Number 229 - June 2002

I Communicate, Therefore I Am
Burton Shane (bshane39@yahoo.com) ACGNJ News
In 1844, Samuel Morse sent the message "What Hath G-d Wrought" across his Telegraph.     In 1876 Alexander Graham bell inadvertently sent his voice across wires saying "Mr .Watson -Come here -I want to see you."     In 1898 Guglielmo Marconi sent an "S" through the ether with his "Wireless" radio. In 1905, the Fleming valve greatly enhanced the radio by facilitating amplification. The survivors of the Titanic would attest to the importance of this advance.     In 1969, the 50Kbps ARPAnet connected major research centers, and the Internet was born. The first transmission was "LGO".     In 1973, Vint Cerf gave us TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), the protocols which have brought compatibility to the world's proliferating networks. Ray Tomlinson gave us the "@" symbol which has become de rigueur for e-mail addresses.     In 1983 Uncle Sam primed the Internet pump with an infusion of cash by funding NSFNET .     In 1993, Tim Berners-Lee at Cern gave us HTTP (Hypertext Tranfer Protocol) and the World Wide Web (WWW) was born. Internet communication for the rest of us (non-scientists). Dot com had come.     HPWREN (The High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network) -2001 ARPAnet	revisited. HPWREN is motivated by the need for real-time high-capacity connections in remote under-served locations (like observatory mountain-tops) or third world villages. It uses unregulated wireless frequencies (2.4-5.8 Ghz), and is an alternative to high-cost hard-wiring or satellite connections. Backbone capacity is 45Mbps (11-30 Mbps is typically brought to the terminal), a lot faster than a scsi drive! Off-the-shelf radios are being utilized, so we need not wait for vaporware break-throughs in technology to actualize this super-network. Of course, 45Mbps T3 lines are privately available for less than $15,000 per month from our existing Internet providers. Yeah, right. Power-Ball winners take note.     HPWREN will initially provide needed real-time broadband links for research in Astronomy, Seismology, Ecology and Meteorology , and as a bonus, provides broadband Internet connectivity to remote villages which present little incentive for commercial phone or satellite companies. By bringing backbone speeds to remote under-served areas, and fleshing out the Internet infra-structure, HPWREN represents the next step in pc and internet literacy as well as convergence for broadband-hungry appliances.     Like the telephone and ARPAnet, Uncle Sam is providing initial funding to enhance the flow of information which will fuel the next generation of progress.     For information and updates on the progress of HPWREN, click on: http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/.
Number 229 - June 2002