We told you it was coming
Given the enormous strain that the iPhone has put on the AT&T data service (see previous posts for some hinting of this…it happens when you travel time like I do), the CEO of AT&T’s mobile division, Ralph de la Vega (a/k/a Zorro) put out some more definitive statements reinforcing this potential policy change:
We are going to make sure incentives are in place to reduce or modify [data]uses so they don’t crowd out others in the same cell sites. AT&T has found that only 3% of its smartphone users — primarily iPhone owners — are responsible for 40% of total data usage, largely for video and audio.
AT&T has formed focus groups to try to figure out a course forward. Given that Americans “consumed” 34 Gigabytes of data per day in 2008, I wonder how easily AT&T is going to modify people’s behavior. One might think that maybe we should get away from this behavior modification mindset that seems to be invading all aspects of our lives and instead engineer solutions that accept behavior as we, as humans, adapt to new technologies. Anyone else see a parallel to this? Maybe it’s just me.
GorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and return it to the past for retroinvention. The profits from this pay all the Gormogons’ bills, including subsidizing this website. Some of the products he has introduced from the future include oven mitts, the Guinness widget, Oxy-Clean, and Dr. Pepper. Due to his immense cybernetic brain, GorT is able to produce a post in 0.023 seconds and research it in even less time. Only ’Puter spends less time on research. GorT speaks entirely in zeros and ones, but occasionally throws in a ڭ to annoy the Volgi. He is a massive proponent of science, technology, and energy development, and enjoys nothing more than taking the Czar’s more interesting scientific theories, going into the past, publishing them as his own, and then returning to take credit for them. He is the only Gormogon who is capable of doing math. Possessed of incredible strength, he understands the awesome responsibility that follows and only uses it to hurt people.