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Have a Virtual Donut on Me...

Dear Members and Constituents,
Staring into their crystal balls, pundits see 3D TV as the next big step for the medium. A couple of steps down the road they envision holographic TV (like 3D TV, except the person sitting next to you sees a different angle of the image than you do). While both of these technologies sound pretty cool, neither can begin to do a donut (or any food for that matter) justice. To be fully enjoyed, a donut must be physically present. Unfortunately, none of the pundits are putting teleportation on the roadmap just yet. I can envision it now. Donuts for everyone (even on black Friday). Can you imagine the bandwidth it would take to deliver a donut to each of you (instead of this lousy 2D replica)? I’d speculate we’re talking terabits, perhaps even petabits (which, when added together, would make the term “exaflood” a laughable relic of the past). Granted, there would probably be “low resolution” teleportation available –which might be adequate for simple objects over wireless connections (think Starship Enterprise), still, surely fiber is the only medium which could adequately render teleportation practical at any meaningful scale (even after you factor in compression).

In any event, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you’re enjoying the long weekend. I also hope you can make time today to stop by a donut store and get yourself the real deal.

Happy Friday!

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