!

    • Re:Faster than the internet? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      That's one line. Just like broadband is made of several smaller lines with individual limits, this pigeon network is made of several pigeons which can EACH carry a packet.
      It even mentions a fleet of 50 pigeons in the article. So if they only had 256MB memory sticks, like the one in the picture, that would be 3.2 GB.
      Again, if you read the article rather than skimmed, it mentioned that the flight time was six minues (600 seconds) That would be equal to about 5.3 MBps. Good luck getting that kind of transfer
      • six minues (600 seconds)

        360 seconds.

      • Re:Faster than the internet? (Score:4, Funny)

        by Trbmxfz ( 728040 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:40PM (#7711805)
        six minues (600 seconds)

        Sorry, I didn't know they used the metric system for minutes too! In the US of A, six minutes are only 360 seconds :-).

        if you read the article rather than skimmed

        Since their figures don't seem to be consistent, I had to discard some of them; 20km at 65kph should take about 18 minutes, not 6. Otherwise, you're of course right: they wouldn't do it if it weren't cheaper than the actual network connection they can get.
      • You would still have to insert and mount those 50 Memory Sticks. The 3.2gb of data isn't received until it is online. You have to strip the birds, run inside and poke them all into readers, etc.

        Once I have that much data on my computer, I can read it almost instantly. Seems someone is overlooking the practicality of this issue just for chatter sake.
      • Again, if you read the article rather than skimmed, it mentioned that the flight time was six minues (600 seconds)

        Ah, finally someone else is using metric time.

        Anyway, I've got to run. This chilly Smarch weather has made me sleepy and it's only 25 o'clock!

    • Well, it's reasonable to assume that he meant it's faster than the internet connectivity he'd otherwise have available. Said connectivity being described as "...phone lines and telephone exchanges of (in)sufficient quality...".

      Even with a ~56k modem, 942KBps is quite a bit faster. :)
    • Traditionally the capital B is used to refer to Bytes and a lower case b is for bits... I don't know of any 1MBps (8 Mbps) ISP that is cheap outside of Korea... I have a 2 Mbps cable modem in Austin, Texas from road runner...

      Wireless (802.11) links over 20km get a lot of attention on Slashdot but are very uncommon, and they might be persistent connections but they are much slower than 11 mbps.

      And if you meant microwave antenna... damn those are super expensive and need perfect line of sight.... The pigeon

      • Re:Faster than the internet? (Score:4, Informative)

        by Trbmxfz ( 728040 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:32PM (#7711756)
        I don't know of any 1MBps (8 Mbps) ISP that is cheap outside of Korea...

        Japan maybe? But indeed, I goofed; buying several megabit links may not be cheap in most countries (and is apparently impractical in the case explained in the article).

        Wireless (802.11) links over 20km get a lot of attention on Slashdot but are very uncommon

        What? Are you implying that what is said on Slashdot doesn't always closely reflect reality? Man, I'm disappointed!

        Also, assuming fifty falcons, carrying three one-gig memory sticks each, we get up to a whopping 4 gigabits per second. I don't know if I'd let birds handle that many memory cards (they are expensive [google.com]), though.

        And don't get me started on the ping times, as others have mentioned already.
    • Our fastest internet (not counting 100Mbit fibre available in Wellington for exorbitant cost) is 8Mbit ADSL. I live 30 metres away from a DSLAM equipped Fibre Fed Cabinet, and can get 800KB/s maximum. Most people are further away, and hence slower.

      The most popular adsl (75% of customers are on it) is limited to 128Kb/s (16KB/s). Why? The price of this is approximately US$30, for 5 or 10GB cap (dependent on ISP). 10GB per month on the full speed is $US450 approximately, and 256Kb/s (32KB/s) is $US25

    • It's simply a race.

      Say that your pigeon has an average time V for the velocity (damned physics and their letters). Unless we are building faster pigeons, we'll assume this this average to be fixed. You know you want to reply you monty-python-heads.

      Let's also assume we aren't making storage or jumps in transmition time any faster than before. It's fixed too. S for storage capacity time to double, T for transmition speed to double.

      Which is greater? VS or T? I haven't worked out the units, since I'm l
    • No, it's you let see. First, landlines are obviously out of the question. Now about the wireless. 1Mbps is realistically the maximum you can reliably get in remote areas. But 1Mbps means you have to spend 20 minutes sending the data, which means stopping the tour for 20 minutes and sending the data - you don't want to lose you connection, etc. The point of the case, though, was that the tourists don't like to wait!

      Thus the real benefits of pigeouns is near infinite last-mile bandwidth. Like with e-mail, yo
    • Practical internet for consumers in New Zealand is "JetStart" which is 128kbit ADSL. So yeah, it is much faster. :)

  • Packet loss= (Score:5, Funny)

    by vwjeff ( 709903 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:46PM (#7711540)
    Shotgun
  • Yes, these pigeons are fast, But can they bet a 747 loaded with DVDs?
  • What about two pigeons carrying it together? I suppose they could have it on a line... they'd just have to use a strand of tree bark and hold it under the dorsal guiding feathers.

    Well why not?
    • Actually, the proper technique is called "packet fragmentation." Before departure, the pigeon drops the large packet high over rocks and it fragments everywhere. Multiple pigeons can then each grab fragments well within the Maximum Carrying Unit, and the destination party gets the job of reassembling the packet. Unfortunately, the fragments may be more difficult for the pigeons to carry, and they are more likely to get dropped, especially out there in where the routes the pigeons take might be loaded wit
  • transfer large amounts of data in a short amount of time

    I want numbers! KBPS, % packet loss, maximum latency, roundtrip time, number of hops to destination! No stupid "large amounts"!
  • Although lacking "quality of service information", the closely related RFC 1149 [ietf.org] has been implemented by the Bergen LUG [linux.no].

  • exploit! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Coyote ( 9900 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:51PM (#7711570)
    birdtraq has a posting documenting the 'falcon exploit' describing it as a DOS (denial of seed) attack similar to the 'buckshot' attack, in that not only is the route broken, but the media is eaten. It is noted that even though the carrier may seasonally be reclassified as 'lunch' the data payload may be considered unappetizing and therefore recoverable. Affected users may attempt the alternate SSL (Slow Sparrow Layer) method in hopes of being overlooked. The vulnerability affects owl users of Linux and Windows. In a related story, SCO claims that since it has proved in court that it owns all code ever written, it will be selling licenses on a per egg basis to existing pigeon owners as soon as the massive hummingbird attack on its own server ends.
  • TCP/IP doesn't leave shits all over the place
  • and for extra bandwidth, two pigeons could string a load of dvd-rs onto a strand of creeper.

    held under the dorsal guiding feathers [utwente.nl], naturally...

  • if it were swallows instead... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mraymer ( 516227 ) <mraymer@nOsPaM.centurytel.net> on Saturday December 13, 2003 @02:59PM (#7711615) Homepage Journal
    SOLDIER #1: Where'd you get the data?
    ARTHUR: We found it.
    SOLDIER #1: Found it? In here? That's impossble!
    ARTHUR: What do you mean?
    SOLDIER #1: Well, there's no Internet access for miles.
    ARTHUR: The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?
    SOLDIER #1: Are you suggesting data migrates?
    ARTHUR: Not at all. It could be carried.
    SOLDIER #1: What? A swallow carrying a case DVDs?
    ARTHUR: It could grip it by the edge!
    SOLDIER #1: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound DVD case.
    ARTHUR: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?
    SOLDIER #1: Listen. In order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?
    ARTHUR: Please!
    SOLDIER #1: Am I right?
    ARTHUR: I'm not interested!
    SOLDIER #2: It could be carried by an African swallow!
    SOLDIER #1: Oh, yeah, an African swallow maybe, but not a European swallow. That's my point.
    SOLDIER #2: Oh, yeah, I agree with that.
    ARTHUR: Will you ask your master if he wants to join my court at Camelot?!
    SOLDIER #1: But then of course a-- African swallows are non-migratory.
    SOLDIER #2: Oh, yeah.
    SOLDIER #1: So, they couldn't bring the DVDs back anyway.
    SOLDIER #2: Wait a minute! Supposing two swallows carried it together?
    SOLDIER #1: No, they'd have to have it on a line.
    SOLDIER #2: Well, simple! They'd just use a strand of creeper!
    SOLDIER #1: What, held under the dorsal guiding feathers?
    SOLDIER #2: Well, why not?
  • I certainly hope they're using UDP. TCP would seem to have a bit too high latency to be practical.

    Hmm... multicasting would be a bitch.

  • I can imagine... (Score:5, Funny)

    by LordK3nn3th ( 715352 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:10PM (#7711676)
    ...a DDoS attack over this looking like a scence out of Hitchcock's The Birds...

  • Latency...? (Score:3, Funny)

    by f97tosc ( 578893 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:14PM (#7711689)
    Bandwith may be OK, but the latency must be horrible. I don't think I'll sign up for Counterstrike using this method... /Tor
  • An extremely high bandwidth information channel is to send CD-R's overnight via. FedEx.
    • Extremely high bandwidth
    • Extremely high reliability

    Unfortunantly, poor latency, but still good enough for many uses.

    650 (MB) x 1024 x 1024 / 24 / 60 / 60 = 7888.59 bytes per second throughput. And that's only for 650 MB on a CD, and only 1 CD in the FedEx envelope. Multiply this "throughput" by how ever many CDR's you can stuff into a FedEx overnight envelope. And by doing so, you do not increase your latenc

  • "Nesting karearea (native falcons) have attacked and killed some of the pigeons mid-flight.

    Once he discovered what was happening to his birds Mr Andreef grounded his 50-pigeon operation."

    Whoopsies.

  • Next up: pigeon network h4xx0rz (Score:4, Funny)

    by thirty2bit ( 685528 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:38PM (#7711794)
    New York Times: Youth Arrested for Pigeon Tampering

    [ name withheld ] was arrested for using an illeagle Pigeon Network Sniffer and accessing huge amounts of data being shuttled by the pigeon network over the last two weeks.

    Police say the h4xx0r sat in Central Park, using large amounts of high-quality seed strewn on open ground to re-route the network data stream and hijack the transfer media. The pigeon data was then compromised and copied to the thief's laptop.

    Authories say that pigeon network customers became suspicious when network latency increased.

  • P....., not Pigeons have the bandwidth! (Score:5, Funny)

    by karlandtanya ( 601084 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:43PM (#7711823)
    Penises have higher bandwidth than cable modems. [The following found, of course, on the Internet.]

    The human genome is about 3,120,000,000 base pairs long, so half of that is in each spermatozoa -- 1,560,000,000 base pairs . Each side of these base pairs can either be an adenine -thymine or a guanine -cytosine bond, and they can be aligned either direction, so there are four choices. Four possibilities for a value means it can be fully represented with two bits; 00 = guanine, 01 = cytosine, and so forth.

    The figures that I've read state the number of sperm in a human ejaculation to be anywhere from 50 to 500 million. I'm going to go with the number 200,000,000 sperm cells , but if anyone knows differently, please tell me.

    Putting these together, the average amount of information per ejaculation is 1.560*10^ 9* 2 bits * 2.00*10^ 8, which comes out to be 6.24*10 ^17 bits. That's about 78,000 terabytes of data! As a basis of comparison, were the entire text content of the Library of Congress to be scanned and stored, it would only take up about 20 terabytes. If you figure that a male orgasm lasts five seconds , you get a transmission rate of 15,600 tb/s . In comparison, an OC-96 line (like the ones that make up much of the backbone of the internet ) can move .005 tb/s. Cable modems generally transmit somewhere around 1/5000th of that .

    If you consider signal to noise , though, the figures come out much differently. If only the single sperm cell that fertilizes the egg counts as signal , you get (1.560*10^ 9* 2 bits) / 5 s = 6.24*10^ 8bits/s, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 78 Mb/s . Still a great deal more bandwidth than your average cable modem.
    • Welcome to the slashdot autopost reply menu. Please select a reply to the parent post from the choices below:

      [A] A masturbation joke involving terms such as "packet loss"

      [B] A lonely geek joke involving "being unable to find a server to connect to." (this post may include vague allusions to male/female connector ports.)

      [C] A viagra/erectile dysfunction joke involving "hardware malfunction" and "connection stalling."

      [D] (Advanced users) a BDSM joke involving master/slave hardware configurations.

  • RFC1149 implemented (Score:3, Interesting)

    by RPoet ( 20693 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @03:45PM (#7711837) Journal
    The LUG in my area, Bergen Linux User Group, implemented RFC1149 when Alan Cox visited (of course he was a key part of the project). Pigeons were used in a real-life experiment that had IP implemented over avian carriers. See the details with pictures here [linux.no].

  • Sometimes from the article title alone.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by volpe ( 58112 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @04:15PM (#7711995)
    ...you can tell that 95% of the "Score 5" posts are going to be modded "Funny".

  • RFC 2549 security update (Score:5, Funny)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @04:25PM (#7712045) Homepage Journal
    RFC 2549 needs a security extension to address man (falcon) in the middle insecurity. I propose encoding multiple packets per UDP-style transmission. The Waitomo network lab can report on the "fodder multiplier" necessary to ensure that network noise consumes only superflous redundant packets. A received ACK packet (similarly multiplied) can be flown back to confirm transmission.

    Perhaps a honeypot project can be used to capture attacker packets, baited with pigeons^Wpackets with a low TTL. Once recoded, these "black hat" falcons^Wpackets might be retrained for security enhancement, or experiments with a lower-latency protocol.
  • I think we should come up with an engineering specification for packet recovery, utilizing freshly-washed cars. My car recovers damn near 100% of lost pigeon packets whenever I park it outside, so the proof-of-concept is valid.

  • I wonder... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Stile 65 ( 722451 ) on Saturday December 13, 2003 @05:04PM (#7712225) Homepage Journal
    How well will the Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite [ietf.org] work over IP over Avian Carriers with QoS? Anyone try it? If you have any implementation tips, particularly for decreasing lag between ZOO and SIMIAN, please post them here.

  • RIAA says (Score:2, Funny)

    by Phoinix ( 666047 )
    P2P now stands for Pegeon to Pr0n!

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