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The only restriction on broadcasting is that it tends to stop at the boundaries of a LAN.
Broadcast data cannot be allowed out on the Internet because it would flood the system.
UDP Broadcasts must be kept inside a LAN non-UDP. Broadcasts to multiple locations
on the Internet are often set up inside a server using multiple point-to-point connections
and simultaneous transmissions of the same data.
Be careful of a couple things when using UDP communications. First of all, the data
will not be error free. Second of all, the packets may not even arrive in the right order.
TCP takes care of such things. In UDP communications, if such things are important,
they have to be taken care of in the application software written for the robot. A web
site explaining LAN technology is at http://punch.engr.wisc.edu/ orchard/net-tutorial/.
Okay, you’ve been so patient learning communication techniques that you deserve a
reward or two for getting this far. Don’t tell anyone else this; they have to read this far
to get it! After receiving a complaint that he was ending a sentence with a preposition,
Churchill said: “This is the sort of pedantry up with which I will not put.” Check out
the following web site: www.winstonchurchill.org/quotes.htm#put.
The Voice of the Robot!
The following is the voice of the future: a text-to-speech engine that illustrates just how
far the technology has come in the last few years. I suggest going to http://eserver.org/
history/gettysburg-address.txt. Copy just the first two lines (more than 30 words) from
Lincoln’s speech, paste them into the text box at www.research.att.com/ ttsweb/
cgi-bin/ttsdemo, and submit it for processing. The results are great fun. Pick the voice
you like best. Personally, I find the results amazing.