GigaOm summarizes the research this way:

Do you feel that Internet access is a fundamental right? Four in five adults in more than 26 different countries agree with you, according to a new poll sponsored by the BBC World Service. The poll asked more than 27,000 adults about their attitudes towards the Internet, and found that 87 percent of those who regularly use the Internet believe that access should be “the fundamental right of all people.” More than 71 percent of non-Internet users also felt that they should have the right to access the global network. In both South Korea and Mexico, more than 90 percent of those surveyed agreed that access was a fundamental right.

I’m all for the right to Internet access.

The four biggest technological changes of the decade for me were:

1) Time-Shifting TV (TiVo and later generic DVRs)

2) Combo of Broadband, Wi-Fi, and Laptops

3) Mobile Voice, Internet, and Apps (iPhone)

4) NFL Sunday Ticket

The Internet was old news for me coming into 2001 having been online since 1993. I was primarily using a company-provided laptop with dial-up access to get online. I made calls using a landline and a Nokia cellphone. I was watching TV with basic cable and a DVD player.

The most significant change came a few years into the decade when I added digital cable and a TiVo. Watching TV has not been the same since. Other than sporting events, I no longer watch live TV. I also used the TiVo to connect to my server so I could navigate and listen to my MP3 collection using my entertainment system. It worked amazingly well for this purpose. In fact, it was better than the current version of Apple TV. Unfortunately TiVo dropped the ball by not partnering with the cable providers and not launching an HD version soon enough. I ended up using the HD DVRs that were provided by Comcast when I bought my first HDTV - a 34″ widescreen, CRT from Toshiba. I’m now using a DirecTV dual tuner HD DVR with a 65″ plasma HDTV from Panasonic.

Moving from CDs to MP3s wasn’t significan’t until I got my first iPhone. I had an early generation iPod but I didn’t take it with me everywhere. More on that later.

Netflix came along pretty early in the decade, but I’m not ready to say it changed the world very much for me. I dropped it after about a year. I later took up Blockbuster’s offer during a period of unemployment when they were giving 2 free in-store rentals, free swaps in-store, plus 3 movies out at a time. With this setup I was able to have as many as 8 DVDs at a time if I was willing to drive a mile to return my movies in store. It was worth it. Blockbuster clearly was not making any money on me. They’ve since repriced this option from about $16 to $35 a month and quit sending you new DVDs at the same time that you exchange one in store. Since moving from Dallas to Alameda, I’ve given Netflix another try. I’m unimpressed with their streaming content so I probably won’t remain a member past the start of football season in Fall 2010.

The second most significant change came in the form of DSL from SBC with a wireless router and a new laptop. No more dial-up. This was a MAJOR change for me. It was fast and portable. I could be online in any room in my house or even outside on the patio. My Internet usage skyrocketed with this change. Once you’ve had wireless broadband with a laptop, there is no going back.

Over time, I used my landline less and less. When I moved from Arlington to Dallas in 2007, I had a landline that I seldom used. The ringer wasn’t turned on and I didn’t give the number to anyone. I stuck mostly with my Nokia semi-smart phone running an early version of the Symbian mobile OS. Now that I’m in California, I’m without a landline.

In late 2007 I added my third most signifcant change in the form of an iPhone. I was devastated when my Nokia died. It was my 3rd Nokia and I loved it. I tried the latest Nokia smart phone, but I hated it so I gave the iPhone a shot. The iPhone was GREAT with a nice web browser and decent web-based apps (this was pre App Store). I soon forgot all about my Nokia. I’ve since upgraded to an iPhone 3GS. I love having music, Internet, games, and e-mail (personal and work) all in one small device. Having all my music as MP3s is great now that I have my iPhone with me at all times.

My fourth most significant change came in the form of DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket (I know, I was a late adopter). I spent my first year in California not being able to watch Dallas Cowboys games and frequently being limited to just 2 afternoon games dedpending upon the Raiders’ and 49ers’ schedules. I did not want to watch the local teams. I dropped cable for DirecTV prior to football season in 2009. It is GREAT! Of course if your local market team is your favorite team, then there’s really not much reason to get the Sunday Ticket or DirecTV. DirecTV is over-priced.

Technology I used in 2001:

- Nokia cellphone for mobile and long-distance calls

- landline for local calls and Internet access

- dial-up Internet access

- company provided laptop with Windows NT 4 for work and for getting online at home

- basic cable

- standard definition 20″ TV

- cheap battery-powered alarm clock

Technology I’m using in 2010:

- iPhone 3GS for all calls, MP3 player, Pandora, yellow pages, maps, mobile web access, gaming, e-mail (personal and work), controlling my Apple TV, alarm clock, calendar, and contacts.

- NOTE: no landline

- cable Internet access with wireless router

- Apple TV

- Mac mini

- 17″ HP laptop with Windows 7 (personal)

- 10″ Dell laptop with Windows XP (work)

- Samsung Internet-connected Blu-Ray player

- 65″ Panasonic Plasma HDTV

- DirecTV with dual tuner HD DVR, NFL Sunday Ticket, and ESPN Game Plan (no premium channels)

- Hulu for catching up on shows that I may have missed

- Netflix for DVDs and streaming video (but I’m unimpressed with their streaming content, so I’ll probably cancel when football season resumes in Fall 2010)

- PS2 used primarily for Karaoke games

- Harmony remote that controls my Sony receiver, Samsung Blu-Ray player, DirecTV DVR, Apple TV, and Panasonic HDTV

They’ve got a great web site with access to all of their music. Here’s one of my favorite albums:

As Dana puts it – “deals can go up in smoke if given too much time.” Do not drag out a deal.

I’ve seen many deals blow up from both sides because one side or the other took too much time. Sometimes one party changes direction and decides that they no longer want the deal. Other times, someone decides that the deal was too generous/not generous enough and wants to renegotiate terms. Why it happens doesn’t really matter. The point is that if you screw around and don’t get the deal done in a timely matter, you may end up with no deal at all. You have to stay focused and keep things moving. This isn’t always easy to do.

This wouldn’t have been a good post without some concrete suggestions on how to avoid blowing a deal. The suggestions provided by Dana come from Mark Suster. My favorites are:

Don’t Grind Every Detail: Know the important points that you want to negotiate and stick to them. [Suster] writes that you shouldn’t get caught up in inconsequential details as they’ll potentially add weeks to the legal process and you’ll risk creating ill will with your newfound partners.

Get People In Person: Put yourself, your negotiating partner, both sides of lawyers and the other party in a room to hash out the details. Suster stresses that it’s important to create goals for what you want to accomplish and take breaks to gain consent from any higher authorities.

Getting together in person is a particularly good technique to grind through a deal that has bogged down. I was once working on a deal with a major search provider that got bogged down. We had come to terms really quickly but spent almost 9 months trying to get through a contract. Everyone was frustrated and on the verge of giving up. I hopped on a plane with my boss, our president, and 2 attorneys to visit our would-be partner. Two days later we had a deal.

These are great tips that work. Good luck in your future negotiations.

Gretta in September 2008 on our first day in California.

The lowly Mountain West is killing the mighty Pac 10.

• BYU (#16) pounds Oregon State (#15) 44 to 20.
• Utah (#23) downs Cal 37 to 27.

The top 3 teams in the Mountain West (TCU, BYU, and Utah), along with Boise State in the WAC, are probably better than the top 3 teams in the Pac 10, Big 10, Big East, ACC, and maybe even the Big 12, with the exception of Texas. Alabama and Florida in the SEC would probably fair well too, but we’ll never know for sure thanks to the fraudulent pairing of TCU against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.