Re: [ProgSoc] Net on Public Transport

[vik <vik@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> What flavour of linux/unix do those hot-spots in a box run?
> 
> How hard would it be (and how long is a length of string) to knit together
> a solution that uses debian for an OS, a generic Wi-Fi card, a iBurst Card
> (perhaps drivers would have to be reverse engineered), a radius
> authentication system that allows external ISPs to hook their customer
> base into eg OzEmail, Bigpond, Optus, a content syncing system that
> distributed news & entertainment (think video) to the remote boxes, a
> modified form of the Squid Caching system that could predict from: a) the
> clients that are logged in b) from an overall historical analysis c) time
> of day . what sites it should cache; be able to support some form of
> geolocation be it GPS or iBurst based, so customers can find out where
> their late train or bus currently is (and if it.s worth catching that
> other one that doesn.t quite go as directly homeward as your usual bus or
> train.
> 
> Of course I am now thinking of the privacy implications of the .predictive
> caching of webpages based on a users past history.. Everyday we.re slowly
> giving up our rights, and I can.t see how this would be any different form
> Gmail.s advertisement system reading your email.

Without a client being installed on the user's computer, tracking their 
past history would be very difficult. I'm assuming that it is likely a 
differen bus or train would service the same route at the same time on 
different days. I don't reckon there would be that much regularity, but 
that's just my humble opinion.

> 
> The Egg President:
> 
>>>How many people on each train/bus/ferry do you expect to use this
>>>service at once? I don't think bandwidth will be that much of a
>>>problem.
> 
> 
> I.m hoping for 20 people per train, but with commoditisation of Wi-Fi
> components, you can expect to see them in mobile phones, which creates the
> question of VOIP. What sort of drain is VOIP on a 1.5Mbit system?

Block VOIP (and all other) traffic; allow only HTTP (and selected media 
streams) via a proxy server.

>>>So you would be charging the commuters for use of said system?
> 
> 
> Hell yes! Do you think that CityRail is going to pay for it? If you are
> one of those poor people that are forced to take a certain undesirable
> form of public transport to uni, work or the like you will still do so
> even if there is no internet on the form of transport.

I was envisaging (in part) a system where certain elements are free. 
Something like the transit.tv system, but more interactive. So you could 
view a few select (cached) websites for free, maybe watch the 
re-broadcast TV signals, etc.

> 
> 
>>>set-and-forget servers which have to be mostly bulletproof.
> 
> 
> Yes that brings me to an interesting question of how would one remotely
> administer all these boxes? Updating them would be tantamount to upgrading
> the firmware of a Mars Rover.

Except without the 15 minute lag, and a lot easier. Have a script at HQ 
which tries to log into each box until it can, then propogates the 
necessary changes. This should actually be easy unless any of the boxes 
falls over, but that's what watchdog timers are for.

> 
> 
>>>a repeating news-bulletin type thing to play as a backup when the signal
>>>drops out. Copyright stuff about re-broadcasting TV signals should be
>>>considered too.
> 
> 
> Lets step into a hypothetical world where you are Kerry Packer. You own a
> free to air network, would you not want your Television and Ads
> re-broadcast to those scores of people who travel by public transport each
> day during prime time? (Where you charge the most for ads and pay the most
> for content?) All these people on public transport carrying symbian java
> phones with bluetooth, and PDAs / laptops with Wi-Fi, all ripe for the
> streaming of .mp4 video.

This is true, but I remember there being a shitfight over cable 
companies re-broadcasting free-to-air signals. It got resolved, but it's 
not quite as easy as you put it; Kerry Packer wants money, and he can 
prevent you from broadcasting his signals unless you pay him.

> What happens then when you know what.s on the box, have internet access at
> the same time? So say Current Affair does a report on a new type of Maths
> Computer Tutor. you can now link to the site directly from the show being
> streamed. (Profit.)

Microsoft's highly successful WebTV venture?

</v>

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