Jun 16
Jun 16
Jun 16
If Google Fiber is the company’s attempt at bringing superb Internet connections to developed areas, Project Loon is Google’s plan to connect areas that may otherwise have no access to the Internet at all. These can be rural areas, urban areas with coverage gaps, areas struck by disaster and areas where nerds are having birthday parties.
Google says it will launch balloons to an altitude of about 20km (appx. 12 mi.). Each balloon can supposedly cover a ground area about 40km (about 25 mi) in diameter and provide “speeds comparable to 3G.” Each balloon is made of plastic that’s about 49 ft. wide and 39 ft. tall when fully inflated.
A solar panel will power the electronics onboard each balloon. The panel will also charge a battery on each balloon so that it can still work at night. On the ground, users will connect to the balloons using antennas with – guess what – balloon-shaped covers. Here’s a slightly more technical explanation of Project Loon:
Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots? Come on. How can you argue against a guy with a name and title like that? The first Project Loon balloons will be launched in South Island in New Zealand this month. Check out the Project Loon website if you want to learn more. Also, alert the Resistance.
[via Electronista]
Jun 16
Finally, a phone made in the year 2013 that Zack Morris can approve of. All kidding aside, Spot’s aptly titled Global Phone isn’t the most — shall we say, svelte — of handsets, but it’s capable of communicating in places that your iPhone could only dream of. Spot is actually a subsidiary of satellite communications giant Globalstar, who is no stranger to providing satellite-based service to argonauts the world over. The Global Phone is one of the company’s first consumer-facing phones, taking the intrigue and mystery out of procuring one of those fancy sat phones — you know, the ones that can seemingly only be acquired by James Bond’s nemeses.
The target market for this handset is obvious: if you’re an avid hiker, explorer, boater or adventurer, there’s a high likelihood that you’ll end up in a locale where traditional cell networks provide no coverage. In fact, it’s shockingly easy to find dead zones these days — just head to your nearest national park and stroll up a marked trail for a bit. At $499 for the device itself and month-to-month plans starting at $25, it’s actually a reasonably priced addition to one’s off-the-grid arsenal. (Have you seen the prices on subzero sleeping bags these days?)
But, is it a worthwhile addition? I recently traversed 1,600 miles of mostly desolate territory in the US Southwest in order to find out, and the answer lies just after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Spot Global Phone product page
Jun 16
New York City is doing some serious work on the Second Avenue Subway, the first new line built under the city since 1932. The $4.5 billion project aims to decrease commuter congestion for east Manhattan. Check out these pictures. They are incredible.
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Jun 16
Jun 16
Humans haven’t even been off-planet for a century and we’re already leaving trash everywhere. The moon. Mars. Our atmosphere. It’s gross. And honestly it was only a matter of time before a similar digital barrage began.
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Jun 16
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney didn’t mince his words on Sunday when describing his impression of President Barack Obama’s response to the revelation of the extent of the U.S. government’s domestic surveillance.
“I don’t pay a lot of attention, frankly, to what Barack Obama says,” Cheney said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’m obviously not a fan of the incumbent president.”
Both Cheney and Obama have defended the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities as necessary to national security. But on Sunday, Cheney criticized the president’s claim that the war on terror is nearing an end and suggested Obama needs to be more aggressive in defending those spying programs. He pointed to growing al Qaeda affiliates and other groups in North Africa as proof that a war is still underway.
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Jun 16
Ludacris Gets Into A Fight At A Nightclub, Tweets About It Afterwards (VIDEO)
Posted in: Today's ChiliLudacris’ night out turned into a night of destruction after he allegedly got attacked at a bar in Atlanta on June 14.
Footage has surfaced of the rapper getting pummeled at the nightclub Privé after an unidentified assailant reportedly threw a bottle at him. According to Complex, a dozen or so bar-goers took part in the action as security tried to get everything under control. Once the situation was straightened out and the battle winded down, Luda emerged relatively unscathed.
And although Ludacris’ girlfriend Eudoxie was reportedly hit with a bottle during the brawl, that appears to be a big rumor.
Jun 16
Wyclef Jean: I Didn’t Perform At The RNC Because I Don’t Support Republicans (VIDEO)
Posted in: Today's ChiliGrammy Award-winning hip-hop artist, producer and politician Wyclef Jean talks with Marc about his decision not to perform at the Republican National Convention.
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