Skip to main content Screen Reader Website Version

The Low Down on Net Neutrality

What they heck is it? Most people don’t know it past the slogan .. and that’s what it is, a slogan. Net neutrality does not mean ‘left alone”, there’s nothing laissez faire about it. It does mean oversight, more oversight of the Internet than currently exists.

The advocating net neutrality want all data to be created equal. This means that Internet Service Providers ((ISPs) can not discriminate between certain data types or feeds. They oppose the creation of ‘fast lanes’ by ISPs that will have some traffic flowing freely but restrict speeds on other types of traffic. For instance, movies versus text/image websites.

??????????????????????Opposition to net neutrality state that they system has worked fine so far, so why do we need legislation in the first place. ISPs discriminate against data all the time to ensure certain quality of service standards, and it has little to no effect on the consumer. Additionally, it appears that you would want ISPs to be able to fast lane certain traffic. Why does it always have to be a negative thing? Why couldn’t this benefit the consumer? My videos may come to me faster than a text website, I’m fine with that. And don’t we already fast lane our data – ISPs have different speed packages. You pay more, you get more speed… sometimes.

So which side are you on. It appears that everyone would want the Internet just to be the Internet, stop fussing with it. But if ISPs are dead set on limiting my user experience (not sure why they would be) I’m certain there will a piece of technology ready to fill that demand gap. Personally, I’m not very worried if they don’t enact net neutrality. I’ve been looking for a great reason to dump my ISP anyway.

More Web Design Blog Content

CSS Animation, The New Flash?

I’ve used it, so I am not immune to the pull of CSS animation, but what are we doing here folks? Used sparingly, CSS animation is at best a small way to augment conversions (button wiggle), but at worst it is a resource hog that destroys readability and

TradePMR has a new website

A really great client – TradePMR – just launched their new super awesome, totally spectacular, mobile responsive website! We worked with their staff for the last 8 weeks to put together an entirely new online experience for their customers. Livewire will be conducting conversion optimization audits over the

Review: Total Cache WordPress Plugin ★★★★

An easy plugin for WordPress that does all your caching for you automatically. What is caching? A cache essentially takes a screenshot of your page and keeps it in local memory. When that page is called (by a user visiting it) then it is called up from the

Project Gutenburg

Every heard of it? If not, make sure to check it out. They have tons of books online, free for anybody. Our favorite? A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/86 Got a smartphone? Just download a free e-reader and you’re all set. Download the

OpenCart CCBill Payment Module ★★★★

4 Stars for this plugin. It worked, that part is true but we had to make some modifications and there were some syntax issues with the PHP. Overall though, a solid plugin for opencart and the ONLY one we found worth a darn for CCBill. We think our

Some Homepage Best Practices

Building an effective website begins with a well-designed home page. Because it’s the first thing people see, the homepage must make a nice impression while also pointing the user in the right direction. If you want your homepage to be successful, you should follow these guidelines. Make sure