Because We Love Cheap Beer and High-Speed Internet: Co-Sponsoring Big Gig Austin Happy Hour

Slackerwood is happy to be a co-sponsor of the "How Can Google Not Love Us?" happy hour on Tuesday, March 23 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at The Highball. Check out the Facebook invite for more info on drink specials and whatnot. I suspect I don't need to tell most of you where The Highball is.

In addition, Slackerwood has signed on as a supporter of Big Gig Austin. You may be wondering why a website about movies is interested in an initiative to bring the Google Fiber Network to Austin. It's a no-brainer: Faster network speeds mean we can watch more movies online at a higher picture quality. Film geeks who have found out about this initiative are salivating.

Sure, I can go to Hulu right now and watch Slacker online, and it looks just fine ... unless it's a busy time of day and the network is dragging. But imagine watching Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven with the same exquisite quality on the Criterion Blu-Ray that's releasing this week. (Yes, we'll have a review. I saw it and whatever else I might think of the film, it is visually breathtaking.) Imagine a network that isn't going to drag when everyone in town seems to have a wild hair for watching things online, like the Presidential inauguration.

It's also a plus for filmmakers and their crews, who will be able to use the Internet even more effectively for collaboration. Right now I'm told it's faster to get in the car and deliver a hard drive full of rough footage across town, than it is to transfer the files online. Any tools that can make filmmaking easier and better are a plus both for our local filmmakers and to draw anyone who might consider shooting/editing in Austin.

Finally, imagine what some of our local experimental artists and film exhibitors might do with another way to show films and video quickly and easily -- artists like Luke Savisky, or certain theaters that like to find new and weird ways to show movies around town. The creative possibilities are endless.

I'm not the best person to explain all the technical aspects of fiber networks -- the best explanation I've heard is that fiber is to cable modems and DSL what cable modems were to dial-up back in the day. But I'm excited about this campaign to persuade Google to build a fiber network in Austin. You know who else is excited? Robert Rodriguez:

And Richard Garriott:

They may not be at The Highball on Tuesday, but I will and I hope you'll join us.

[Full disclosure: One of the founders of the Big Gig Austin initiative is Slackerwood contributor/webmaster Chip Rosenthal, who is married to the website's editor in chief. I assure you I'd be behind this initiative anyway, it is that awesome.]