The killer app is fiber reliability as compared to copper and coax where line errors are the norm, particularly every time it rains and water gets into a compromised circuit.
The speed isn't just a bonus, it means you can do things that weren't possible before, or were painfully slow.
Just as dial-up held us back, but the benefits of broadband weren't realized until we finally perfected things like streaming audio and video, the impact of gigabit connected networks will take time and may come in an unexpected form.
The more immediate effects will be that distributed computing becomes no big deal, and accessing your files from the cloud or from a home device while remote becomes frictionless. Instead of necessarily lugging around a laptop you might travel lighter, confident that you can get access to what you need anyway.
It also makes apps like Dropcam possible where you stream endless hours of video to a remote server on the off chance you might need it. The cost of maintaining multiple streams becomes so low you don't even worry about it. No longer do you need to fret over the equivalent of popping a breaker when trying to watch Netflix as well.
The funny thing about these applications is they don't seem like a big deal when you have them, but when you suddenly lose them it's a huge problem. This is much the same way we take electricity and running water for granted, never thinking much of it, but when it cuts out we're in trouble.
astrodust|9 years ago
Just as dial-up held us back, but the benefits of broadband weren't realized until we finally perfected things like streaming audio and video, the impact of gigabit connected networks will take time and may come in an unexpected form.
The more immediate effects will be that distributed computing becomes no big deal, and accessing your files from the cloud or from a home device while remote becomes frictionless. Instead of necessarily lugging around a laptop you might travel lighter, confident that you can get access to what you need anyway.
It also makes apps like Dropcam possible where you stream endless hours of video to a remote server on the off chance you might need it. The cost of maintaining multiple streams becomes so low you don't even worry about it. No longer do you need to fret over the equivalent of popping a breaker when trying to watch Netflix as well.
The funny thing about these applications is they don't seem like a big deal when you have them, but when you suddenly lose them it's a huge problem. This is much the same way we take electricity and running water for granted, never thinking much of it, but when it cuts out we're in trouble.
sounds|9 years ago