@happybeing thanks for the tip, here’s a few of the threads I found (listed below).
I see a lot of arguments about how the “ultimate dream” is not possible due to bandwidth/latency essentially. Here are my thoughts…
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I’m not going to buy in to the idea that it will never be possible to overcome these challenges in the future. There is more and more research being done on all aspects whether it’s wireless tech, routing algorithms etc. I don’t think it’s that crazy to expect the advances in these fields to converge at some point.
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There are a subset of applications that simply don’t need that much bandwidth and/or are flexible with higher latencies. A basic messaging service is a great example! Messaging hasn’t always been as fast as it is today. And how can you complain about the price of FREE (remember when each SMS was $0.25?)
The relative success of projects like FireChat/OpenGarden is a great indicator that we are at least moving in this direction. I hate to be oh-so-cliché but all that really needs to happen is the ‘killer-app’ for the end consumer. What about local sharing? What about using this as digital storage tied to GPS coordinates? So you can literally have “digital items” scattered around… and this was freely accessible! The first free MMO game? I always thought Google’s Ingress game would be an awesome application for this.
This just needs way more public exposure. I always enjoy giving the example of walkie talkies, however technically inaccurate, to friends who have no idea what this is all about and what’s truly possible. When you buy a walkie talkie - it works as long as you don’t break it. Buy it for $100 one time and for the rest of your life you have the ability to communicate with no charge. It’s time we start thinking of “internet access” the exact same way.
Utopian - I know. But goddamn we gotta try!