3 ms·

That's another great point. The world was a different place back then and things that made sense in one era don't make sense today, just as things that make se

That's another great point. The world was a different place back then and things that made sense in one era don't make sense today, just as things that make sense today probably won't make sense tomorrow.

mikeash 13y ago
It also occurs to me that this technique is fundamentally the same as more modern methods for sending data over power lines, such as X10, various telemetry schemes used for monitoring the power company's stuff, or the constant attempts to provide broadband internet over power lines. The difference is that it 1) uses an analog coding scheme that allows data from multiple transmitters to be combined automatically and 2) it operates at an extremely low frequency which avoids interference, passes easily through transformers and the like, and can be received using cheap equipment. I'm also reminded of side channel attacks on power consumption, whereby a computer basically transmits data using the same basic scheme as used here, but much faster, and not intentionally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_analysis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_analysis All in all this is a crazy scheme, but it's interesting to consider what it's similar to.
TheZenPsycho 13y ago
Is there actually any reason to assume the pace of technological progress from the early 20th century til now, will remain the same in the next 100 years? I find it more likely that technological progress ended around 1980 and what we are doing now is coasting on old ideas that weren't implemented in the 1960's because computing power wasn't ready yet. Once those run out, it's just going to be rehashes and efficiencies. Why is that? All this recent progress was driven by WWI, WWII and the cold war and space race. We haven't had another one of any of those, and we'd better all be hoping we don't have another one! On the other hand, maybe technological progress will keep pace. But there's actually just no reason to assume that it absolutely will. Do not forget that the 20th century was actually a very unusual and unprecedented century for progress in a history where humanity has gone many many centuries without inventing ANYTHING new at all.

mikeash 13y ago

It also occurs to me that this technique is fundamentally the same as more modern methods for sending data over power lines, such as X10, various telemetry schemes used for monitoring the power company's stuff, or the constant attempts to provide broadband internet over power lines. The difference is that it 1) uses an analog coding scheme that allows data from multiple transmitters to be combined automatically and 2) it operates at an extremely low frequency which avoids interference, passes easily through transformers and the like, and can be received using cheap equipment. I'm also reminded of side channel attacks on power consumption, whereby a computer basically transmits data using the same basic scheme as used here, but much faster, and not intentionally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_analysis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_analysis All in all this is a crazy scheme, but it's interesting to consider what it's similar to.

TheZenPsycho 13y ago

Is there actually any reason to assume the pace of technological progress from the early 20th century til now, will remain the same in the next 100 years? I find it more likely that technological progress ended around 1980 and what we are doing now is coasting on old ideas that weren't implemented in the 1960's because computing power wasn't ready yet. Once those run out, it's just going to be rehashes and efficiencies. Why is that? All this recent progress was driven by WWI, WWII and the cold war and space race. We haven't had another one of any of those, and we'd better all be hoping we don't have another one! On the other hand, maybe technological progress will keep pace. But there's actually just no reason to assume that it absolutely will. Do not forget that the 20th century was actually a very unusual and unprecedented century for progress in a history where humanity has gone many many centuries without inventing ANYTHING new at all.