Google tests balloons to beam internet from near space

Google is launching balloons into near space to provide internet access to buildings below on the ground.

About 30 of the superpressure balloons are being launched from New Zealand from where they will drift around the world on a controlled path.

Attached equipment will offer 3G-like speeds to 50 testers in the country.

Access will be intermittent, but in time the firm hopes to build a big enough fleet to offer reliable links to people living in remote areas.

It says that balloons could one day be diverted to disaster-hit areas to aid rescue efforts in situations where ground communication equipment has been damaged.

But one expert warns that trying to simultaneously navigate thousands of the high-altitude balloons around the globe's wind patterns will prove a difficult task to get right.

Airborne for months

Google calls the effort Project Loon and acknowledges it is "highly experimental" at this stage.

Each balloon is 15m (49.2ft) in diameter - the length of a small plane - and filled with lifting gases. Electronic equipment hangs underneath including radio antennae, a flight computer, an altitude control system and solar panels to power the gear.

Google aims to fly the balloons in the stratosphere, 20km (12 miles) or more above the ground, which is about double the altitude used by commercial aircraft and above controlled airspace.

Google says each should stay aloft for about 100 days and provide connectivity to an area stretching 40km in diameter below as they travel in a west-to-east direction.

The firm says the concept could offer a way to connect the two-thirds of the world's population which does not have affordable net connections.

"It's pretty hard to get the internet to lots of parts of the world," Richard DeVaul, chief technical architect at Google[x] - the division behind the scheme - told the BBC.

"Just because in principle you could take a satellite phone to sub-Saharan Africa and get a connection there, it doesn't mean the people have a cost-effective way of getting online.

"The idea behind Loon was that it might be easier to tie the world together by using what it has in common - the skies - than the process of laying fibre and trying to put up cellphone infrastructure."

A group of about 50 testers based in Christchurch and Canterbury, New Zealand, have had special antennae fitted to their properties to receive the balloons' signals.

Google now plans to partner with other organisations to fit similar equipment to other buildings in countries on a similar latitude, so that people in Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Australia can also take part in the trial.

However, they typically remain airborne for up to a few days at a time rather than for months, and are not as wide-ranging. One expert cautioned that Google might find it harder to control its fleet than it hoped.

"The practicalities of controlling lighter-than-air machines are well known because of the vagaries of the weather," said Prof Alan Woodward, visiting professor at the University of Surrey's department of computing.

"It's going to take a lot of effort to make these things wander in an autonomous way and I think it may take them a little longer to get right than they might believe."

What are superpressure balloons?

Superpressure balloons are made out of tightly sealed plastic capable of containing highly pressurised lighter-than-air gases.

The aim is to keep the volume of the balloon relatively stable even if there are changes in temperature.

This allows them to stay aloft longer and be better at maintaining a specific altitude than balloons which stretch and contract.

In particular it avoids the problem of balloons descending at night when their gases cool.

The concept was first developed for the US Air Force in the 1950s using a stretched polyester film called Mylar.

The effort resulted in the Ghost (global horizontal sounding technique) programme which launched superpressure balloons from Christchurch, New Zealand to gather wind and temperature data over remote regions of the planet.

Over the following decade 88 balloons were launched, the longest staying aloft for 744 days.

More recently, Nasa has experimented with the technology and suggested superpressure balloons could one day be deployed into Mars's atmosphere.

Source: BBC Technology News

Use Your Eyes Instead of a Mouse to control Computer

It's hard to imagine a computer you can control with your eyes, but the technology exists and should be available on store shelves in the next couple of years.

Swedish company Tobii, a pioneer in eye tracking technology, has come up with a way to control the screen of a laptop or desktop with your eyes that's actuate within a quarter of an inch.

The technology was first made available to people with handicaps, but it's progressed and will soon be available to the general public.

Pretty soon you can read e-mails with your hands behind your head, scrolling up and down with your eyes. Or if you're playing FIFA soccer you can decide where to shoot the ball by looking at the upper left corner of the goal.

Source: Yahoo News

A380 - The World’s First Super-jumbo Aircraft

A380 - The World’s First Super-jumbo Aircraft:

The Airbus A380 first took to the skies in April 2005. The test flight was a success but the aircraft needed many more tests before being cleared for commercial use.

The Airbus A380 came about as the result of thousands of people working together. It involved a network of more than 100 international suppliers as well as partners in more than 20 countries. This matches the industrial scale involved in a space program.

Fast Facts about A380:

• Cost: $375.3 million
• Passengers: 525 people in three-class configuration or up to 853 people in all-economy class
• Space: 5,146 square feet of floor space; 49% more than the current next-largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400 with 3,453 square feet
• The Airbus A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France, and made its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines

 The History of the Airbus A380

In the mid 70’s Airbus went through a very slow patch business-wise. In 1976 they only sold one aircraft and their output was one aircraft per month. This was partly caused by the global recession at the time and the oil crisis in the Middle East.

In the 80’s the company produced the Airbus A320 which helped strengthen their position in the market. This was followed by the Airbus A330 and A340.

In the 90’s Airbus recognized the need for a larger long-haul aircraft. They started experimenting with designs and the A380 was conceived.

 Features of the Airbus A380

The design team had a number of goals in mind for the Airbus A380. These included the following:

• Reducing the weight and maintenance cost of aircraft systems
• To use fewer avionic computers that would serve a greater number of purposes
• The greater use of aluminum electrical cable
• To introduce titanium into the landing gear
• In late 1999 a material called GLARE (glass-fiber-reinforced aluminum laminate) was selected for the upper fuselage shell of the A380

Facts about the Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is an engineering marvel and the result of thousands of hours of research and testing and billions of dollars. The result is an aircraft of amazing size with advanced features:

• The Airbus A380 landing gear incorporates 22 wheels
• The nose landing gear is just over 16 feet tall
• The inflatable slides on the A380 are the longest of any aircraft and can extend as far as 53 feet. They include a survival kit, integrated lighting systems and a radio beacon
• The Airbus A380 can carry up to 38% more passengers than a Boeing 747
• The cargo version of the A380 allows space for 25 containers in the upper deck, 33 in the main deck and 13 in the lower deck
• The aircraft is designed for 19,000 flight cycles, 140,000 flight hours or 25 years – whichever it reaches first

Specifications of the Airbus A380:

• Fuselage diameter 23 feet 5 inches
• Overall length 239 feet 3 inches
• Wingspan 261 feet 8 inches
• Overall height 79 feet 7 inches
• Passengers – typical layout – 555 – 22 first class, 96 business class, 437 economy class
• Maximum passenger capacity 853

The Airbus A380 is changing the face of international travel and many people have sought the experience of flying in one. It has placed Airbus as a firm competitor in the long haul aircraft market.

Source: Suite101

World’s Most Expensive Cell Phones

Most people enjoy having a quality cell phone, but they also recognize that cellular phones are a consumable good and will have to be replaced within in a few years. For this reason, people often do not purchase the most expensive cell phone when they purchase their mobile. Some, though, must have a costly mobile phone. The world’s most expensive cell phones were made to satisfy just that type of person.

Ulysse Nardin’s The Chairman – up to $49,500

The Chairman by Ulysse Nardin is the world’s most expensive Android smartphone, and includes both a touch screen and a physical number pad. The Ulysse Nardin name is most often associated with luxury watches and that fact shows in the Chairman’s sophisticated design. The volume controls look like watch buttons and the crown between them can actually be wound to generate power for the device. In fact, the phone features a kinetic rotor power system visible through the backplate.

Nokia 8800 Arte with pink diamonds - $134,000

Designed by Peter Aloisson, this solid 18k white gold phone features over 680 pink and white brilliant cut diamonds totaling over 21.5 carats. Some of the phone’s features are a 3.15 MP camera with autofocus and video, a music player, Bluetooth and voice memo.

Peter Aloisson’s iPhone Princess Plus - $176,400

The Princess Plus got its name from the Princess cut used on 138 of the 318 diamonds on its surface. The other 180 diamonds on the phone were brilliant-cut. In total, the phone has 17.75 carats of diamonds set in 18k white gold around its rim. The iPhone Princess Plus is worth $176,400 while the somewhat more pedestrian “Brilliants only” version sold for $66,150.

Sony Ericsson Black Diamond – $300,000

The price of this phone comes from actual state of the art technology instead of a bunch of shiny rocks—but that doesn’t mean it lacks visual appeal. OLED technology underneath the polycarbonate skin that covers the phones entire face gives the 4 megapixel screen a borderless look. The mirror finish gives the phone a sleek, futuristic look.

Vertu Signature Cobra - $310,000

This gaudy phone is so exclusive that only eight will ever be made. Designed by French jeweler Boucheron, the Signature Cobra is made with two diamonds, two emeralds and 439 rubies. For buyers who are only filthy rich, rather than obscenely rich, twenty-six of the less flashy (read: no rubies) Signature Python phones will be available for a mere $115,000. Both phones will feature the real draw—they have frikkin’ snakes on them. Awesome.

Gresso Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot – $1 million

This ultra-exclusive phone, limited to only three units, truly lives up to its name. Not only is it extraordinarily expensive, but its Egypt-inspired design will look right at home in the hands of a Vegas high-roller. The phone features 45.5 carats of black diamonds decorating the bezel and a back panel made from 200-year-old African blackwood—the most expensive wood in the world. As if that weren’t enough to ensure the Jackpot a place among the world’s most expensive mobile phones, each key is cut from a hand-polished sapphire crystal. All of these luxurious materials are set in a 180-gram solid gold frame.

The Diamond Crypto Smartphone – $1.3 million

Created by luxury accessory producer Peter Aloisson of Moscow-based JSC Ancort, this luxury smartphone’s price stems from the platinum body, the cover adorned with 50 diamonds—including eight that are rare blue diamonds. Additionally, the Ancort logo and the navigation key are made of 18k rose gold. Built on the Windows CE, this expensive cell also features a high-resolution color TFT display and a 256 bit cryptographic algorithm. This expensive mobile phone features SMS, MMS, E-mail and Internet capability, WAP, JAVA support and even a media player.

GoldVish ‘Le Million’ Piece Unique - $1.3 million

Guinness World Records certified GoldVish SA’s ‘Le Million’ Piece Unique on January 29th, 2008. The Geneva-based luxury communications company’s expensive mobile phone was designed by Emmanuel Gueit as an addition to the Illusion Collection. The phone is made of 18k white gold and set with 20 carats of VVS1 (only microscopically flawed) diamonds. The phone also features Bluetooth, 2 GB of storage, FM radio, a digital camera and MP3 playback. This expensive cell phone is available only by special order.

Peter Aloisson’s Kings Button iPhone - $2.4 million

The Kings Button iPhone is, surprisingly, a jewel-bedecked iPhone. This time, however, Aloisson had the iPhone 3G to play with—and, apparently, a bit of a bigger budget. One hundred and thirty-eight brilliant-cut diamonds line the sides of the phone, but the real prize is the home button—a rare 6.6 carat white diamond.

Goldstriker iPhone 3GS Supreme - $3.2 million

Stuart Hughes of Goldstriker International is known for giving luxury devices such as phones and video game consoles the “Supreme” treatment—covering them with gold and diamonds—and the iPhone is no exception. The iPhone 3GS Supreme features a casing made from 271 grams of solid 22k gold and a screen trimmed with fifty-three 1-carat diamonds. The home button is covered with a single rare 7.1-carat diamond. That’s not all, though—the iPhone 3GS Supreme comes in a chest carved from a single block of granite and sports Kashmir gold and an interior lining made with Nubuck top grain leather.

Stuart Hughes iPhone 4 Diamond Rose Edition - $8 million

If you thought his iPhone 3GS Supreme was impressive, check out the latest iPhone from Stuart Hughes–the iPhone 4 Diamond Rose Edition. Hughes has recreated the infamous antenna band that wraps around the sides of the latest iPhone, as well as the backplate, using rose gold. The band is adorned with 100 carats of flawless diamonds, and the Apple logo is formed with fifty-three more diamonds. Once again, the home button gets the most love–it’s made of platinum and features a rare 7.4-carat pink diamond.

The phone comes in an imperial pink 7-kilogram chest cut from a single block of granite and lined with nubuck top-grain leather. It also comes with an 8-carat flawless diamond that can be used in place of the pink one.

Source: The Most Expensive