The U of C's connection to the commercial internet has been packet shaped for years. Back in the Napster days, they added something that makes any file ending in ".mp3" be transferred at about 2 bytes per second. The shaping filters have slowly been added to, winding up with something that basically says "is this file some form of media? then it's going to be slow..."
The latest case in point - I just tried to watch Stephen Downes' video commentary on his Group/Network whiteboard braindump. After about 25 minutes of downloading, I've managed to view the first 35 seconds of the video.
Stephen Downes' Whiteboard Braindump Video
All of this hype over "new media" and "broadband connections" is basically lost on campus. Anyone wanting to use this type of media, whether for research or other academic purposes, is completely left out. Unless the content publisher has the good grace to publish on an Internet2/CANet4 network.
We're seriously at risk of being left further behind, here. If we can't use media on campus, why bother? Should I be asking Stephen to send me a DVD via FedEx so I can see the video? By the way, he was able to post the video while travelling in New Zealand. I can't view it while sitting at my desk here in the office. That seems a little backward, no?