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An image of the Australian desert illuminates satellite pollution

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Re: An image of the Australian desert illuminates satellite pollution

#11
post #10

You know those airplanes with a banner at the beach? I can imagine a constellation of satellites writing ads (live) in space using mirrors and other nifty tech. Unless regulation stops it.

That’s so true. I can see it too. The technology to make that must be super fun to work on but please I hope this will never happen. Can you imagine turning the whole sky as a giant pixelated screen to constantly show us ads? That’s as dystopian as it gets. Add to that the probable less than secure software to run it and hackers trying to show stuff up there. That’s something out of a Douglas Adams book. xD

Re: An image of the Australian desert illuminates satellite pollution

#12

[flagged]

>Unpopular opinion: global internet access is more important than pretty pictures of the sky. You're right about one thing - It is an unpopular opinion. You're wrong about global internet access being more important than being able to take "pretty pictures" of the night sky. Global internet access has become a tool for homogenizing opinion. It has become the most useful tool for propagandists and others who would pus…

I don’t know what the hell you’re going on about for the most part, but the fact is it’s not economically viable for ISPs or even governments to build fibre out to most rural areas.

Satellite internet has been a game changer for people living in these areas. The people who grow your food deserve to be able to video chat with their family and stream videos at resolutions higher than 480p without constant buffering.

Re: An image of the Australian desert illuminates satellite pollution

#13
post #10

You know those airplanes with a banner at the beach? I can imagine a constellation of satellites writing ads (live) in space using mirrors and other nifty tech. Unless regulation stops it.

There was a Russian start up planning to do this a few years back. They had actually reached a deal with Pepsi’s Russian operations until the public backlash convinced them to find a different public relations strategy. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-astronomers-russian-billboards...

Re: An image of the Australian desert illuminates satellite pollution

#15

[flagged]

>Unpopular opinion: global internet access is more important than pretty pictures of the sky. You're right about one thing - It is an unpopular opinion. You're wrong about global internet access being more important than being able to take "pretty pictures" of the night sky. Global internet access has become a tool for homogenizing opinion. It has become the most useful tool for propagandists and others who would pus…

Sadly, true. Those who work on the industry will never rebel, the pay is too good and the nerdy excitement of being able to solve very interesting problems is too addictive. Our greatest minds are wasted in the finance sectors and big tech.

Re: An image of the Australian desert illuminates satellite pollution

#17
post #10

You know those airplanes with a banner at the beach? I can imagine a constellation of satellites writing ads (live) in space using mirrors and other nifty tech. Unless regulation stops it.

I don't think such a thing could hold together very long, unless it was just a string in a line. Maybe in Morse code?

With multiple launches you could probably get several parallel strings, and use it like a dot matrix printer. It would be a heck of a stunt. But I wouldn't expect it to last for more than one orbit, and only part of the planet could see it.

Re: An image of the Australian desert illuminates satellite pollution

#18
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Unpopular opinion: global internet access is more important than pretty pictures of the sky. You're right about one thing - It is an unpopular opinion. You're wrong about global internet access being more important than being able to take "pretty pictures" of the night sky. Global internet access has become a tool for homogenizing opinion. It has become the most useful tool for propagandists and others who would pus…

Sadly, true. Those who work on the industry will never rebel, the pay is too good and the nerdy excitement of being able to solve very interesting problems is too addictive. Our greatest minds are wasted in the finance sectors and big tech.

I would question the idea that it is the greatest minds. I would like to think a great mind (IMO) would rebel, a greedy mind would stay.
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