cables

While we may connect to the 'net wirelessly and painlessly, maintaining the thousands of miles of undersea and buried cable -- and the rest of the net's physical infrastructure -- is a huge task. In this episode of Cocktail Party Science, host Chuck Cage sits down with Deputy Editor Jake Ward and Who Protects the Internet? author James Geary to discuss the protection of the internet in its physical form.

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For the past five years, John Rennie has braved the towering waves of the North Atlantic Ocean to keep your e-mail coming to you. As chief submersible engineer aboard the Wave Sentinel, part of the fleet operated by U.K.-based undersea installation and maintenance firm Global Marine Systems, Rennie--a congenial, 6'4", 57-year-old Scotsman--patrols the seas, dispatching a remotely operated submarine deep below the surface to repair undersea cables. The cables, thick as fire hoses and packed with fiber optics, run everywhere along the seafloor, ferrying phone and Web traffic from continent to continent at the speed of light.

The cables regularly fail. On any given day, somewhere in the world there is the nautical equivalent of a hit and run when a cable is torn by fishing nets or sliced by dragging anchors. If the mishap occurs in the Irish Sea, the North Sea or the North Atlantic, Rennie comes in to splice the break together.

Like perfect cellphone reception, wireless HDMI is a radio technology that’s long been promised and has shown little sign of materializing. But finally, it’s here. Gefen’s HDMI UWB Extender is not the first high-def A/V streamer to hit the US. (Sony’s Bravia Wireless Link has that distinction). But it’s the first that can fully replace an HDMI cable by offering up to 1080 progressive HD video.

For the vast majority of us, few are the occasions when our opinions matter in any meaningful way. Say what you will about the importance of teaching your children, or being in charge of your office budget or participating in the voting process, but the sad reality is that your wisdom is an underutilized asset… except when it comes to your tech savvy. If youre reading this, its your responsibility to go out in the world and evangelize against the temptations of bad tech gear.