> But the point is another. The point is that if someone had 
> made a calculation in 1980 what it costs to send information 
> via letter from A to B and what it costs to maintain that 
> network to do the same, they would have concluded that 
> creating the infrastructure for that network is wasted money. 
> In the same way as people conclude that creating a network 
> infrastructure of public transport is wasted money. 
> 
> There is not much that's fundamentally different between the 
> creation of the network of streets and roads for automobiles, 
> the network of data exchange called Internet or a network of 
> public transport. In the creation phase, it is never 
> cost-efficient and needs targeted investment (usually public 
> money). Only when a certain "critical mass" of general 
> coverage is achieved, the real value starts to appear. Until 
> then it just looks like a waste of resources.
> 
> Gerhard


That is a pretty brilliant point. Worth reading a couple times. It shows
where solid leadership is important. Right now the DARPA Grand Challenge has
shown that robotic vehicles are possible and the military will probably put
them in service in the next several years. And a few years after that, it
will start to trickle out to the civilian population. Now, if you think of
each robot car as a "packet"... Suddenly people who load balance servers or
make routers for a living have a whole new marketplace.

---
James.
 

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