White House initiative pushes for more tiny satellites

Miniature satellites are increasingly a big deal, and for good reasons: they’re not only less expensive and easier to deploy than the giant satellites of old, but can cover wider areas. And the White House wants to give them a helping hand. It’s launching an initiative that will foster small satellites with the resources they need to flourish. To start, NASA is not only proposing as much as $30 million toward purchasing data from these tiny vessels, but creating a Small Spacecraft Virtual Institute that will offer know-how to organizations. A more direct effort has the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awarding Planet a $20 million contract for a fleet of small satellites that can capture images of “at least” 85 percent of the planet every 15 days.

Other plans? The Department of Commerce is elevating the importance of the Office of Space Commerce, whose director can now advise the Commerce Secretary on private spaceflight and help federal outfits take advantage of mini satellites. NGA, meanwhile, is teaming with the General Services Administration to create a single portal for finding and buying satellite data. And the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity is offering satellite info as part of a challenge to develop breakthroughs in both 3D mapping as well as identifying building functions from space.

If all goes well, the effort will give private outfits a stronger incentive to build small satellites. They’ll have customers (both public and private) ready and waiting to buy the fruits of their labor. However, the US has broader ambitions. This could help bring Moore’s Law to space, the White House says — satellites could get ever smaller while accomplishing more than their monolithic ancestors.

Source: White House

AT&T buys Time Warner’s media group for $85.4 billion

AT&T Time Warner merger deal is reached, $85.4 billion in cash and stock will change hands if approved.

AT&T’s proposal to buy Time Warner, Inc’s media division for $85.4 billion is now final. Announced on the company’s press site, the deal settled at $107.50 per share and was half cash and half stock. This will give AT&T possession of cable networks such as CNN, TNT, and HBO as well as Warner Bros. film and TV studio. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson will continue to head the company and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes will remain for an interim period then depart.

This puts AT&T/Time Warner alongside Comcast/NBC Universal as companies who control large cable or telecom pipes and content house to produce media to distribute on them. According to the Wall Street Journal, many regulators have expressed misgivings about the approval of the Comcast-NBC U deal and a “rigorous regulatory review” is expected. The deal, if approved, isn’t likely to close until late 2017.

This shouldn’t have any effect on AT&T’s mobile business, outside of any content distribution they may choose to offer.

Android and chill: The Pixel and exclusivity

The Pixel, phone by Google. Exclusively for Verizon. Not really.

I’ve noticed something during the past week. There are plenty of people who think the Pixel is a Verizon exclusive. This isn’t an accident, I’m sure.

I have no idea what language is on whatever piece of paper Google and Verizon execs signed about the Pixel. I’m pretty certain it wasn’t a note scribbled on a bar napkin and had enough lawyers look at it to make the room unhealthy, but nobody but those lawyers and a handful of others on the respective legal teams knows exactly what it says. But something in the wording apparently says Google had to say the Pixel was “only at Verizon” or other silly things.

They’re scaling that back. If you go to the Made by Google site it tells you that you can have “The best of Google on the next-gen network by Verizon” but it doesn’t say exclusive or only or anything of the sort anywhere on the page. Too bad it’s too late for some folks.

I’m not knocking on the other choices available that people have gone with because they thought they couldn’t use a Pixel. There are plenty of companies making phones that will appeal to plenty of people. The iPhone 7, the LG V20, the Galaxy S7 edge, hell even the Lumia 950 XL are great phones that nobody would have thought were possible just a few years ago. And there are plenty of people who would choose any of these over a Pixel. That’s a good thing. Having a choice is always better. But poorly worded advertising that takes a choice away is not.

Any Pixel, whether the smaller version of the XL model, will work with the SIM card you’re using now.

Let’s be clear — the Pixel is Google’s new phone that you can buy direct from the Google Store, Project Fi, Best Buy or Verizon. Any Pixel you buy from any of these places will work anywhere in the world. There are some differences that hardcore nerdly enthusiasts care about when it comes to bootloaders and update providers, but none of that will change the fact that any Pixel, whether the smaller version of the XL model, will work with the SIM card you’re using now.

I’m sorry if the wording Google used had you thinking that you couldn’t replace your AT&T Galaxy Note 7 with a Pixel. I want to hope that someone in a Google office somewhere is sorry, too. But there are definitely people somewhere who aren’t sorry because this is exactly what that wording was supposed to do. Google, Verizon, I get it. You’re both really good at making money and at the beginning of a newly rekindled relationship where the sex is awesome and you still like looking at each other. But that whole “exclusivity” thing was pretty lame.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

Google Store
Verizon

Six futuristic designs that will change public transportation

By Cat DiStasio

As the world’s urban centers grow, getting around them becomes increasingly difficult. In some cities, traffic is congested all day long and rush hour can last for several hours. Fortunately, there are a number of innovations in public transportation specifically aimed at alleviating those woes. While traditional buses simply add to street traffic and subways aren’t feasible in all areas, engineers are looking to public transit options that can go over or around regular car traffic, making for some easier ways to get from Point A to Point B without spending hours sniffing exhaust. Elsewhere in the world, underwater floating tunnels will reduce the need for ferry rides, and a unique modular transport system could completely revolutionize long-distance travel for both people and cargo. Read on for all the details about the next generation of transportation, including some developments that will be up and running in less than five years.

The high-flying Caterpillar Train

This award-winning design for an elevated “Caterpillar Train” (cTrain) hints at a new era for mass transit. Rather than riding rails affixed to the ground level, the train car travels on an arch-shaped structure that carries passengers high above the street, leaving plenty of space for cars, trucks and standard street-level buses. Unlike typical raised rail transit, the cTrain’s thin arches wouldn’t block out the urban scenery, which is another added benefit. The design, developed by Jacob Innovations Inc., beat out 28 other entries to win the MIT Climate CoLab competition this year.

China’s “traffic-straddling bus”

In 2010, concept designs for an amazing “straddling bus” emerged, and the project was met with a mixture of awe and disbelief. Chinese developers actually built a prototype of the Transit Elevated Bus, and put it to the test on busy road. The electric bus is designed so that its undercarriage creates a tunnel through which regular car traffic can flow, eliminating the need for cars to stop behind the bus at every passenger stop. The TEB is two lanes wide, and up to four of the straddling buses can be linked together for a combined passenger capacity of 1,200. Although the bus requires a special track on either side of the roadway on which to run, its developers say the TEB can be road-worthy in less than a fifth of the time and cost of a typical subway line.

Mercedes-Benz’s self-driving Future Bus

Earlier this year Mercedes-Benz unveiled a futuristic self-driving bus that promises a safer, more efficient commute. The semi-autonomous Future Bus uses cameras and radar to navigate the roadways while giving the human driver a bit of a break. Its predictive driving style also lowers fuel consumption, which helps shave greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. So far, the Future Bus has only driven itself on a test track, but Mercedes-Benz is working hard to polish the technology so the bus can embark on the open road.

Hyperloop

While a full-fledged Hyperloop track from San Francisco and Los Angeles is many years away, the list of advantages is already miles long. Initially conceived by Elon Musk, the Hyperloop promises an ultra high-speed passenger and cargo transportation option that can travel up to 700 miles per hour. Last year, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies CEO Dirk Ahlborn said the ride might even be free for passengers, instead drawing income from cargo shippers and passenger upgrades. The pod-like transit system could be operational as early as 2019, when it would reduce the 380-mile trip from San Francisco to LA to a cool 30 minutes. If the ride happens to be free, that would just be icing on the cake.

Norway’s underwater floating tunnels

Norway is a land of innovation in many ways, and the country’s plan to build the world’s first floating underwater tunnels is just one example of how clever design is being put to use to solve everyday problems. Norway is a land of 1,100 fjords, and most people rely on a network of ferries to travel, but those are time-consuming and inconvenient. Now, the country is gearing up to add submerged floating bridges to the country’s already extensive network of underwater tunnels. These would be suspended 100 feet below the water’s surface and wide enough for two lanes of traffic. Floating the underwater tunnels is a smart response to the difficult terrain that makes traditional stationary tunnels a challenge to construct. The $25 billion project is expected to be open for traffic by 2035.

Clip-Air’s modular transport system

Perhaps the most amazing of all designs in this collection is Clip-Air, a modular transportation system comprised of capsules that can carry passengers or cargo, depending on their configuration. The modules can be transferred from truck to train to airplane, making for a seamless journey from origin to destination, without the need to haul tail across busy airport terminals in order to make your next connection. For passengers, the Clip-Air system would turn long-distance travel into a real dream, making it possible for people to relax, eat, and sleep while en route to the other side of the world. Cargo transport could be simplified as well, with less energy and time wasted unloading one form of transportation (like a semi truck) and reloading another (like a freight airplane).