May 20, 2008
Will Videos Cripple Internet?
Videos clips, movies, games, and social networks are becoming a problem for the existence of the internet. These fun features of the internet are doing as much harm as they are good. Of course they provide entertainment but at the same time are causing much of internet bandwidth problems that are happening. Videos and movies can use various amounts of bandwidth depending on the length of the video and the resolution it is in. A one minute video clip with medium resolution can use up to 2MB. If the same video is in another format, it could consume as much as 20MB. If there is a twenty minute long video, it could consume as much as 400MB. Analysts also believe that a single video-sharing site used as much bandwidth as the whole rest of the internet.
The problem lies where the users of the internet think that there is unlimited space when that isn’t the case. Research gathered last year states that by 2011, internet use will far exceed the network capacity. That raises the question of whether or not that will be the end of the internet. Internet researchers believe that the internet will still exist but will be slower and less enjoyable for users. It will also decrease the activities that could be done on the internet like the viewing of movies. Professor Andrew M Odlyzko of the University of Minnesota says that the traffic on the web is increasing by 50% per year. With that being said, the belief is that with the way technology is increasing today, the internet will survive the bandwidth problem. Another resolution to the situation is the metering of bandwidth space similar to that of electricity or water. That would just mean more money to spend on the use of what we thought was unlimited virtual space.
Analysis
It is inevitable that people will continue to use the internet regardless of the bandwidth problems they may encounter. Part of the problem is that users of the internet do not realize that there are issues with the bandwidth that they are using. A possible solution would be to educate internet users of the excessive use of virtual space. If the internet users become aware of these issues, it could cause them to think twice before downloading movies or anything that uses excessive amounts of megabytes. In regards to the metering of bandwidth, I do not think it will ever occur. Technology is always making progress and will not allow for the decline of internet usage. Overall, I think we need to be more conscious of how we use the internet and what we download.
Videos clips, movies, games, and social networks are becoming a problem for the existence of the internet. These fun features of the internet are doing as much harm as they are good. Of course they provide entertainment but at the same time are causing much of internet bandwidth problems that are happening. Videos and movies can use various amounts of bandwidth depending on the length of the video and the resolution it is in. A one minute video clip with medium resolution can use up to 2MB. If the same video is in another format, it could consume as much as 20MB. If there is a twenty minute long video, it could consume as much as 400MB. Analysts also believe that a single video-sharing site used as much bandwidth as the whole rest of the internet.
The problem lies where the users of the internet think that there is unlimited space when that isn’t the case. Research gathered last year states that by 2011, internet use will far exceed the network capacity. That raises the question of whether or not that will be the end of the internet. Internet researchers believe that the internet will still exist but will be slower and less enjoyable for users. It will also decrease the activities that could be done on the internet like the viewing of movies. Professor Andrew M Odlyzko of the University of Minnesota says that the traffic on the web is increasing by 50% per year. With that being said, the belief is that with the way technology is increasing today, the internet will survive the bandwidth problem. Another resolution to the situation is the metering of bandwidth space similar to that of electricity or water. That would just mean more money to spend on the use of what we thought was unlimited virtual space.
Analysis
It is inevitable that people will continue to use the internet regardless of the bandwidth problems they may encounter. Part of the problem is that users of the internet do not realize that there are issues with the bandwidth that they are using. A possible solution would be to educate internet users of the excessive use of virtual space. If the internet users become aware of these issues, it could cause them to think twice before downloading movies or anything that uses excessive amounts of megabytes. In regards to the metering of bandwidth, I do not think it will ever occur. Technology is always making progress and will not allow for the decline of internet usage. Overall, I think we need to be more conscious of how we use the internet and what we download.
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