Deer-to-deer network

[James A. Landau]

In a message Tue, 1 Nov 2005 14:46:28 -0500,  "Joel S. Berson"
_Berson at ATT.NET_ (mailto:Berson at ATT.NET)  transmits:

>Scientists are attaching wireless digital cameras to deer to  record
>their activity.  In the next-generation technology, similar  to that
>for file-sharing servers, "The tiny computers on each animal  will
>gather one another's video and pass it along to the base station  in
>what might be called a deer-to-deer network."
>
>New York  Times, November 1, 2005, New England Final, D1/4.


This is simply a play on words, specifically on a long-established term  in
data communications "peer-to-peer network", meaning a network in which there
is no master station which tells each station when it can transmit, but rather
each station can transmit to any other station whenever it has traffic to
send.

Judging from the quotation, the deer network is indeed  "peer-to-peer", but
even if it were not, the play on words would still  work.

    - James A. Landau