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Network Time Protocol (NTP) is an Internet standard protocol designed over 25 years ago and still under constant development. NTP synchronises devises on a network to a single timing source. If time on a network is not synchronised when applications are conducted over the Internet unintended results can occur such as email being received before it was sent or time sensitive applications failing.

Proprietary systems abound; just take Apple for instance. Ever try to really do anything with iTunes that wasn’t Apple oriented? While that is probably a poor analogy, let’s look at it this way. Sirius radios are proprietary. This means that you must have a Sirius radio to listen to their programming (unless you’re getting it online). So, what’s the problem with that, you ask? Plenty of folks feel that Sirius (and XM) should adopt an open access solution, perhaps helped along by the FCC.

So, what does all that mean to consumers? It means plenty. For instance, it would open up the market to manufacturers who want to build radios that can receive Sirius signals. What does that mean for Sirius? No doubt they are concerned about not selling as many radios. However, it also means that they would receive the subscription fees for each consumer using a different company’s radio. It opens up the market to an enormous degree, allowing other companies to provide radio solutions to consumers, while still providing revenues to the coffers of Sirius and XM.

What do consumers stand to gain? Again, they stand to gain plenty. Think about it this way. What if the Internet were closed access? What if a single company (or two) held the only means of accessing the web, through modems or another device? There would only be two options for consumers to turn to for both their access hardware and their content. Open access satellite radio would provide enormous completion in the industry, driving down the costs of radios. And again, Sirius would still stand to profit from the subscription fees from all of those consumers who used a different brand of radio.

It may be a moot point, though. With the looming merger, the FCC may mandate open access as part of the deal. Quite a few consumers would be incredibly happy with that particular option. Competition is a healthy part of any industry. It eliminates monopolies and puts all parties on a level playing ground. Additionally, it provides consumers with protection against overpriced hardware, though, thus far, Sirius products have been relatively affordable.

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It is a question that has perplexed philosophers and scientists since the dawn of man, ‘what exactly is time?’ and it has only been in our recent history that we have started to discover answers, thanks to Einstein and his work on special and general relativity. We now know time is not the abstract concept we first thought it was, we also know it is not constant and is relative to different observers throughout the universe with the speed of light being the only constant in the universe.