Fibre optics

Apparently fibre optics go back over a century but it wasn't until the 1960s that the idea of using them to carry information instead of metal wire was proposed and it took another 25 years before the theory became economic reality.

The wonderful irony about fibre optics is that my mother-in-law ordered a fibre optic hook up to her house for her move in this August. Orange her company sent the box and said it would be enabled with a few days of the move-in, and then postponed the connection by a month, and then another month and so on... She gave up and ordered ADSL from them over the copper wires, which was enabled in a few days even though it's obsolete and unsupported technology now. The insult is then the called her back to ask why she didn't have fibre? well what do you say? There is fibre in the street and the closes junction box is on a pole about 3.5 metres from her house - if it's windy the cables actually flap over her property!

The use in this blip is back to their original novelty use... in this case as a Xmas decoration.