my comments at http://www.commentino.com/orim

The person who coined the term (the Bush administration doesn’t use it) says that there are three Bush doctrines. Palin asked which one was being asked about and answered wrt it.

> and you think the VP runs the Senate

The Constitution says that the VP is President of the Senate. When the VP is otherwise occupied, the President Pro Tempore takes the VP’s place.

The Constitution doesn’t mention any other VP duties. (The VP is in the line of succession, but that doesn’t put the VP into the executive branch any more than it puts the Speaker of the House, the third person in the succession line, into the executive branch.)

I would like to apologize to Jeff and to readers for saying what I said. I should not have used that phrase.

In case you don’t know it, that’s an argument for Fascism. Tongue-in-cheek it may be, but it’s not a bit inconsistent with populist demagoguery. Why support White Space re-regulation according to the Wi-Fi model? “Because Google wants it, and I want Google to be happy.”

The system that the FCC proposes to adopt for the White Spaces does not have the support of wireless engineers. There are much better ways to maximize the public good than to simply adopt the same spectrum rules for the white spaces that we have for Wi-Fi. This is a technical question, not a simply a “David vs. Goliath” question.

We make very poor use of the spectrum in which Wi-Fi runs because it’s also used by cordless phones, baby monitors, and security cameras, to name just a few uses. We need a spectrum policy for the white spaces that limits their use to packet-data devices that have a smart way of negotiating access with each other. This will enable higher power levels and greater coverage at lower cost. The frequency isn’t magic, it’s the power level and clear channel assessment that counts. It’s not a question of Google vs. the NAB, it’s a question of the Public Good.

You have no idea what I’m talking about, and neither do your readers. So why do you have an opinion about this subject? Evslin voted for Palin, so that tells me why he does, but you Jeff? Surely there are enough things within the scope of your expertise to carry on about without practicing engineering without a license.

And to the coward who hides behind the pseudonym “Da Coyote”, I’ll just say: “read my fucking resume.”

Look at the debacle that CB radio turned into, and consider present-day interference with Coast Guard marine frequencies by truckers illegally using marine transceivers as long-range alternatives to CB.

At the point that over-the-air digital TV reception is harmed by nearby white space devices, the effect will be unreliable or nonexistent reception, and the TV viewer will be left to guess at the cause. By the time anyone who is equipped to do so tried to locate the source of the problem, the interfering device may be miles away.

I’m not against the idea of white space devices and improved Internet connectivity – far from it! I just despair at the FCC’s desire to push through this measure without due regard to the ramifications. Their idea of “safe zones” is so naive as to be laughable, and when the inevitable problems occur they will say, as they so often do on other scores, that there is nothing they can do about it.

The FCC was far more effective when it was an organization run by engineers than it has become since the lawyers took it over.

Yours,
Wince

You’re kidding, right?

Yes, this is a good move, but of little relevance right about now. Neither I nor anyone I work with would even THINK about starting a business right now, right here.

That aside, Arthur -

Throwing around accusations of racism left and right simply causes people to (at best) tune you out, permanently. Or worse – those who decide they’re going to be accused of it anyways start doing things like getting the accusers fired, calling the police on them, and otherwise making life difficult. If you’re going to be obnoxious and operate in bad faith, then people will fight back in any way they can. At that point you’ve left them little choice.

First off, let me say that I’m in favor of the FCC’s decision to open that vast expanse of UHF spectrum to unlicensed use. Licensure is too often used as a means to keep “the little guy” out, at least in a commercial setting.

(Alas, I must admit I’m speaking out of both sided of my mouth on this, as I’m an amateur radio operator, and I don’t like “bootleggers” on our bands. Maybe all the “white space” will lure the doofusses out there off our bands.)

Ennyhoo…. Access to all this “white space” is a “right”? I’m all in favor, as I said, of unlicensed operation, but the language of “rights” in this case bothers me. It sounds like a call for government to subsidize access to that hunk of spectrum. I don’t like the thought of being taxed for all those subsidies. If you want to play in all that white space, go ahead– just pay for your own damned radios, like I have to pay for mine.

BBB

Sounds crappy too, worst than MP3.

By uttering the phrase “Palinesque” you identify yourself as probably the typical lib arts major. If you wanna go at it with respect to comm theory, give me your best shot. Else, go back to your Microsoft machine, do the latest virus update, and let those of us who are real engineers try to undo the upcoming Obamidiocy.

Because anyone who doesn’t praise Obama sufficiently is a racist.

God, that’s already gotten old, and he hasn’t even been sworn in.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122592543148702857.html

NFL Games Go Wireless
By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

“In the era of the 52-inch plasma television set, marketers at Sprint Nextel Corp. are banking on football fans to seek out a decidedly smaller viewing experience.

For the first time Thursday, a National Football League game — the Cleveland Browns vs. the Denver Broncos — will be broadcast on Sprint mobile phones as part of the wireless company’s exclusive partnership with the league. That partnership deal is valued at about $500 million over five years.

Over the next seven weeks, Sprint will phone-cast the eight games that are televised solely on the NFL Network, the league’s cable channel. For the past three seasons, the NFL has struggled to persuade major cable operators to include its channel in their basic programming packages.”

“I was taught when I was a young reporter that it’s news when we say it is. I think that’s still true — it’s news when ‘we’ say it is. It’s just who ‘we’ is has changed”David Carr (b. 1956), US Journalist. CNN “Reliable Sources”, Sunday, August 10, 2008.

Thankfully for us he learned this lesson in the world of politics where he seems to have come to his senses and finally realized that he’s better off not sharing his opinions (*uninformed as they usually were*) with us…

I’m appalled by the arrogance behind this post (as well as Evslin’s) It’s absolutely Palin-esque.

Clue: before opining about all manner of technical subjects, study and learn. Uninformed opinion is BS.