3 chapters across the catalog
A retrospective on Pointcast, a popular 1990s screensaver that delivered news and stock prices, describes how the service frequently overwhelmed corporate network bandwidth. Despite a $450 million acquisition offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in 1997, the company's founders held out for more money before the product eventually failed.
A host describes upgrading to a 5-gigabit symmetrical fiber connection, noting significant improvements in audio quality and latency for the podcast recording. The conversation transitions into a retrospective on networking history, including 56k modems, ISDN, and the technical limitations of T1 lines. An anecdote is shared regarding Pacific Telephone technicians and the persistent issue of squirrels chewing through capsicum-laced wire coatings.
Cyber Squirrels, T1 Lines, and Capsicum Wiring
Gavin McMahon shares a link to CyberSquirrel1.com, a site tracking animal-induced infrastructure outages. One host recounts a story from the era of T1 and ADSL competition where a company added capsicum to wire insulation to deter squirrels. The plan failed when the squirrels developed a taste for the spicy chemical and continued chewing the wires.
