Quote:
Originally Posted by Ortep
I can choose from several power companies also. But that makes no difference. It is only an adminstrative matter. They sell me energy, not the way to get it. The powerlines I cannot choose, the voltage I cannot choose, the frequency I cannot choose. There are much better options than 240 Volts 50 Hz. But I cannot get them. I'm completely stuck with them. And so are you. We have no control.
And I can also choose my doctor and hospital. If I have the time do do so. In an emergency they bring me to the nearest place (as they should). And some insurance companies only let you go to certain hospitals and certain doctors. But the treatment is always according to protocol. A protocol I have no control over (I don't want to, they know better what to do than I do)
The internet is as it is. I cannot change that. I'm not talking about the data, but about the way it works. I have no control over the way data is sent around the world. I can choose my ISP. But there are only two ways it can reach my home. By cable or by phoneline. The cable is a monopoly. The phone is not. BUT it is the same problem as with the powerlines. I can choose my ISP. But not the copper lines. I have no control over them
The way you look at the internet is that you can change the information on it. That is thru. But that is also the case with books. The mobi bookformat is as the way it works. The story in the book is what you can influence
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And now you confuse open systems with standards. If you wanted, you could make your own electricity and make it a standard. And i am not saying a standard has to be the best that is out there, but with a standard, you can have in case of energy for example severlas sources of energy, that contribute to the whole. You can be a source yourself, when you know, how to contribute. Everyone can connect to the powergrid, because they know how, and there is a standard which allows to interconnect the grids. So while you cannot choose the standard, you can choose the means to connect and what sources you use. And you could participate yourself. So the system is not controlled by a single entity.