| % 100% like not to get gouged on the prices of those services too.. |
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 thegeekPremium
join:2008-02-21
right here
kudos:2
 ·Suddenlink
| Messed Up Priorities This is messed up. This is why our economy is crap. People don't know the difference between needs and wants. Broadband is a want. Electricity is a need. Electricity is an important utility. Broadband is not. People pay for their internet connections and then don't have money to pay their electric bills and have to rely on social welfare programs to pay for their electric bills. |
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 Thrudd
join:2004-06-21
Mississauga, ON | Numbers Numbers never lie
Science and Engineering
Then there's Marketing
There is a divine truth to my haiku. The modern world would not exist without Mathematics and the truths revealed through numbers. Unfortunately marketing types have learned to spread lies - sorry advertise - by the misuse of numbers.
I can safely hazard to guess that these numbers have been finessed through artfuly asking the question a certain way and creatively defining what would be included in the group. Mind you I do not put it past Sales to outright lie to everyones face if there is no verification reasonably possible. |
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Thrudd
join:2004-06-21
Mississauga, ON | reply to thegeek
Re: Messed Up Priorities Maybe a decade ago but have you stepped back and taken a good look at things today?
Government and commercial services are now more accesible online than in Meatspace. Heck, some services are almost impossible to access without net service.
Then there is Voip as the alternative to landline phones. Heck, ting was that new subdivisions got a cell system instead since a tower was cheaper than all that copper. Now that tower is WiFi as well. Soon cell systems will be add-ons if the trend continues.
Realy Net access has become a utility for all practical defenitions of the word. Mind you the robber barons of today would never allow that unless the guiloteen were brought back. |
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 skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2
·Cox HSI
 ·Clear Wireless
| 52% of people are beyond stupid Ask those on the East Coast today where they would put clean running water and electricity on their priority list.
What this is, in addition to proving people are dumb, is clear evidence of our superior infrastructure. Electricity and water services are SO reliable that people simply take it as a given. They have zero clue what it is like in some other countries where power isn't reliable. |
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Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| reply to tmc8080
Re: % It takes like $1500 to pass each subscriber with FiOS, youre constantly bashing this company on price. If they were making money like you *think* they are, they wouldnt have stopped expansion.
Now go read the newspaper, or a quarterly report, or somethin' |
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skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2 | reply to Thrudd
Re: Messed Up Priorities MOST IMPORTANT UTILITY? Broadband? Really? Accessing a government website is more important than keeping the refrigerator running or having clean water come out of the faucet? |
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| reply to skeechan
Re: 52% of people are beyond stupid Do you have any idea how many people are physically shaking right now from facebook withdrawel? They only want electricity for their laptop. |
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 aaronwtPremium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to skeechan
Re: Messed Up Priorities I put broadband up there near the top.For a short term outage I would put it at the top. I would rather lose electricity than my broadband connection for a short term outage. Like 2.5 hours or less.
Sure electricity is important but if my electricity goes out for a few hours it's no big deal to me. All my electronics are on UPSs so I can continue using everything for a few hours. And I can continue to have an ONT connection for up to 18 hours so I can still use my cellphone, laptops, tablets etc as long as that ONT is up. And if the ONT goes out I have a T-Mobile Hot spot I can use
My power went out for an hour yesterday. I didn't even know it was out until half an hour later. I was playing Modern Warfare 3 on my Xbox 360 on my LED DLP set with everything powered up(receiver, subwoofer, etc). So I didn't even realize the power was out until I had stopped gameplay for a few minutes.
I would much rather my electricity go out for a few hours than my internet connection. Pretty much everything I do on a daily basis is tied to having an internet connection. Whether at work or at home or even just using my smartphone. Most of the use with all my electronic devices needs an internet connection. |
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| reply to thegeek
I'll tell you what's messed up. Other people out there just like you who are so clouded by your beliefs that you can't see society has essentially dictated broadband to be a necessity. Or maybe you just live in some hick town population of 4. Regardless, for the rest of us who live in civilized towns, and cities, broadband has become a necessity. It replaced the telephone and includes many luxury services yes. This is where I learned of the storm, this i tracked the storm, this is where I found useful info on how to deal with the storm, this is where I planned and purchase things I needed for the storm, this is where I contacted friends and loved ones and shared information about the storm and to let them know I'm here to help.
But when there is no storm and no danger. This is still a tool I use for planning, to purchase goods, to keep in contact with friends and family, to get weather information, to pay bills, I could go n and on.
Why do we need broadband? Because society in civilized areas dictates a faster paced lifestyle. Theres not enough time in the day to travel from store to store, Writing out stacks of checks, calling friends and family in the old way on a regular basis, again I could go on and on. I'm probably missing a shit load of points but I Don't have time to list everything for you. Take a step back and take a look at the world. Its going to progress with of without you. |
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 IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..
| reply to Anon
The library here gives you 30 minute sessions and the libraries here (and across the nation) have severely cut their hours due to budget cuts. It can take up to an hour to complete one job application online (and 5 hours and session timeouts with dial-up) for those seeking work. In my little world, broadband is becoming as essential as basic telephone service. And there are plenty of jobs that require the worker to have a home broadband connection. Most companies will no longer accept walk in or paper job applications. They'll tell you to go home and apply online.
By limiting access to broadband, you are crippling economic development.
--
Romney-Ryan and Scott Brown are the Right Choice as they are Hope & Change you can count on. |
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thegeekPremium
join:2008-02-21
right here
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Suddenlink
| reply to FLATLINE
Everything you did could have easily been done without broadband. Broadband just made it easier. It is a convenience and nothing more. It is not necessary. You can live without it. You can't live without running water, heat, properly stored food, etc. |
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amungusPremium
join:2004-11-26
America Reviews:
·KCH Cable
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| analogy This (headline subtitle) is perfect.
It's a bit like saying your car is more important than gasoline. One is the utility, the other makes use of it.
Perhaps even better, it is like saying that the highway is more important than the car. Without the highway, where would you go 70+ MPH? Without gasoline, where would either be useful?
Sure, it's important, but not a utility as currently defined.
I would agree that there are those on the east coast who would rather have electricity first. Can't really do much internetting without it  |
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 Jack_in_VAPremium
join:2007-11-26
Mathews, VA
kudos:1 | Really? Let's see the addicted to internet operate their play toys without electricity or function without water.
This is crazy. |
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Reviews:
 ·ooma
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to ITALIAN926
Re: % said by ITALIAN926:It takes like $1500 to pass each subscriber with FiOS, youre constantly bashing this company on price. If they were making money like you *think* they are, they wouldnt have stopped expansion.
Now go read the newspaper, or a quarterly report, or somethin'
I don't need to justify my statements in EVERY thread as to why Verizon is on the wrong path.. they just are.. so leave it at that. The price hikes across the board served little more than to prop the bottom line and bring earnings in-line with what AT&T was raking in.. which keeps up the stock price. The consumer? disadvantaged at every turn. I'm STILL apparently getting emails as if I'm still a customer. Pathetic, they're probably still keeping customers who left on the books to prop up those quaterly numbers... |
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bemis
join:2008-07-18
Reading, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon FiOS
| Most important RELIABLE utility Between batteries, UPS', generators, etc... I can easily weather a power outage--in fact anything under an hour and I don't even need to do a thing. Longer than a day or two and I'll need to refresh my supply of gasoline.
As I learned this past storm, relying on just cable is a mistake. It went out immediately with power in my area (and it was not due to a pole/cabling failure).
I'm looking into the least expensive way to get intermittent tethering access to a smart phone... though right now I'm w/ AT&T goPhone plan on an iPhone, so I don't have it... |
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bemis
join:2008-07-18
Reading, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to skeechan
Re: 52% of people are beyond stupid I have 20 gallons of fresh water stored... drinking water for days is not an issue.
I have access to plenty of water for flushing toilets (or I can always go into a bucket if the sewers backed up).
I have access to electricity through a generator for longer outages and batteries for shorter outages.
My heating fuel is stored on-site (oil).
So from my perspective, broadband is the one utility that I cannot either store in reserve, or find a simple (bucket) alternative for.
Of course if they were asking me in a survey I certainly wouldn't say broadband (it would be water & sewer)... but when I look at it from a crisis situation where we're talking minor interruptions, broadband is the one that is most difficult to work around. |
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bemis
join:2008-07-18
Reading, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon FiOS
1 edit | reply to Anon
Re: Messed Up Priorities
Library closed during emergency situation yesterday... as did nearly all the other places that could have provided Wi-Fi... and that was assuming I was stupid enough to try to go somewhere--which the government specifically asked me not to do during the emergency.
The question needs to be clarified--Electricity is certainly more important long term... but short term (hours/days) I would argue that electricity can be more easily replaced than broadband. Same can even be said for drinking water. |
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