Typically the booth babe at RSA's booth at the RSA show is Rivest (I don't think I've seen Shamir or Adleman there.) Usually he's been working on something interesting and is having fun showing it off, but he's also there for fanboi value.

They were a really clear indicator that the occasional companies that hired them seriously didn't understand their audience, and hadn't brought anybody who knew anything technical to their booth, probably not even any marketing people who understood the product, so you could pretty much skip them, because they were pretty much always useless as well as unprofessional.

On the other hand, you can totally bribe us with chocolate or especially coffee, and we might sit through your silly magician act for a raffle ticket for an iThing as long as there was technical content at your booth, and we'll pick up blinky tchotchkes with your logo on them. The woman I'd rather talk to at your booth is the one who developed the cool product, or can explain it well.

When my company's been at trade shows in the area, about half their staff are booth-running professionals, rather than product-related, from the people who set the thing up and make sure all the marketing content is there to the people who herd customers in, figure out what they're interested in (even if it's just at the buzzword level), bring them over to the right part of the booth or find the right person if they need to, scan your contact info, get the speakers on and off the stage, etc., and about half are either main-office or local people who know something about whatever we're trying to sell. They seem to do a good job on the mechanics of it (I've occasionally ended up as local booth staff), and they're seriously good at respecting the audience.

They're the ones over in the NSA booth, showing off the cool Enigma machine, and handing out other spook agency trinkets. Sometimes other groups of Feds are there (Homeland Security or whoever), and they don't understand that, unlike the NSA who are evil but cool, they're evil but not cool.

That's not technically a T1 it is bonded DSL at 1536kbs. What makes DSL cheap is that it isn't going direct back to the CO but is shared. If it isn't shared, then why not bond it and deliver it as an actual T1. I'd assume they don't intend to meet the SLAs. Certainly though bonding up lots of inexpensive connections can make for a so-so to good but not great internet at terrific price point.

Not sure what that guy was complaining about but I love my Razer Blackwidow ultimate (2013) keyboard. I grew up on heavy n-key-rollover IBM keyboards and then had to make due with horrible light, cheap, keyboards for many years until I found the Razer. It's worth the price for me. And I've gone through probably 30 or 40 keyboards over the last 35 years.

* Heavy, it doesn't move around.

* USB extension port on the right hand side is perfect for my wireless mouse's transceiver plug.

* N-key rollover that actually works, solid tactile (mechanical) response. I can type at 80+ WPM again.

* And doesn't have thousands of useless extra buttons.

Since a Razer engineer is listening. My suggestions:

* Have a usb port on the left side as well as the right side.
* Change the middle-bottom symbol. I don't quite remember... it might have been backlit before and I took the keyboard apart to disconnect it. It was a distraction.
* Don't reverse the upper and lower-case symbols on the keycaps. That was kinda silly.
* The bottom feet could be a little more robust.

In terms of mice, I use a simple microsoft or logitech wireless mouse now. Simple three button w/wheel... I don't like extra buttons or left/right buttons and when I play games I tend to map most features to the left-hand side of the keyboard rather than to a complex mouse. That way I can bang the mouse around without accidental button pushes. I prefer wired mice but for the last few years I couldn't find any at the stores I frequent.

The wireless mice are fine as long as (A) the tranceiver is within a few inches of the mouse, which it is hanging off the keyboard's RHS usb port. and (B) You use a AA alkaline (non rechargeable) battery. Rechargeable batteries just don't last due to charge leakage. And of course keep a spare battery within reach or replace every month whether or not it needs replacing.

-Matt

Rules not allowing differences in rates between residential customers prevent cable companies from recouping their investment effectively on more remote connections. They also don't allow apartment owners to do things like offer cable as an amenity for 1/2 of what it would cost to buy.

Interesting idea! A relay and a short rural cable run. I like it.

No on what you said, yes on what you meant. It is either or. T1 is a specific standard of how you use analog copper. VDSL is another way to use copper. So it is either / or for the telco. However... those high frequency DSL signals won't make it to the LEC, he's likely too far for VSDL2 to work.

The business license is no big deal. And the $600 / mo / 1.5m is probably reducible with an agent. So something like $250 / mo or 5mbs for $600 if he prices out different options.

That isn't highway robbery though. While there is lots of old copper at 24 lines per 1.5mbs offering people good modern bandwidth chews up a ton. Say 88mbs is 56*24 lines. It is a limited resource.

Did you ask the data center what providers were in there or check a fiber map? It probably wasn't Comcast.

You are contradicting yourself. If it is a utility it can be a monopoly no problem it just has substantial regulation and oversight. If you want competition then there is much less regulation and oversight.

Well written comment. You are not going to get the up votes you deserve by talking about the real costs.

It is subsidized. Look at your cable bill. There is an FCC tax to expand broadband. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...

It is tough with inaccurate broadband maps. The government site is terrible. People really need to confirm.

First off he needs to get an agent this is not something that an individual is going to be able to successfully navigate easily though it is possible. This Seth guy doesn't seem to really understand what he's doing which is understandable but he's in over his head. The article mentions he is 1/2 mile away from Comcast's access point. That's going to be an expensive buildout, the $50k-60k he's objecting to sounds right. That doesn't mean that Comcast might not eat a percentage of the cost for example neighbors also want broadband.

There may also be other fiber near him, for example that CenturyLink fiber. If he's marked as on net there may be another access point for Comcast near him (for example fiber that Comcast is selling to a 3rd party provider who might thus be able to give him access)

His comment about XO at $600 / mo being exorbitant is crazy. If there is no fiber in the neighborhood then the internet over bundled copper (which the article doesn't say they are doing but XO specializes in and makes sense given they started with a T1 quote) seems reasonable. Again he might be able to bring that down by engaging an agent to something like $200 / mo / 1.5mbs but he's not getting 50mbs for $50 / mo other a copper bundle.

The main thing that's happened is that simple horizontal applications are approaching a price of $0. The answer is don't code simple horizontal applications if you are looking to make money. That doesn't mean the whole model is broken but that there is massive oversupply of particular types of applications.

Apple app store payouts are about $5b growing at a rate of about $1b / year. I'm having a hard time seeing a medium sized and rapidly growing revenue stream as not existing. It is absolutely concentrated though that's true. Where it isn't concentrated is money from vertical and custom applications which far exceed the app store payouts.