What Google Fiber Means Now and 4 Implications for the Future

Google Fiber will change the world. Granted, that's a big claim. So, let's dig into a bit.

What is Google Fiber?

     Google Fiber is Google's project to build a broadband network infrastructure using fiber-optics to selected cities.

 They offer the following plans:

 
     Now, if you did not catch it, the speeds for the paid monthly internet are 1 gigabit per second - about 100 times faster than the average person's internet connection. We will get to the implications of this later on. And even the free internet at 5 megabit's per second is a decent speed for the price of FREE for seven years ($300 construction fee makes it technically $3.57 per month). I pay $50 a month right now for 12 Mbit/s for a service that is 85 times slower than Fiber's gigabit and even if I only had access to the free internet for a downgrade in speed I would gladly jump on that and save myself $3,900 dollars over the next seven years.


Where is Google Fiber?

     It is live in Kansas City, Kansas; and Kansas City, Missouri since September 2012.

     And announced just 3 days ago, Google will bring Fiber to Austin, Texas and have connected homes by mid-2014.


What Google Fiber means now?

     Well, for one it is stimulating competition. As the hardware of computers have advanced to the point where the average user's computer is now very capable - internet speeds, while increasing, have not kept up with the processing speeds of computers, and the United States is lagging behind at 12th place (in early 2012) in average connection speeds.

Source: The Verge

     Despite the big name internet suppliers being capable of incredible internet speeds, they have been a little too friendly with each other and done little to improve services over the last few years. Literally hours after Google announced it would take Fiber to Austin, AT&T announced that they too would build a 1 gigabit fiber network in Austin so long as it is granted "the same terms and conditions as Google on issues such as geographic scope of offerings, rights of way, permitting, state licenses and any investment incentives." Now that is both humorous and sad, I think; funny because it makes AT&T look embarrassingly poor in service and public relations, and sad because it takes Google's constant stream of innovations to get the oligopolistic internet industry to remain competitive.

     For those who are lucky enough to live in Kansas City, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; the possibilities are endless, and in fact, entrepreneurs and startups are flocking to areas where Fiber is live, most famously the Kansas City Startup Village, Hanover Heights on the map, where entrepreneurs and startups are gathering to collaborate and leverage their resources and take advantage of 1 gigabit internet speeds. On the Kansas City Startup Village's website there are currently 20 startups listed in the community.

     But you can imagine the possibilities of not having to wait for any download. When Google Fiber first went live in KC, Mike Demarais, Threedee startup founder said, "It's unbelievable. I'm probably not going to leave the house."

     So it's giving a Kansas City small businesses that cannot afford their own high-speed network a huge opportunity. Check out this example from the Wall Street Journal.

What Google Fiber means for the future?

     Here is where things get interesting.

     While 1 gigabit speeds will not happen for America overnight, expect them to shoot up quicker then you think as service providers scramble to remain competitive or at least prepare themselves for real competition.

     But when it does happen, and we all get 1 gigabit speeds or better, everything will change, and here are four major changes you will see:

• Health care will be revolutionized. Imagine videoconferencing your doctor - seeing each other in high-definition, speech crystal clear - and consider how much difficult travel could be avoided for elderly, handicapped, etc. A doctor could see many more patients per day and patients would not have to wait as long for appointments. Google has announced it will bring Google Fiber to schools and hospitals for free in Austin, Texas.
• Digital educations will bolster. If you haven't read my post on Sugatra Mitra's proposal to revolutionize the education system using a digitally-based model, I suggest you do as it relates the importance of students having access to internet. But even within the traditional education system, according to the FCC, "students with broadband at home have a 7% higher graduation rate."
• The digital entertainment industry will explode, again. With YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and the myriad of online gaming communities, digital entertainment has grown exponentially the last few years and has only been hindered by slow internet speeds. With 1 gigabit, entire HD movies can be downloaded in a matter of seconds. Imagine how many YouTube videos you could watch in a row if buffering did not exist, and you get the idea.
• The online experience will change entirely. With 1 gigabit download speeds, companies could make extremely interactive, highly visual, moving, dynamic, and ridiculous websites and never have to worry about "average page load time". We are seeing this already with Microsoft's Xbox 720 - rumored to not have an optical drive, but rather only have downloadable games - these games would be huge in file size, some 50 GB, and this would only make sense where internet is competent. With gigabit internet speeds, any amount of content could be taken on. 

I can't wait till the day I see that on my screen. Perhaps that day is not far off.

     Computers have become so capable that their evil-fighting potential is seriously impressive, but many of their applications are limited to their ability to receive and send information quickly, and thus computers' favorite new sidekick Google Fiber enters the scene to help save the day. What a team.

     Computers - 6. Evil - 0.

Computers to Revolutionize Education & Destroy Ignorance

     "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain 

(Note: there is only weak evidence that Mark Twain actually said this, but it gets the point across)

     The purpose of the above quote is mostly for provocative intentions. Could it be that our current school systems are no longer relevant?

     I am now in my last semester of college and I often evaluate my own education - from primary to post-secondary - and my evaluation looks like this: I learned a great amount in various subjects, but the amount of learning I retained in a particular subject was directly dictated by the amount of interest I had in that given subject and more importantly the amount of interest I had for learning in general.

     "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." -Mahatma Gandhi

     Gandhi understood that learning is about attitude. For learning to take place, one must desire to learn.

     This is where Dr. Sugata Mitra enters the picture with his vision of using computers to revolutionize the education system.

     Mitra is best known for his Hole-in-the-Wall experiment, where he put freely accessible computers in remote villages and slums in New Delhi and just left it alone. Children with no prior experience and who knew no English became computer literate on their own, and taught themselves enough English to use email, chat and search engines.

A Hole-in-the-Wall computer. (Source)

     He then took the experiment further and tested their ability to learn advanced subjects, like say the biotechnology of DNA replication in English. In that particular experiment, children 8-12 years old went from scoring 0% in their knowledge to 30% in just two months. Dr. Mitra then hired a local accountant to simply stand behind the children as they learned and say things like, "How did you do that? Wow, that is incredible."   In other words - encouragement was added to the equation. That brought their scores up to 50%. Children could learn subjects a decade ahead of their time in this style of learning environment.

     So how spectacular of an idea is this? Well, Sugata Mitra just won the 2013 TED Prize (TED is a conference of elite intellectuals and tech-buffs dedicated to supporting awesome ideas) of $1 million to further research this new concept of schooling.

     As laid out in his award speech at TED, Mitra wants to set up self organized learning environments (SOLE) that consist of:

    Give children a computer with access to the internet, and have their teacher simply ask them a question to induce learning and the children will teach themselves the answer. Mitra has already had great success with his first SOLE environments and is now asking parents and teachers to set-up their own SOLE's and experience it themselves. You can even send him the data as part of the experiment and simultaneously enter a contest.

     A major point that Mitra makes in his speech is that our current school systems are centered around tests and examinations, but he points to evidence in neuroscience that says that punishments and examinations are seen as threats and threats shut down the prefontal cortex - the part of the brain that learns - the lesson being that we need to completely rethink how schools are approached. Our society is no longer about having knowledge, but about knowing how to find information quickly, so why are our schools still focused on the former?

Sugata Mitra, being a genius at TED.

     What I think Mitra gets so right is the total integration of schools and computers. Jobs in the future are going to be all about computers, and using them to make your life easier and better. So why then are they hardly used in school? Mitra brings up this point: our children now are using smartphones and tablets before and after school for all kinds of reasons and then we take them to school where they are not allowed to use them and instead given books.

     God bless you, Sugata Mitra, and your love of computers. If you want to be inspired, watch his entire award speech here.

     Computers are (and will continue) revolutionizing education and destroying ignorance everywhere.

     Computers - 3. Evil - 0.
   

An Explanation of Computers vs. Evil

The real Supercomputer.

     Computers vs. Evil is, in my mind, a self-explanatory title for a personal brand that I am building. Since it is personal, let me first give you some background about myself and in that way you will better understand the purpose, intention, and style of said blog.

     My name is Zach Rhodes. This is my last semester at the University of Northern Iowa, where I majoring in marketing. Marketing, for those of you that do not know, is where it's at. Particularly if you're interested in business but also have a creative side and/or personality. If you like to count beans, I'd recommend accounting.

Yes, that is me. 

     I am engaged to be married to the love of my life - Ellen. This is the most important aspect of my existence and I live to make her happy. Happy Day After Valentine's Day, my love!

Ain't she cute?

     I currently work on the Windows UCrew as brand ambassador for the university, which primarily consists of demonstrating the new Windows 8 Operating System to students - 1200 demos over the course of the school year, in case you were wondering. It is a terrific gig; in addition to being paid, I am given very capable instruments in which to blow student minds with (metaphorically, of course). For example, I am typing this post on my HP Spectre XT running Windows 8 Pro and mousing with my Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse, all thanks to this blessed internship. The point I'm trying to make here is that I'm a bit of a geek. Correction, a very big geek.

Blogging action shot. Coffee is a must. 

     Being a geek, I have a natural love for all things computers, including but not limited to: personal computers, tablets (which really should be considered personal computers), smartphones, and all peripheral attachments.

     I have a strong passion for people and helping people in need. It is my belief, and truly a fact, that if everyone who is able would give generously, whether it be time or possessions or money, that all of the strife and sadness in this world would be eliminated.

     It is my passion for humanity and love for computers that I am combining here to create Computers vs. Evil, a personal brand focused on the positive impact of computers on society, and how computers, software, and the internet are being used to help people and improve society in a variety of ways; whether it is for education, health, efficiency, happiness, social, economical, or even more creative purposes.

     So if a blog devoted to creative ways computers are being used for good, then this is the blog for you. Thanks for reading and look forward to many future posts on computers absolutely destroying evil.

(Disclaimer: I realize this post, being my 2nd post, should probably have just been my first post; but as is life - chaotic and disordered - so is this blog.)

   

Skype - Bringing Military Families Closer than Ever

       Everyone, probably from cinema, is familiar with that classic romantic notion of a young, handsome soldier far overseas trading letters with his head-over-heels love interest back home, both of them patiently waiting months for the next reply - faithfully checking the mailbox each day.

Source: Yum Kippur War Thread

     As transportation advanced and mail became more logistical, the rate at which the respective significant other would receive the latest affectionate letter increased greatly, and then with the invention of the telephone - communication in real-time became possible for these geographically-separated couples. 

     With internet came e-mail, and while that has also drastically changed communication between our two lovers, the greatest tool at their disposal is now the videoconference. The hero and heroine of this narrative can now Skype. 

     Skype, having 663 million users globally in 2011, is the most widely recognized videoconference brand.  With Skype one can videoconference for free from one country to another, with just a computer, webcam, and high-speed internet access.

     The ability for the average person to hear, speak to, and see another person that is miles away from them is a truly incredible feat - a phenomenon that has never been possible for the entirety of history and all previous societies and people.

Photo taken by the U.S. Army

     Imagine how powerful that is to a military family, with a mom or dad overseas. Indeed, Skype is bringing these families closer, and allowing soldiers to participate in events back home from the other side of the world.

     There is some concern, mostly pertaining to whether such direct family contact can be distracting to a soldier that needs to stay focused, but you cannot help but feel good inside when a soldier gets to see his son's birth (and talk his wife through her contractions) in Iowa from the Middle East, real-time.

     Now, I do not entirely know how I feel about the Skype weddings - they are certainly unique - but do point out the scope of this young communication form.

     Computers everywhere are using Skype to bring the son to his father, the wife to her husband; allowing military families to be closer than ever.

     Computers - 1. Evil - 0.