The real fault in FTC Net Neutrality argument
I finally got through Episode 556. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Net Neutrality metaphors (including some mixing). However, I think you missed the key fault in their argument. The DOJ said that tiered pricing is a common and efficient way to manage scarce resources. This is a true statement and all of your metaphors don't change that. The fault is that BANDWIDTH ISN'T A SCARCE RESOURCE. In a previous podcast you mentioned a study where they indicated that tiered Internet isn't necessary if backbone bandwidth is doubled. And that given all of the dark fiber out there doubling that bandwidth would cost less than all of the traffic-shaping gear they are trying to use.

To use the road metaphor, it's like adding tollbooths instead of adding lanes. However, in the case of the Internet, additional lanes cost less than tollbooths.

Thanks for the podcast, it's still a great show!

Brandt in Provo

P.S. I know it's "indeterminate length," but 46 minutes is way out. A little more news and a little less ranting and we'll all be fine!

Cell coverage in episode 558
You mentioned the need for detailed cell coverage maps and that someone should do a mash-up on Google Maps.
Well someone has at SignalMap.

I enjoy the show.
Regards,
Dave

Baby talk
You guys are so stupid with the baby talk at the end of 558. I, however, laughed nonstop through the whole thing. Stop it! I'm a grown man and this girlish giggling is beneath my station.

Respectfully,
Victor
Blanket, Texas

Asus Eee PC
Hey Molly and Tom,

I heard you talking about benefits of Foleo and the idea of similar device using Linux. I recently found out about the Asus Eee PC from the U.K. CNET crave blog. As a student, this would be a great device for me to carry around instead of my larger, expensive laptop.

Here the link.

Regards,
Michael (the Scottish computing student)

Foleo replacement? EeePC
Listening to 558 and the caller lamenting over the death of the Foleo made me think of the Asus EeePC, slated to come out sometime in the next few months. It's small and light (2 pounds), runs Linux with OpenOffice and Firefox, solid-state hard disk, and has Wi-Fi, and looks to be priced around $300. Unfortunately, the first versions have a rather small 7-inch screen, but Asus is promising a 10-inch model sometime next year.

Eeepc on Wikipedia
ASUS Eee PC (No real information, but it's the only real acknowledgment of its existence on Asus's Web site.)

Love the podcast!
Jim

Quick iTunes 7.4.1 ringtone update
Hi, me again

You can actually ringtone any song you want, using iTunes 7.4 or higher. Everyone needs to read this and NOT continue using the "renaming" trick or unnecessary jailbreaking (if you ONLY want a ringtone). Apple simply made ringtones require special metadata to be set, like TV Shows. I made another blog post about it, although I think people have ringtone technique fatigue by now.

iPhone Ringtones: What did iTunes 7.4.1 really do?

Dudley

Not to beat a dead horse but...
I know, I know, everyone has beat this topic to death. But, Molly, I keep hearing you say this has never happened before, and every time you say it I am sitting in rush hour, pulling my hair out, because I know it has been done. I finally remembered. "Well Actually" It was the Nokia N-Gage. It came out on launch at $299 and then ONE WEEK later they dropped the price $100 (the same 33 percent drop as iPhone). I can only imagine your rant if this happened only after one week! *ducks*

And yes, I know it's a rebate, and Nokia swore it was a retailer sale, but it never went back to $299.

-Jon in Little Elm, Texas

N-Gage price drop
by Brian D. Crecente posted on Oct. 27, 2003 1:11 p.m.

Panic or Rebate?

The much criticized N-Gage Gaming Deck just got a major price drop at Gamestop and Electronics Boutique, where you can now get the phone/gaming device for a mere $199. The folks at Nokia say this is a retailer sale, and buyers should not expect any manufacturer-based price drop anytime soon. The device did sell for $299, but now comes with a $100 instant rebate. The word is that this rebate will last through Nov. 2. The sale coincides with a whole slew of new N-Gage games coming out, some of which will reportedly make better use of the system's online N-Gage Arena for multiplay. I wonder if this will help sales? The price now puts the N-Gage squarely between the GBA SP and the soon to be released Tapwave Zodiac. I think if anything will help the N-Gage it's going to be the release of more games. We all know games drive the platformý-why else does the PS1 still sell so well?