This video has given me a newfound respect for Facebook. Many engineers at tech companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc. report that they feel overqualified for their work. I imagine many yearn for the chance to work on moonshot projects like these - is there any reason why secretive research divisions at these companies are so small, when there is plenty of engineering talent to go around internally?
Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
111–118 of 118 posts
Re: Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a shame. If telcos are in the loop, my hopes for this shrink 99%...
Yeah, the telcos that build pretty much the full entirety of the "last-mile" internet as we know it today can not but trusted in the least to be at all involved in any new last mile provisions what so ever. We (fairly rich, definitely reasonably connected, people) cannot allow the third world to enjoy something as humiliating as imperfect internet (to a standard we barely enjoy ourselves, however immensely beneficial…
I have 7 years of experience working in telco business. I don't mind "rich" companies investing in this solution (something else you got wrong), what I mind is telcos in the loop.
Oh, BTW, besides the experience with the soul-crushing telco business, I also have experience at that third world thingy... You see, I've grown in a third world country. Born '85, had no idea that compact discs (CD) existed until '94.
Re: Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually France is far ahead of the US in its internet coverage, at a much lower price.
I am in France at the moment, and I have never (exaduration) seen so many feature phones... Getting a French SIM for data was an exercise in frustration even with a local helping me. I got a SIM from Bourgues Telecom by registering it to a friend's name and address. Mostly works but it is really really difficult to give them money (wtf) and they modify unencrypted HTML page image links: http://serverfault.com/questio…
I've got unlimited call + sms + 4G data (limited bandwidth after 20Gb) for 20€/month, and 300Mb/s fibre connection for 35€/month. I have not seen similar rates in the UK/US.
Re: Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think that's true. We can substitute (no internet + desire for internet) in for the right side, and I think that's better than (some internet + lessened desire for full internet)
Why don't we ask the people who currently have no internet what they'd prefer?
Re: Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're likely not using something too exotic: 10Gbps free space optical links have been available commercially for a few years now (see products by AOptix). The tricky part is pointing them and getting the last bit of power on target. If they're actually forming links at 100's of km separation they're already on par with what APL was doing just 2 or 3 years ago [1]. Impressive that they not only have the data termin…
Agreed, this is very cool. How do free space optical links work in the rain though? Shouldn't be a problem for the link between aircrafts as they fly above the weather but might be for aircraft-ground link if that's optical. Hope FB will open source parts of this! I know NASA has been looking at optical links for high bandwidth space communication, this accurate tracking would really help
The LCRD stuff that NASA is doing is indeed impressive. I think that their pointing problem is a few orders of magnitude harder than what FB is dealing with though - if anything we'll see technology transfer in the other direction.
Re: Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
#116Re: Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you okay with Comcast doing IP shaping and charging Netflix? If Comcast didn't exist, internet access wouldn't exist for many people. That's why it's a false dichotomy. Internet.org could very easily be rate and data capped alternatives. >connect the two thirds of the world that doesn’t have internet access. -Internet.org This would give them monopsonic control over the internet.
> If Comcast didn't exist, internet access wouldn't exist for many people. Sorry that is extremely far from the truth. Any of the other major ISPs' would leap at the chance to guzzle up these customers if there was no other competition.
So you're saying that it's okay to ignore net neutrality (charge Netflix) when the government isn't there to help subsidize last-mile infrastructure? When you could just as easily provide a capped alternative?
That's the point and splitting hairs doesn't change it.
Re: Facebook completes construction of first full-scale aircraft, Aquila [video]
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
The fact that going public always tends to make a company's contributions to society less altruistic and turn the ethos of the company into "moar profitz foar de shaerhoaldurs" raises some fairly damning questions about our capital system and its tendency towards greed and stagnation.
Is this really the fault of the financial system? In some respects I believe 'economics' is a verb, so the fault -if there is any- lies with the agents enacting the verb, that is to say: people. Humans, groups of them even, certainly have a tendency to produce and accumulate all sorts of things being their survival needs and go on to trade them. This raises all sorts of concerns and has cause many a lot of stress. Bl…
For every airbnb or Facebook there are a thousand of acquired startups who kept thinking short-term and forgot entirely about long-term. Which is a shame, because I've no doubt that many put out a quality product -- and I've also no doubt that the company which acquired them may very well have killed said company's specific product two seconds after filling out all of the paperwork. See Google's numerous acquisitions for proof of this.