So, got to speak on this tomorrow, and I could do with a vareity of viewpoints.

Why would enabling broadband access at a minimum speed of 2mb be a good thing for Britan?

the state could fit a webcam to everyone's pc and tv and monitor all their activity?

or is that a bit Orwellian?

Why would enabling broadband access at a minimum speed of 2mb be a good thing for Britan?

Universal access to porn and STW.

Thanks.

I shall refrain from mentioning pron or STW in the imterview tomorrow…!

Pretty much universal access at that sort of speed anyway isn't there? Barring a few distant islands and highlands?

The internet is for por. Broadband simply allows the porn to take the form of short films rather than still pictures, which makes it better and more lucrative. 🙂

It is a good thing as more people and businesses can access services and customers. As the internet becomes increasingly important in the way business is done and services are delivered, a digital divide creates a new kind of social exclusion.

coffeeking – Member
Pretty much universal access at that sort of speed anyway isn't there? Barring a few distant islands and highlands?

Nope. a fair amount of the country with no or slow broadband.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_broadband_plans_from_around_the_world#United_Kingdom

I believe France have just made broadband access a right on a par with access to electricity and water.

CaptJon – thanks for that.

BD – unless the i/view is tanking I shan't mention the primary purpose of the internerd. Besides, I have other options.

Mike – cheers for that.

As a IT teach, do you think it will make any difference to the way you could deliver education?

As a IT teach, do you think it will make any difference to the way you could deliver education?

Yes.

Yes.

How?! Need to sound informed and intelligent tomorrow (yes, I know I've left it a little late to be either… 😀 )

To be honest, pretty much all of my students have decent broadband anyway, but it could make a big difference out in the sticks – remote island schools being able to stream lectures from experts in other schools, etc.

How?!

Joking 🙂 You need to learn how to ask questions though 🙂

Need to sound informed and intelligent tomorrow (yes, I know I've left it a little late to be either…)

Especially if you're asking me 🙂

You need to learn how to ask questions though

I used to have a supervisor like you:

Me: "Can I ask you a question, Geoff?"

Geoff: "You just have."

Me (sotto voce): "FFS."

Geoff: "What was that?"

Other application (top of my head):

Ability for students to remote access college/school workstations and so use specialist software they wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford.

Better collaborative working between students when outside school through use of video conferencing, etc.

To be honest, pretty much all of my students have decent broadband anyway, but it could make a big difference out in the sticks – remote island schools being able to stream lectures from experts in other schools, etc.

Er, weirdly, this showed after your post below it. You clearly know how to control the internets very well.

Do you think that you could enhance their learning if they had faster b/b at home?

I'm also thinking of existing e-learning – Dr North does that (she is v amusing on a pdcast – never seen eyebrows so active in my life. I digress).

Ability for students to remote access college/school workstations and so use specialist software they wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford.

Better collaborative working between students when outside school through use of video conferencing, etc.

[beavis&butthead]cooool[/beavis&butthead]

I'm trying a Twitter experiment for you: search for #TomBBInt and see if we get any responses.

Mike – that's cool. Thanks 😀

I was just thinking whether or not to set my presentation up in blog format, but then decided that this would be a little time consuming before 9.30 tomorrow….

So that dumbasses who probably don't deserve the job they're going for can get advice off of a load of feckers on the net no matter where they live!

Online access to government services will become more and more important – this should (in the long run) save money – and for many of these services the main consumers are the poor.

So that dumbasses who probably don't deserve the job they're going for can get advice off of a load of feckers on the net no matter where they live!

I suspect that one of my recent acerbic comments may have been directed at you, old boy. I can think of no other reason for such an attack…. 😀

Online access to government services will become more and more important – this should (in the long run) save money – and for many of these services the main consumers are the poor.

Should "the poor" be obliged to pay for broadband and a computer, however to get access to services, or is this in addition to (severely cut-back) face-to-face services?

I fail to see why broadband should be placed in the same category and Gas and water. FFS most of the time the only thing that it is used for is grot and dodgy films. Either that or avoiding doing work.

It's not a right, it's an extra, something nice to have. If you don't have it it's not going to kill you. Like not being able to download Radiohead's new album won't kill you.

It is supposed to be a portal into education and knowledge for everyone, but most of that knowledge seems to come from Wikipedia and could be suspect. It _does_ advance education in some cases, but not all.

Sorry. I've been in a cynical mood all day and this just wound me up a bit.

Sorry I just think the very process that you're going through here smacks you in the face as an answer!

Nope. a fair amount of the country with no or slow broadband.

Well I can catagorically say that data is absolute rubbish, because I used to live right at the centre of one of those slow-spots, in fact I have a server there right now and even at peak times I saw 3.5 meg, and a friend 20 houses away regularly synched at 6 meg (but only saw 4 sustained). I'd suggest a review of your datasource before giving the presentation!

Are we talking universal as in available everywhere, or universal as in everyone has it?

Available everywhere:
1) Would be a massive help for rural areas, allowing people to set up businesses and work from home, improving the economy.
2) Would allow doctors to make web consultations for people in remote locations.
3) Reduced traffic.

They're not hard to think up.

Available to everyone:
1) Kids in houses without books have some hope of reading something improving.
2) Allow the poorest people in society access to the cheapest prices.
And so on.

Recent survey of people entering a scottish university revealed 99.6% of entrants had regular easy access to a computer, and 96% had access to high speed broadband. Dunno if that helps balance any thoughts.

Research methods 101 – Correlation is not Causation!

Talking to me Tron? I never said it was!

2mb would be a start only get 1.4mb in suburb of Aberdeen 🙄

tell em its a bad idea – there are already too many morons with web access.

It's not a right, it's an extra, something nice to have. If you don't have it it's not going to kill you. Like not being able to download Radiohead's new album won't kill you.

And while we are at it, whats this new fangeled thing of educating women?

The Taliban have the right idea.

IMO The UK needs universal high-speed internet, so we don't all have to live in crowded areas, so business can be set-up anywhere and hopefully employ people etc etc – porn just happens to be a side-effect 😛

Cheers people.

Presentaiton is well on its way, but nice to have some (typically varied STW) input.

I shall, of course, reference all of you tomorrow…. 😉

Regardless of the spurious benefits you cook up, I reckon your closing slides needs to acknowledge the true nature of broadband Britain – embed a bit of pron video on a loop and just have it as a backdrop to your closing remarks

(then get your old chap out with their name(s) on)

If everyone's got good broadband, you can start rolling out services that depend on people having it.

For example, you could

– install leccy meters that updated your bill automatically
– provide tv programmes online only and on demand etc more cheaply and with a wider audience than satellite/cable
– provide super cheap phone calls etc
– and probaly some more stuff I cna't think of right now.

If everyone has broadband they can sack all the posties and send you your junk mail and bills on line. It's as simple as that. All your parcels will come from DHL etc

I would say universal broadband would be a 'good thing' because many people are already providing services on the presumption that it is universal

I think that djglover's idea would save a boatload of money, but skidartist is probabyl closer to the real motivation for this.