The internet is over!

[Undertoad]

Just throught of something - this voice-detection technology can't *possibly* tell the difference between voice used for conversation and voice used for voice communication in gaming. Because it'll be identical. Think the gamers can't put 2 and 2 together? You're wrong.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Just throught of something - this voice-detection technology can't *possibly* tell the difference between voice used for conversation and voice used for voice communication in gaming. Because it'll be identical. Think the gamers can't put 2 and 2 together? You're wrong.

I suspect you are missing one important fact. This voice-detection technology can identify each Skype VoIP packet and each Comcast VoIP packet. Therefore Comcast VoIP packets remain undisturbed whereas Skype packets are skewed (distorted).

This technology is in use in other countries (ie Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany (Vodaphone), France (SFR), and also in South America and Asia) where the local phone monopoly was being undercut by VoIP technology. When used in the US, most consumers would blame Skype for a lousy product; switch to Comcast or the Baby Bell's VoIP instead.

As the article notes, Comcast refuses to acknowledge or deny that they are using software they have already purchased. As the article notes, FCC recently said DSL providers can also do same. Software that can selectively skew competitors IP packets while leaving Comcast packets undisturbed.

Above is in direct contradiction to what UT has suggested - that the internet is nothing more than IP packets. Significant power exists in being a large IP provider. That IP provider can, for example, time shift packets from small competition. That service degradation (to promote a big ISP's higher level products) is all quite legal. All part of an effort by large communication companies to, for example, keep smaller competition from using their existing infrastructure - a reversal of open competition demanded by the 1996 Communication Act.