You just made the GP's point, which is that 300 Mbps is plenty fast, even for tomorrow's streaming needs.

Gig fiber is interesting for media streaming, sure, but what about applications that actually need that kind of bandwidth. Off-site nightly backups, anyone? How about sharing your LUG's collection of Linux ISO's or public domain classic films with your local club without having to wait for some stupid choked file-sharing site middle man? Distributed thin client computing where the terminal servers aren't even on site? The "20 Mbps is fast enough for HDTV" argument is so tired. Can we start thinking 21st century now?

Talk about non-sequitur. Youtube takes forever because it's Youtube. It has nothing to do with the speed of your last mile, and everything to do with the fact that Google is the starving student artist of the tech community.

That depends entirely on the compression though, doesn't it? For comparison, Netflix's SuperHD 1080p uses in the neighbourhood of 5-6 Mbps, while a bluray encoding of the same content at the same resolution might consume eight times the bandwidth, and is still compressed (just less so). Multiply those figures by four to estimate what a 4k stream might use.

And I agree that 300 Mbps isn't dogmeat. It's plenty for most people today, but at the same time, I (most geeks, I'm sure) would use it if I had it, and more.

Debian was my first and only distro until Ubuntu hit approximately 6.04. It was then that I felt Ubuntu offered a smooth enough experience to justify the "bloat" (funny how perspectives change) that came with the switch.

Having used mostly Ubuntu on my servers for the past seven years, there has been the odd time that I needed to squeeze Linux onto a small flash, and it was Debian to the rescue. Debian is great, but when you're used to Ubuntu it does feel unfamiliar in the way it handles some things.

A second thing that has me still preferring Ubuntu on servers is the quicker uptake of new features. SSD TRIM is a big one, as I started migrating all of my systems to SSD in 2008, and TRIM required the newest kernels. Yeah, I could have compiled my own kernels in Debian, but as any Debian user knows, updates are a different world when you step outside the Garden of Eden that is apt-get. Ubuntu made getting such new features a piece of cake and in a timely manner.

And lastly, there are advantages to being mainstream. There are tonnes of cool products being developed for Linux these days, and generally speaking, Ubuntu and RedHat/CentOS are the first distros to get support. Steam is one example. LTSP is another project that you're going to get way better developer support on if you're running Ubuntu. A counter example is VoIP software, including FreeSwitch and a bazillion Asterisk distros, which tend to be much better documented on CentOS.

This name is offensive to anybody who takes offense to it. My brother drowned, and should Linus choose to call a future release "Drowned Rat", I don't think I will lose a single minute of sleep over it, or think any differently of the product.

+1

Possible, but quite unlikely. If the EMS dudes shocked you back to life as you say, then you were likely experiencing ventricular fibrillation. Had your heart fully stopped, there would have been no shock, as defibrillation is not indicated for asystole.

Why does it have to be one or the other? Do you think that if God talked to you, there would be no evidence of it to be found in your brain?

You're not aware that Apple was party to Carrier IQ and Prism, then? Recent events have taught us that no factory phone firmware is to be trusted.

Yes. This policy might bite me in certain more high density areas, but after offering this service for two or three years in a couple of different communities, I've only ever once seen a user become more than casual, and that user quickly became a customer of their own initiative (I run a micro ISP).

Touche. So much like the other poll options, WPA2 with public password might thwart the opportunistic hacker, but will do little to deter the determined.

Encryption

Only one of the possible responses provides any real security against malicious intent. The others might keep nosy neighbours and casual wardrivers out, with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Then there's the first option. This used to be my philosophy. I still believe in sharing wireless, but these days I do it with a dedicated vlan and a WPA2 key that is disclosed right in the SSID. Sharing doesn't have to mean throwing security out the window.

We should probably just rename the province to "Tarsand". Instant brand recognition!

Talk about coming out of left field! As an Albertan, I totally didn't see that comment coming after your opening assertion.