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Winston

In 2009 a pigeon named Winston raced Welkom, South
Africa' s largest ISP, to see who could deliver GGB of data
to a location 60 miles away the fastest. By the time
Winston arrived with the GGB flash drive, Welkom had
transmitted only 4% of the data.
...
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Views: 44766
Favorited: 83
Submitted: 09/08/2015
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[ 122 comments ]
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+546
#6 - jaevel (09/08/2015) [-]
Alright! Now all we need is to find a way to make those pigeons digital, so we can use them to transfer information across the internet at record speed!
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-76
#84 to #6 - fedoralover (09/09/2015) [-]
or jew could just use a pony

ponys are faster anyway
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+21
#88 to #84 - thejusticar (09/09/2015) [-]
i think we are going to hear a story about a dude on the news, who died of unknown sources and they found over 1000 pictures of ponys ******** in diapers and pissing.
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+3
#97 to #84 - lickmeforfree (09/09/2015) [-]
Beyond gods power, he lefted you unfinished
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+2
#92 to #84 - anon (09/09/2015) [-]
How the **** are you not banned?
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0
User avatar #105 to #92 - enlightednatzie (09/09/2015) [-]
A pony ******** itself in a diaper is sfw if the genitals are covered. In this case its a diaper full of **** but still, its sfw.
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+4
#85 to #6 - falloutvictim (09/09/2015) [-]
forget robot chicken...

have robot p[pigeon
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+110
User avatar #25 to #6 - captainprincess ONLINE (09/08/2015) [-]
DigiPidgi
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+81
#12 - eddio (09/08/2015) [-]
As a South African, I can confirm this. Telkom are the largest and by far the most incompetent pieces of ******* **** ISPs this side of the Hemisphere.
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+1
User avatar #98 to #12 - catburglarpenis (09/09/2015) [-]
So are you excited now that you can finally print food and feed your village?

It's a joke son, I know most of South Africa isn't all tribes.

It's all ******* .
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User avatar #106 to #98 - eddio (09/09/2015) [-]
Don't worry, most people here are raised with a sense of humour.

As for food, we have a local Elephant enclosure, the yearly cull feeds us for 6 months. The rest of the year we're on our own.
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User avatar #111 to #106 - catburglarpenis (09/09/2015) [-]
Woah really? That kicks ass. I would be all typical American and say "I just go to a store", but actually I get locally raised grass fed raw milk and lamb sausage from a farm nearby and free range eggs, mainly because I can afford it. Over in Europe I hear the grain fed **** is actually more expensive.

No matter which way you slice it, it's cheaper to get fat people foods in 'Merica. It's not cheaper to BE fat mind you, but it is cheaper to EAT fat. I remember all the vegetable varieties I used to have access to in South Korea... ahh memories
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User avatar #113 to #111 - eddio (09/09/2015) [-]
Now it's my turn to say

It's a joke son, we don't eat Elephant over here

gotcha, we also have stores and such over here. I live in a city, and I'm within walking distance of a grocery, there's plenty of meat and normal shopping stuff over here The food is also quite cheap but the portions are more on par with European sizes, way smaller than US portions.

I can't say I've eaten Elephant before, but I do eat dried buck (deer) meat quite often. I've also had ostrich steak but that tasted disgusting.
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User avatar #117 to #113 - catburglarpenis (09/10/2015) [-]
Yeah I hear ostrich is red meat, which makes it that much more disappointing to hear that it's gross. Alligator is white (ish) meat and it's delicious, you cook it like chicken. Say hi to my little brother if you're ever down near Djibouti, he just got deployed there. I almost got deployed there myself but through a series of unfortunate events managed to duck it. Tell him where to go to have fun down that way, the rest of the soldiers don't know what the hell they do once they hit The Horn.
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+17
#14 to #12 - jaevel (09/08/2015) [-]
As a north European. I honestly have a hard time imagining how life is for a south African who has access to internet so he/she can go on FJ. I'm not trying to be rude, but my north equator mind just can't grasp the idea.

How is it like to be an South African, Eddio? Tell me your secrets if you will.

Picture is somewhat related and not*
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+28
User avatar #18 to #14 - eddio (09/08/2015) [-]
Well, luckily, we're the most developed country in Africa. We have decent roads, good infrastructure, decentish internet (Though it's now years behind first world countries). A lot of that is thanks to the strong economy left by the previous government, it was good when they left, because apartheid and all, but now it's slowly slipping ever downwards into another African tribal state.

As it is it's livable, I'm lucky enough to have a decent job and live in a neighbourhood that's more first world than most of the country. I am moving soon to Scotland thanks to having a lot of relatives of Scottish origin, because it becomes more and more uncomfortable to live here by the day.

TLR it's bearable for now, but I need to GTFO soon
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+12
#19 to #18 - jaevel (09/08/2015) [-]
Good to hear, hope you make it out in time! Here's for the future!
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+11
#21 to #19 - eddio (09/08/2015) [-]
Thanks for the encouraging words, I look forward to not having my **** stolen every other week once I get there!
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+3
#56 to #21 - trapclap (09/09/2015) [-]
Come to the US, we have Perigee's and Chili Cheese dogs
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+2
User avatar #59 to #56 - manza (09/09/2015) [-]
This sounds like a New York thing, is it?
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#114 to #59 - trapclap (09/09/2015) [-]
Perogies? Yea, they're big in areas with a history of large immigrations from Central and Eastern Europe. From the Wiki: "They are particularly common in areas with large Polish, Ukrainian, or Ruthene populations, such as Buffalo, Chicago, Omaha, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey in the US." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi#North_America
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+1
#57 to #56 - trapclap (09/09/2015) [-]
perogies*
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+2
User avatar #100 to #21 - nigeltheoutlaw (09/09/2015) [-]
Why don't you guys have firearms? If my country was devolving into a hellhole I'd be packing heat 24/7 and be ready to use it. Nobody should be able to take your **** or your home.
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User avatar #108 to #100 - eddio (09/09/2015) [-]
It's completely legal to own a firearm. The laws concerning that are very clear that you can. We have a Vektor SP1 and a Walther PPK sitting in the house for just that reason. You can own any weapon you want short of it being fully automatic or a rocket launcher, or a mortar. We even allow concealed carry and business licenses.
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#118 to #108 - nigeltheoutlaw has deleted their comment [-]
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User avatar #119 to #118 - eddio (09/10/2015) [-]
Oh, I thought you were talking about South Africa. No, it's still illegal in Britain.
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User avatar #120 to #119 - nigeltheoutlaw (09/10/2015) [-]
**** , no I just mixed you up with another guy. I meant why aren't you killing these ***** with said guns. If they sit in the house then they aren't helping you.
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User avatar #121 to #120 - eddio (09/10/2015) [-]
We've been trying to get a concealed carry license, but the bureaucracy here is slower than most.
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+3
User avatar #32 to #18 - scowler (09/08/2015) [-]
Isn't South Africa the most violent "Democracy" in the world, though?
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+8
User avatar #36 to #32 - eddio (09/08/2015) [-]
Generally speaking, yes. But the violence is very specifically targeted depending on the situation. Crime is generally terrible, in fact I had my phone pickpocketed today, my sister has been hijacked twice last year, my whole family was hijacked a few months ago, and there have been 3 armed robberies in the past month in my 2 block large neighbourhood. Most of the "violent" crime spawns from union strikes and dissatisfaction, eg, there was a postal strike last year, and any postal worker that tried to go to work would be attacked, some were killed. Same with a trucking industry strike, then there was a mining strike which resulted in a ton of deaths after miners opened fire on police. We have the highest number of rapes per capita, one of the highest hijackings, one of the highest rates of police corruption (you can seriously give a cop the equivalent of 5 USD to get out of a ticket), one of the highest numbers of drunk drivers (Who usually get off scot free if they have bribing money), the list goes on.

Yeah, **** is very bad down here, but you get used to it, which makes it bearable. The thing is that it's slowly getting worse and worse, which means that you're less and less able to get used to it, which is why I'm so glad I'm leaving.
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+1
User avatar #60 to #18 - greyhoundfd (09/09/2015) [-]
I NEED THE TRUTH: Are there, in fact, actual mass-attacks against whites in South Africa now that Apartheid has ended, or is that a myth?
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User avatar #107 to #60 - eddio (09/09/2015) [-]
It's largely a myth. A lot of black on white violence very much does exist, but it isn't anywhere near a genocidal level. It's more of a specifically targeted crime. A black guy may commit a hijacking or a robbery, but he usually won't be specific about who he targets, it will usually be whoever looks like they have the worst home security, or the nicest car.

You'll find that most black people here are friendly, and have a community mindset. The Venda culture, for example, are comprised of incredibly friendly and helpful people.

That's not to say that there aren't a lot of dickheads sitting around, but you'll find that most of those are based out of townships.
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User avatar #115 to #107 - greyhoundfd (09/09/2015) [-]
I kinda figured that this was the case. Good to know that I was right and /pol/ was wrong.
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User avatar #116 to #115 - eddio (09/09/2015) [-]
Don't believe schnizels half truths. The last time there was massive violence specifically directed towards white people was in the late 80s and early 90s. The crime and racism and xenophobia are still very real on both sides, and incidents do occur, but not nearly as often as one thinks.
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#103 to #60 - twiceasawesome has deleted their comment [-]
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+4
User avatar #16 to #14 - duelknight (09/08/2015) [-]
As long as you're not with Telkom it's fine, only issue is playing games that don't have south african servers.
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+12
#17 to #16 - jaevel (09/08/2015) [-]
I kind of understand what you are talking about.

During the winter, I can hardly get a good Ping due to all the snow getting in the way.

Also, since all our countries are so close to eachother. It is always a gamble of if the language will be "Can you hear me, Major Tom?" , "Rødgrød med Fløde" and "cheeki breeki".

MFW I find myself in these situations.
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+4
User avatar #20 to #17 - eddio (09/08/2015) [-]
It's incredibly annoying here because most game developers don't register Africa at all, meaning you can't play half the new MMO online games you want to thanks to there being no locally hosted servers and playing on European servers just gives you prohibitive ping. The only gaming community of any size is in South Africa, which is on the other side of Africa, as far away as possible from any other decently developed countries with decently sized gaming communities.

Basically, if you plan on playing online, you must either like Battlefield, COD, CSGO, TF2 or Dota 2, because those are pretty much the only games that have servers here.
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0
User avatar #26 to #17 - kitchentowel (09/08/2015) [-]
Norskjävel
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+1
User avatar #28 to #26 - jaevel (09/08/2015) [-]
Og hva er du for en, fremmedkar?
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+1
User avatar #35 to #28 - kitchentowel (09/08/2015) [-]
Bara en svensk som skämtar med dig, nabo
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+1
#104 to #14 - anon (09/09/2015) [-]
South Africa aint that bad...yet. I'm forced to use a 2mb line at home but lucky to hit download speed of 50kbs. Just here for the pictures, wouldn't dream of checking out the gifs
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+73
User avatar #10 - SteyrAUG (09/08/2015) [-]
In some parts of canada you could purchase solid state drives with data on them, have them mailed to your house, copy the data onto your computer, then throw the SSD away and it would still be cheaper per GB than what they pay for their internet.
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0
User avatar #93 to #10 - rainbowrush ONLINE (09/09/2015) [-]
Also faster
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0
User avatar #95 to #10 - istoleyoursoxs (09/09/2015) [-]
Im with a small company Start.ca that purchased rogers lines and get 60mbps down and 10 up with 300gb for $64 a month. Unlimited is an extra $15. I live in Hamilton.

DO NOT GO WITH BELL OR ROGERS EVER
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+1
User avatar #68 to #10 - taniv (09/09/2015) [-]
Oligopolies are the ******* **** bro all hail wind mobile and their awesome rates and unlimited data
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+2
User avatar #54 to #10 - hamsterball (09/09/2015) [-]
I like your name, next gun I'm getting is a AUG.
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+19
#13 to #10 - ohpee (09/08/2015) [-]
I can confirm. I'm with Bell Canada and my dad decided that instead of paying for extra usage fee's he'll get the cheapest package with an unlimited fee. So for a 5/1 package that costs $50 + $20 for unlimited, I get to rip my hair out on the daily when I'm on the network with 6 active devices in my family all streaming YouTube videos. pls halp
I can confirm. I'm with Bell Canada and my dad decided that instead of paying for extra usage fee's he'll get the cheapest package with an unlimited fee.

So for a 5/1 package that costs $50 + $20 for unlimited, I get to rip my hair out on the daily when I'm on the network with 6 active devices in my family all streaming YouTube videos. pls halp
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+2
User avatar #33 to #13 - Shramin ONLINE (09/08/2015) [-]
Its 30$ for unlimited, 10$ if you have Bell TV, Phone and Internet.

I have Bell 50, 119$ a month, its a dumb price.
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0
User avatar #81 to #13 - vorarephilia (09/09/2015) [-]
if you have no issue disrupting your families browsing, try netcut. you can block everyone on your network except for yourself. It won't help much but it is something.
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0
#122 to #81 - ohpee (09/11/2015) [-]
If this works, I love you. I can use this to sabotage my network and try and force my dad to switch ISP's of my liking.
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User avatar #44 to #13 - charak (09/08/2015) [-]
Im in canada, I get Ulimited@ 30Mbps/10up at 60$ a month
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+2
#46 to #44 - ignatiuz (09/08/2015) [-]
Iceland here, 100 mbps for 31,19 USD/per month
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+2
#47 to #46 - charak (09/08/2015) [-]
UNLIMITED???
UNLIMITED???
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+2
#49 to #47 - ignatiuz (09/08/2015) [-]
unfortunately no, we have a selection of 50 GB - 1000 GB, we had a company several years ago that promised unlimited but went bankrupt soon enough. You can pay 85 USD for the 1000 gb package, but I have problems trying to overcome the 500 GB package. So good enough for me.
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User avatar #50 to #49 - charak (09/08/2015) [-]
My household monthly takes up 2tb/month
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0
User avatar #51 to #50 - ignatiuz (09/08/2015) [-]
Swag
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0
#29 to #13 - legitkebab (09/08/2015) [-]
**legitkebab used "*roll picture*"**
**legitkebab rolled image**Bell are of scammers
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+129
#2 - Anetheril ONLINE (09/08/2015) [-]
**Anetheril used "*roll picture*"**
**Anetheril rolled image** It's kind of sad when pigeons are faster than ISPs
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+9
#30 to #2 - SnacksJr (09/08/2015) [-]
Oh hey, thats my post!
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+10
#27 to #2 - fragman (09/08/2015) [-]
it kind of isn't though.
Physical media can easily reach a much higher throughput than your link. If I send someone a full 1TB HDD with express shipment, it'll be 1TB transferred in about 16h. That iis 8589934592 kbit in 57600 seconds, meaning you'd need a 150 mbit upload speed to beat it. And actually, you'd need even more unless you're sending one single 1TB file (due to TCP windowing)... So this is pretty normal, especially in countries where the infrastructure isn't that advanced.
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#99 to #27 - jakeattack (09/09/2015) [-]
or more realistically a bunch of flash drives, 128 gb go for pretty cheap now, and wont get ****** up in shipping, then you could deliver a flash drive for each person in the vicinity
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+18
#61 - anon (09/09/2015) [-]
IMAGINE A FLOCK OF PIGEON WITH MEMORY STORAGE FLYING IN THE SKY...

LITERALLY CLOUD STORAGE
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+9
#7 - shauncooler (09/08/2015) [-]
Ironic how a pigeon could physically deliver a 4GB usb faster than current South African technology. It would be more beneficial to use parrots to pirate games.
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User avatar #48 to #7 - emiyashirou ONLINE (09/08/2015) [-]
Nah, I can get up to 800 KB/s download speeds depending on where I'm downloading from. On torrents I usually average 400-500.
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+5
User avatar #55 - cupcakescankill ONLINE (09/09/2015) [-]
Imagine the bandwidth you could get with a bigger flash drive. They come up to 1 tb now.
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+7
User avatar #4 - battletechmech (09/08/2015) [-]
>2009
>South Africa

Google could do better
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+3
User avatar #62 - shyyguy (09/09/2015) [-]
I didn't see anyone else do the math probably because it's pointless to do it , so:

Assuming the average pigeon speed is 50 mph which I actually did look up , it would take the pigeon 72 minutes to reach 60 miles away. Thats about 72 minutes to transfer 4 gb of data, which is... .925 MBps.

4% of 4GB is 160MB, and that is .03MBps. In other words, Telkom sucks. Hopefully my math is right.
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+2
User avatar #74 to #62 - saxong (09/09/2015) [-]
Internet speed is measured in bits per second, data is measured in bytes. It would be roughly 8 times higher than the speed you calculated so .24Mb/s.

Not terrible but still pretty sad, and why would you enter that speed in a race?
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User avatar #78 to #74 - shyyguy (09/09/2015) [-]
Oh yea, I just choose to use bytes because it's what I'm used to. Easier for me to picture. And relative to 90's Not that I have any experience with that, other than stories internet, it's pretty good. But when there are internet speeds that are 65x better (2 Megabytes / 16 Megabits), it's terrible.
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+1
#42 - anon (09/08/2015) [-]
This is actually a common method of delivering large amounts of data (not pigeons, delivering physical media). The bandwidth of a semi-truck filled with hard-drives is simply colossal.
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+3
User avatar #43 to #42 - grimfuck (09/08/2015) [-]
Amazon Web Services has people send in hard drives to the data centers, instead of trying to upload large amounts of data.
Cheaper for the users, and amazon can sell the bandwidth elsewhere.
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+2
#83 - krayon (09/09/2015) [-]
**krayon used "*roll picture*"**
**krayon rolled image** I guess you Winston you Lose some!
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+3
User avatar #1 - nerdkoopa (09/08/2015) [-]
RFC 2549 in action. Only a handful of people are gonna get that reference, but I don't care. A link for those who don't get it tools.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2549.txt
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User avatar #23 to #1 - CBRJack (09/08/2015) [-]
Don't forget the original RFC1149, before that newfangled QoS over Avian Carrier!
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+1
User avatar #69 - juter (09/09/2015) [-]
Good thing they didn't do it by USB, or the data would have been there hours before they could get the ******* thing in the hole
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+1
User avatar #63 - machiavellianhumor ONLINE (09/09/2015) [-]
im just imagining identity thefts like in game of thrones shooting down birds with bows and arrows
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+1
User avatar #41 - grandmabetty (09/08/2015) [-]
In Britain, we have copper and fibre. In SA, they have pigeons.
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+1
#34 - bigmanblue (09/08/2015) [-]
well i live in scotland and im pretty sure a pigeon could outrace my internet
takes me like an hour an a half to dl 1 gb
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+1
User avatar #37 to #34 - thattessachick (09/08/2015) [-]
Let me guess. TalkTalk?
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#38 to #37 - bigmanblue (09/08/2015) [-]
nah bt, but scotish internet is **** in general
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User avatar #39 to #38 - thattessachick (09/08/2015) [-]
Ah right. It really is appalling.
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#102 - jakeattack (09/09/2015) [-]
Modern sd cards are cheap 16 gb for 5 bucks. imagine someone who has huge servers with tons of movies/games, or at least good internet connection. They run a site and someone requests something, then they put it in the pigeon's sd card and send it to their house.
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