Starbucks installed these waterfree urinals in their Seattle Headquarters in an effort to conserve water & energy, according to Brand Autopsy.
SBC: Fiber close to the home (Node) test in Connecticut
Extending optical fiber into the home wasn’t labor intensive, she said. The most crucial part of the experiment was the testing to make sure the new equipment and network were reliable, she said.
The next step for SBC is to begin a $4 billion installation project that will put fiber in the company’s networks throughout the country. Connecticut is very much part of that project, which is why Norwalk was part of the field test, Esposito said.
In existing neighborhoods, SBC says it plans to use FTTN architecture, which means “fiber to the -node.” That system brings optical fiber to a central point in a neighborhood, within 3,000 feet of homes already being served.
Note that this is NOT fiber to the home, rather it’s fiber to the node. DSL speeds will be faster, but hardly competitive with the services now available in Japan, Korea and other more advanced countries. SBC can certainly do better. Note that the speeds should be 2 way.
E-tailing continues to grow
Gallup found that more and more consumers under the age of 65 are using the internet for shopping. The average online transaction grew 10% to $140.00.
Snowkiting
Paul McHugh on skiing’s next frontier:
Kites may do for winter sports what they’re already accomplishing for windsurfing. Six years ago, big U-shaped kites were a rare sight at windsurfing spots. Conventional triangular sails attached to masts and boards dominated the scene. Now, at Bay Area sites like Crissy Field, Coyote Point and even rough offshore spots like Waddell and Scott Creek, it’s easy to see kites bobbing in the sky while riders on small, twin-tip boards skip nimbly over the waves.
According to longtime snowkiter Ken Lucas, utilizing wind power with a kite on snow may wind up even more popular than on water.
From Paris: Gorgeous Eiffel Tower VR Scene
Check out this gorgeous Quicktime VR Scene, shot from the 3rd floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Eric Rougier
Telecom Advocacy Site: Consumer’s Union
Consumers Union has released a new telecommunications and media online resource: www.hearusnow.org. Check it out. Consumer tips on what to do before you buy, understanding your bills after and making companies listen when you are unhappy (from phone services to copyright rules on digital content).
Local Tax Deductions Going Away?
There’s been some discussion recently about eliminating the deductability of state & local taxes on our federal returns. Naturally, this would really pinch taxpayers in relatively high tax states, like Wisconsin. Check out the discussions, here: alltheweb | Clusty | google | msn | teoma | yahoo search |
Burt Rutan Inteview
SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan is interviewed by George Nemiroff:
Question: Considering your motivation to innovate and design futuristic air/spacecraft, are you attracted to the Centennial Prizes offered by NASA to develop new craft designs?
Answer: Oh no, I don?t believe NASA can properly put out a (developmental) prize like the Orteg Prize or the Kramer Prize, or either the X Prize. NASA has a real habit of trying to help sub-contractors and contractors by monitoring risks that NASA wouldn?t take themselves. What NASA needs to do is to put out a very difficult goal to achieve and then not monitor it at all and let those that go after it take their own risks. I don?t see NASA doing that. Possibly they will. Maybe they will put someone in charge that knows the benefits of running a prize properly. I haven?t seen that yet.
An answer in search of a question: TV over phone lines
I wonder if this is what we’ll get from local telco monopoly SBC if they win the Madison WiFi RFP:
If everything goes as planned, the telephone industry will be all about television in 2005. TV over your home phone line. TV on your cell phone. Few topics have been as popular this past year among phone companies and their technology partners.
I don’t think shoving conventional TV down SBC customer’s throats via DSL (will it ever be as fast as Japan or Korea’s service?) makes any sense…. As I said, an answer in search of a question. Clueless.
Wisconsin, Madison Property Taxes
Several recent articles highlight the ongoing problem of state & local taxes growing faster than Wisconsin personal income:
- Wisconsin Taxpayer’s Alliance released a study that forecasts 2005 property taxes will go up more than 6 percent. They also forecast that the local school portion of property taxes will go up 7.3%. They also found that property taxes will account for 4.1% of Wisconsin taxpayer’s personal income. (via JR Ross)
- Unsurprisingly, The Taxpayer Bill of Rights continues to be discussed in Madison. This will continue to be a hot button issue as long as state and local spending continues to rise faster than personal incomes (there will be a reckoning unless the economy grows faster…., here’s an example: Judy Wagner, 65, a Milwaukee substitute teacher, said her property taxes were forcing her to postpone her retirement. Her property tax bill had risen from about $3,000 in 2000 to just under $4,700 now, she said.
“My options are to work until I’m 75 or 80 or sell my home and move south like three of my friends have,” she said.) Via Patrick Marley & Steven Walters. - This will help, to some degree, though we must create a more robust environment for tax paying entrepreneurs. True statewide, 2 way broadband (not the current slow DSL and cable modem services) and a much simplified tax/paperwork process would be a great start.