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NBN: The long toll road to nowhere : Comments
By Geoff Dickinson, published 27/10/2010The current history of traffic infrastructure will be the future of the NBN - overestimation, overdesign and in over our heads.
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I should have been more explicit: having more of something than we want is just like having things that we don't want at all (disease for example), it does not count towards happiness.
Having more bandwidth than you need, is bad: soon web-sites will know/assume that you have that bandwidth and increase the size of their web-pages, adding more nonsense, more ads. This will not only force you to wait longer (or pay more for the extra bandwidth), but also make it more difficult for you to find the information you were looking for. As you search the page for your information, you are also more likely to be side-tracked, forgetting what you wanted in the first place. Having a higher bandwidth will also make your computer download more when you click on a wrong/unintended link, and before you know it you will be paying more to your ISP (and spending more time slaving in the office to get that money).
3rd-world people are happier than we think, at least happier than how we would be in their place, but yes, it is very hard to renounce wants that come from the body itself, such as to satiate hunger and be healthy and pain-free. It seems easy to make 3rd-world people happier, but in fact, without some discipline, once they have the basics, they start wanting other things (such as the internet) and never be happier, so discipline must be given along with the food.
"You can be unhappy about the NBN but are powerless to do anything about it."
Not exactly: in the next elections, I can still vote for party(s) that will legislate against the removal of the copper network - I can then offer more money for whoever will be keeping my existing service; I can refuse to be connected to the NBN, I can stand with my body blocking the installers. I can destroy their equipment (and perhaps be taken to jail for that); I may rely just on satellite phone for emergencies and give up the internet; I can move to another country.