Abstract:
“When,” asked my wife, “will the promised day arrive? When will all that new TV cable get me
to the internet without wasting dial-up time?” As usual, I agreed to research her question. The
answer surprised us. The promised day arrived two weeks ago. Installation by Jones Communications of Reston’s new cable infrastructure was completed as the Year 2000 rolled in: a Y2K bonus. At about the same time, Jones Communications took the name of its controlling stockholder in 1999, Comcast Corporation, the third largest U.S. cable company. And at about the same time, Comcast began renting and selling cable modems to Restonians, permitting instant computer access to the World Wide Web.
