Technical [was: SYMPOSIUM TEAM CASE ANOTHER ANGLE}

[Shannon Nelson]

Hi Andy,

Yes, thanks for this motivating note!
Speaking of technical problems, I'm resigned to upgrading from dial-up, but
find "too many options"... Can anyone offer input as to whether the
"slowest" DSL is adequate (128K), or 338k, or 768k, and whether there's any
performance difference between DSL (which speed?) and cable? Arghhh...

Thanks,
Shannon
on 6/6/04 6:06 PM, andyh@mcn.org at andyh@mcn.org wrote:

[Rosemary C Hyde PhD]

I think in general the faster the connection the better, but any "high speed" connection would be adequate. I have an ordinary, basic DSL connection, and there were times in viewing the case that it slowed down or stopped, and I had to go directly into the movie software instead of watching the screen on the website (I clicked on the "
quicktime" icon, another smaller screen opened up, and that seemed to work -- I don't know enough about the technology to know why). I understand that transmission speed over cable lines is more variable than over phone lines, but again, I suspect that whatever "broadband" (i.e. not dial-up) connection that's available will work well enough.

While we're on this subject -- Participating in that team effort case was a really wonderful experience. And Jeremy Sherr's presentation of how he has decided to handle the case and the way he arrived at his conclusions (the conference call June 6) was one of the most useful and enlightening homeopathic presentations I've heard, from anyone.

I agree with Joy that it seems a bit over the top to require people to pay to participate in such efforts. On the other hand, there are expenses involved, and lots of time and effort, in making the connections so that people can participate, and the person doing the work should not have to suffer financially for his good efforts. So, on balance, it makes sense to ask for participation in the costs. Yes, it felt good to think that someone would be helped. And yes, it was a wonderful learning experience reading everyone's analyses and ways of thinking, and hearing Jeremy's masterful approach to case analysis.

Malcolm Smith, the mastermind of Homeopathic Symposium has, in my opinion, acted intelligently and for the greater good in opening up this electronic forum for the homeopathic community. We will all benefit from its success, whatever our level of expertise.

He needs it to produce a certain level of revenue in order to continue spending his time and efforts on it and to cover its expenses. What would happen if we acted as a community, and found ways to support him so that the forum evolves in ways that will promote high level discussion and greater communication across national boundaries in the homeopathic community? What suggestions would we have, and how could we spread the word to teachers, students, and practitioners so that as many as possible begin to participate in the symposium and make it a resounding success for all of us?

Minutus is often a wonderful forum for learning, and the symposium, in my opinion, can provide a different level and form of learning to compliment the great benefits we receive from participating in the Minutus discussions.

Rosemary

[Dave Hartley]

In general, cable has the potential to surpass even the fastest DSL by
up to 3x in speed.
If you are in the U.S., see this site for speed/reliability reports on
many vendors in your area.
http://www.dslreports.com/
If you are in an area with Comcast as the cable provider, I've had very
good experience with them, and download speeds up to 3.5Mbps (5x faster
than 768k DSL)

David Hartley www.holistiq.com
(510)776-5914
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