261–270 of 496 posts
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What has SpaceX done that has turned out even remotely lackluster?
Okay, excluding the space agency portion. I honestly forgot about that for some reason. Because of the nature of the post, I was focused on the satellite internet part of the company. Which has been somewhat lackluster.
While I see the great potential in this technology, the collateral damage is the loss of places where one can truly disconnect. I just got back from 4 days camping at a remote mountain lake with zero phone coverage, and it’s one of the most incredible ways to fully recharge and step away from the day to day treadmill of the modern world. When we loose the possibility to completely disconnect, I at least, will feel a…
Your phone has a power button. Use it.
You have not lost access to nature, and stop inventing a totally BS self aggrandizing narrative out of nowhere. Nature is fine. Humans are fine. We have not fallen from Eden. You can turn the phone off and I promise reality still works the same as far as strolling through the forest.
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47% of smartphones in the USA are Apple. Seems pretty ubiquitous. T-mobile has 110 million subscribers and the population of USA is 329 million people.
They don’t even have a majority, much less ubiquity.
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Radio horizon is somewhat complex, but 45 miles is not entirely unreasonable from an elevated position. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-of-sight_propagation#Radi... There could also be timing related constraints that limit max range: radio waves propagate at the speed of light which is fast, but not instant.
microwaves go about 10% further than the horizon, barring any tropospheric ducting - which cell towers shouldn't, in general. The issue you have with long distances is multipath, which can throw off the complex timing required to have multiple users in realtime on a single radio.
I can't find a direct reference to it on wikipedia, but I suspect this is what the Vortex satellites were doing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_(satellite)
Key notes: * Everywhere in the US and US territories including ocean waters you will get T-Mobile service through Starlink satellites, no additional hardware needed (for the person owning the cell phone anyway) * Beta service starting end of 2023 * Included for free with most T-Mobile plans other than the cheapest plans * More limited features may be added earlier, i.e. texting or emergency calling * Total available…
What the... is that what's possible with 5G? Amazing, and even days ago I was thinking of satellite smartphone internet as something scifi because of (clearly incorrect!) complicated antenna requirements.
This is extremely low bandwidth and intended for sending extremely high latency text chats. Elon said in the presentation that it could be as much as 30 mins between hitting send and the message going through.
This competes with existing stuff from existing satellite providers.
It’s really really cool, and doesn’t need to be full on smartphone satellite internet to fulfill that coolness!
While I see the great potential in this technology, the collateral damage is the loss of places where one can truly disconnect. I just got back from 4 days camping at a remote mountain lake with zero phone coverage, and it’s one of the most incredible ways to fully recharge and step away from the day to day treadmill of the modern world. When we loose the possibility to completely disconnect, I at least, will feel a…
To everyone saying “just don’t bring your phone” 1) Camera: iPhones are about the best lightweight camera I’m willing to purchase 2) Navigation: Offline maps with details like slope angle are critical when traveling in the backcountry in winter. Yes I use paper maps too, but some things are much easier digital. 3) I don’t want to leave it in the car to get stolen. And about airplane mode. Yes “disconnecting is a choi…
I hear you on offline maps though. Back in the day I paid the Tom Tom tax when going to Europe because $100 for offline maps was ultimately better than trying to figure out a roaming plan or local sim.
While I see the great potential in this technology, the collateral damage is the loss of places where one can truly disconnect. I just got back from 4 days camping at a remote mountain lake with zero phone coverage, and it’s one of the most incredible ways to fully recharge and step away from the day to day treadmill of the modern world. When we loose the possibility to completely disconnect, I at least, will feel a…
> loosing true wildernesses
I’m seriously wondering how people living in the wilderness will feel about this point?
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The idea is that airplane mode is a farce, and even if you put yourself into airplane, there is still a back-trickle... can anyone disclaim this? What are the anechoics of an airplane mode phone?
You can get a Faraday cage pouch if you really want to be sure.
While I see the great potential in this technology, the collateral damage is the loss of places where one can truly disconnect. I just got back from 4 days camping at a remote mountain lake with zero phone coverage, and it’s one of the most incredible ways to fully recharge and step away from the day to day treadmill of the modern world. When we loose the possibility to completely disconnect, I at least, will feel a…
To everyone saying “just don’t bring your phone” 1) Camera: iPhones are about the best lightweight camera I’m willing to purchase 2) Navigation: Offline maps with details like slope angle are critical when traveling in the backcountry in winter. Yes I use paper maps too, but some things are much easier digital. 3) I don’t want to leave it in the car to get stolen. And about airplane mode. Yes “disconnecting is a choi…
“Sorry I was on a plane then”. “You texted me right as I was checking into hotel- got distracted while replying and forgot to send”. “Couldn’t answer the phone - was at a restaurant and answering the phone is rude”.
Didn’t take long before the lies became true and I would forget to reply when I see the message.
You have the power to make it your reality. If the issue is replying to people, give yourself small permissions to not be punctual. If someone dies, you’ll still know immediately… but that work memo may have arrived why you were on a plane ;). If your issue is that you can’t stop scrolling through twitter or HN then i don’t know. Take more exciting vacations? Rarely when I travel would I rather be scrolling endlessly (except maybe while in line places).
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Have you considered a CellSpot? It served me well in the days when my phone didn't support Wi-Fi calling.
That is a good suggestion, thank you. Unfortunately when I’m out of the backyard it means I am doing a ton of work that doesn’t benefit by my carrying an extra device around