Re: cable, DSL, and sunspots

[flash flash@xxxxxxxx]

Y'all,

≪backhoes and things. Well, there's always satellite!
Which is particularly vulnerable to sunspot activity.≫

Now there's one thing we _can't_ blame on Bill Gates!


BTW, for those who may have wondered about the IP addresses you commonly
see pre-configured on DSL routers, gateways, and firewalls which begin
with 192.168.x.x, this is one of three IP address ranges reserved for
private LANs by the Internet authorities. The other reserved ranges are
from 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.0.0, and 10.0.0.0. An address from one of
these ranges is to be configured on the LAN-side of your
router/firewall, while the WAN-side receives an official IP address from
the service provider (usually a temporary one, via DHCP). Many
manufacturers choose one of the private addresses for the LAN-side as a
default setting so that you can configure their devices via browser.

Historical aside: the original Internet, called the ARPANET, ran under
U.S. federal funding until it was sold to private carriers in 1984. The
ARPANET used the 10.0.0.0 address range, and when the ARPANET was
disbanded, the 10.0.0.0 range came up for grabs, so to say, and was
reserved for private use. The Senator who oversaw that transaction--the
privatization of the ARPANET--was Al Gore. Name sound familiar?