Impromptus

Networks researchers care a lot about layers. “Such and such really belongs at the application layer…”, “That’s really a MAC layer issue”, “Don’t mess with the IP layer”, “ATM sucks because it breaks lots of forms of layering”, and many others can be commonly heard. Not only that, but there’s a common network hourglass idea [...]

When you are performing research, there is a tradeoff. You start out trying to investigate a problem, but you end up mostly looking where the light is. Research extends existing knowledge. You might be looking for your keys: but we have no flashlights, so you are forced to look where the light is. Perhaps you [...]

Anytime someone claims to be a capitalist and then starts talking about how labeling laws are unnecessary and wrong really pisses me off. The whole theory is based on infinitesimal buyers and sellers each maximizing their own profit levels through mutually beneficial exchanges based on perfect information. Take away any one of those things, and [...]

I was reading a mailing list I’m subscribed to and I saw the following The people already doing this probably consider this trivial, so it’s not well documented. This statement is both very true, and very awful. There are lots of things that people who know only a little find terrifyingly complicated – too complicated [...]

So I’m supposed to be doing research in networks. I have been reading all of these cool papers about integrated vs. differentiated services and all of this other hoo-hah, and I’ve realized that I don’t care about networking. Most of the insteresting problems have been solved. No, what I care about it the internet. Until [...]