Computers running on LIGHT?????

Just found an interesting article regarding advances in computer technology. Instead of using electric signals the whole system would run on light instead.

This poses the question though - can it run completely on light - no, not that i can fathom from the articles. There would still need to be some level of electronics involved but the logic circuits would use the light switching circuits to achieve much higher theoretical speeds than current silicon technology can achieve.

More information can be found here.

Yet another one bites the dust!!

Well it looks like yet another ISP has bitten the dust. Reports on Whirlpool have stated that administrators have been appointed to handle the affairs of Wild I&T. Their reports have stated the following

Administrators Ferrier Hodgson admitted that "returning control of the Company to the Directors is not a viable option". A sale of the business is being pursued, and the Administrators recommend a liquidation of the company.
Quoted from whirlpool.net.au

This is really starting to show how bad the industry is. The questions need to be asked. (1) Is it just way too competitive for smaller ISP's to make a living out of this industry or (2) is there a monopoly that is just forcing the smaller ISP's out of business to ensure they stay afloat themselves.

In my personal opinion - option 2 is looking to be more likely the reason for it. I know thru contacts in the industry that the Telco Giants are continually giving discounts with one hand then charging double or more for something else. You think you are going to be getting ahead on one front then they sneak a higher charge onto something else in the back door and slap you in the face with it.

Seems to me that someone needs to work out where the priorities lie. I know that the majors are in it to make money as well but how far will they go to ensure their own survival and profit margins.

Another ISP bits the Dust

Yet another ISP has bitten the dust. RAWNET - a regional ISP of northern queensland has been turned off by its upstream provider. This just goes to show that it is hard to make a living out of the ISP business.

Reports are still rather sketchy about why this has happened but i would like to speculate that they have gone in too hard and too fast. The required infrastructure to set up something of this scale takes months of planning and constant tuning until it is right.

Talking from experience - I attempted to set up and run a small ISP myself. After nearly 3 months of negotiations with providers i still had not signed a single contract that could guarantee me service for my clients. No wholesale provider would ever guarantee that they themselves wouldn't have their service turned off at any point. Even though they provide the infrastructure and the data source.

To me this indicates that the whole industry in general needs a good shake up.