“The More I Find Out, The Less I Know”
Bandwidth Caps?
Some cable modem providers are starting to impose bandwidth caps on heavy users. There is a much better technological solution.
I won't deny that the problem is real. Heavy Internet use creates a burden on the network, and slows it down for everyone. And, if the usage patterns for cable modem subscribers are similar to other areas, a very small number of heavy users accounts for a large percentage of the total traffic. Getting 1% of the users to cut back could free up 10%, 20%, maybe even 50% of the network for everyone else.
The problem is that broadband ISP's market themselves as having "unlimited" usage, and they generally don't publish any particular amount of network use which is excessive.
Crossing the Line
There's a certain point when a child (or a grownup, for that matter) who has done something wrong realizes that he's not just in trouble, he's really in trouble.
Yesterday, our older son Scooter (who is four and a half) was playing quietly downstairs while She Who Puts Up With Me was napping, and I was reading. The twins, Skeeter and Scamper, were also napping. A calm, restful time in the DFN household. Too quiet, as they say in bad detective movies.
Then She Who Puts Up With Me went downstairs.
Stock Trading: Speed vs. Price
There's a tradeoff between speed and price when buying or selling stock. In the U.S., our markets favor trading quickly rather than getting the best price for investors....and I don't think a lot of small investors understand this. Should market orders be banned?
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal today about the SEC examining how the stock markets work and whether it is better for investors to get the best possible price when they trade stock, or to get their trades done quickly.
About time!