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Virgin to Launch the ‘World’s Largest’ Internet Satellite Constellation
Apple Watch battery will last between 2 and 5 hours
BlackBerry boss wants to force developers onto their platform

Virgin to Launch the ‘World’s Largest’ Internet Satellite Constellation

Posted: 23 Jan 2015 08:56 AM PST

As several other Internet providers reveal plans to provide the world with Internet, Virgin joins them, announcing plans for Internet satellite constellations.

Despite only having been around for two decades, the Internet has already massively impacted our lives. For some it has provided fame and fortune, for others it has provided jobs and friendship and for everybody else it just gives them a way to binge watch TV (Netflix!) when they have a bit of free time.

But as the world becomes more Internet focused than ever (kitchen appliances are already being hooked up to the net, for example) some people risk being left behind. Not only that but for those in remote areas or for those in poor, rural communities, the Internet could offer them a new source of livelihood. Unfortunately though, with them being unable to trump up the cost for fibre optic (or slower copper wired broadband) they haven’t got a chance.

This is something that Sir Richard Branson’s company, Virgin, would like to remedy. Off the back of his galaxy spanning Virgin Galactic program (which takes people to space and lets them float about in zero gravity conditions) they have now announced plans to work with a startup called OneWeb to launch “the world’s largest ever satellite constellation”.

Branson says that Virgin Galactic will “help make… frequent satellite launches (possible) at a much lower cost and greater reliability.” This will work by sending the Launcher One 51,000 feet into space via the WhiteKnightTwo cargo aircraft where it then releases a sub-500 pound device into a near-Earth orbit. This strategy, along with the fact that the launch uses much less fuel than conventional rocket launches, makes it ideal for putting together an Internet satellite constellation on the cheap.

With the lofty goal of 648 satellites, Virgin hopes to deliver Internet and phone reception to “billions of people” the world over. However, there are clear issues with this already. For one, the Virgin Galactic program has been going though some issues lately including the crash of SpaceShipTwo which killed a pilot and threw up questions of Virgin Galactic’s safety. At the time Branson assured people that Virgin Galactic is safe and that all the necessary precautions were taken but there are doubts nonetheless. There’s also the question of just how people in remote areas will be able to access these phone and Internet connections as presumably, if they’re remote enough to be off the grid then it’s likely that they’re remote enough not to own a smartphone or a laptop either.

And on top of this, Internet satellite programs have been attempted before. Iridium tried it in the mid-90s before failing (though they are looking to try again this year), while a Bill Gates backed program called Teledesic was officially suspended in 2002. That doesn’t bode well for Virgin’s chances but we’ll keep you posted once we know more.

Source: Virgin

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Apple Watch battery will last between 2 and 5 hours

Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:00 AM PST

New reports around the web suggest that, if used “actively”, the Apple Watch’s (or iWatch) battery would only last between 2 and 5 hours.

A new report from the Mac-centric website 9 to 5 mac claims Apple’s new smartwatch would have a rather short battery life, which would last only a couple of hours if used “actively”. This is because of the A5 processor it uses summed to the Retina screen, both responsible for the watch’s smooth performance. If it was used in mixed mode instead (combining both passive and active), the battery life could go up to 19 horas or even go up to three days in stand by.

9 to 5 Mac claims the Cupertino guys conducted several stress tests and weren’t really happy with the results. By giving it intense use (say, playing games), the battery would be drained in mere two hours and a half, while running apps instead would make it last for three and half hours. Even with only the screen being on all the time, battery life seems to be exceedingly short.

These results are particularly worrying for Apple if we were to compare these with those of the competition. The Moto 360, for example, can work for some 24 hours in mixed mode while the Samsung Gear S can go on for an entire day. The Peblle Smartwatch, although an entirely different beast, can be used for a week without recharging, even.

Apple have not sent any communications about these issues yet, but they trust the iWatch will be used passively and this won’t impact user experience. The Cupertino team are aiming for some 19 hours in mixed mode, but they already know battery life will be rather short, and least in this first generation. Would we be safer if we waited for the obvious iWatch 2 instead?

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BlackBerry boss wants to force developers onto their platform

Posted: 22 Jan 2015 04:46 PM PST

BlackBerry CEO John Chen has recently made a very strange blog post where, in the name of net neutrality, suggests that developing apps for BlackBerry should be mandatory.

The BlackBerry blog saw an update yesterday where their CEO John Chen weighed on the topic of net neutrality, and somehow managed to turn the issue about him while managing to completely miss the point. In Chen’s opinion, companies like Apple and Netflix (that he specifically mentioned) are flagrant offenders of the net neutrality principles because Netflix and iMessage are not available for BlackBerry.

Don’t believe us? Read his very own words:

Unfortunately, not all content and applications providers have embraced openness and neutrality. Unlike BlackBerry, which allows iPhone users to download and use our BBM service, Apple does not allow BlackBerry or Android users to download Apple’s iMessage messaging service. Netflix, which has forcefully advocated for carrier neutrality, has discriminated against BlackBerry customers by refusing to make its streaming movie service available to them. Many other applications providers similarly offer service only to iPhone and Android users. This dynamic has created a two-tiered wireless broadband ecosystem, in which iPhone and Android users are able to access far more content and applications than customers using devices running other operating systems. These are precisely the sort of discriminatory practices that neutrality advocates have criticized at the carrier level.

Therefore, neutrality must be mandated at the application and content layer if we truly want a free, open and non-discriminatory internet. All wireless broadband customers must have the ability to access any lawful applications and content they choose, and applications/content providers must be prohibited from discriminating based on the customer’s mobile operating system.

This proposal, first of all, has nothing to do with net neutrality. Chen is saying that app developers should be compelled to develop apps for every mobile platform. Nevermind that creating an app for one operating system is time-consuming and expensive, which is why many apps debut on only iOS or Android.

What this confusing rhetoric boils down to is the claim that it’s unfair to lock BlackBerry users out of apps because of their platform of choice, and that the law should force companies to create versions of their apps for Android, BlackBerry, iOS … and whichever other OS exists out there – imagine forcing Volkswagen or Ford to have to sell their cars on every retailer, and that is how crazy this sounds.

Right now these declarations are making the rounds around the world where media outlets are proceeding to explain how crazy and impossible this is, and even making fun of the company who now looks incredibly desperate.

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