Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> What IP does is provide a single language for networking. 

So does every network. And the IP stack doesn't support all sorts of stuff 
that other networks do.  You're just expressing a tautology.

> Any networking 
> technology that has a standardised way of carrying IP can potentially be 
> interconnected with any other such technology.

And any networking technology that has a standardized way of carrying SONET 
can be interconnected with any other such technology. Any networking 
technology that has a standardized way of carrying ISDN can be 
interconnected with any other such technology. Any networking ... X.25 ... 
Etc etc etc.

>  From what little I remember, before that we had IPX and SPX and 
> AppleTalk and Ethernet and Token Ring and none of it worked together.

Yet, at the same time we had X.25, voice dialing over *analog connections* 
using *human beings* as routers worked just fine worldwide.

Something which IP still doesn't support well. Along with roaming. And 
address portability.

> And besides, why waste time and energy laying a dozen sets of cables 
> when one will do?

Money. Why waste time and energy with multiple search engines?

> So if the post office hadn't been a monopoly, and there had been a dozen 
> different postal companies all start at the same time, they would have 
> all used the same postcodes?

No. But over a fairly short time, that would have sorted itself out.

>> Why would post codes need a monopoly if phone numbers, IP addresses, 
>> and MAC addresses don't?
> 
> Are you telling me that IP addresses don't involve a monopoly?

Yes.  Who served the IP address to your machine?  Time Warner San Diego? I 
doubt it.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
    Ada - the programming language trying to avoid
    you literally shooting yourself in the foot.

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