MSNBC reports on the next wave of bandwidth, starting with Wi-Fi in Seattle: a really neat report (and I mean that honestly) on the coming waves of new sorts of bandwidth and methods of networking, starting off with a great overview of Wi-Fi as expressed in the community networking world. Notably Matt Westervelt of Seattle Wireless had his photo and his words included in a way that appears entirely accurate to me. The article goes on to discuss Internet2, terabit networks, and other nifty visions of tomorrow.
A great quote: Internet2 spokesman Greg Wood. “Ten years ago ... it’s hard to imagine, but it was actually impossible to send e-mail from one system to another." Okay, it wasn't impossible, it was just implausible in many cases unless you were on the actual Internet. There was no commercial Internet. There were few gateways. You had to have a university account or something wacky like a Well account. Sobers you up when you realize where we're at this short a time later. It's like seeing a 1992-era cell phone: you start laughing and laughing, and then realize that if you'd showed up with a Motorola StarTac in 1992, it would have been approximately like bringing plastic bottles of soft drink to the Congressional Congress in the 18th century.