Author: Cameron Summerson / Source: How-To Geek
Plus Snap’s big push to stay relevant, Amazon’s Alexa-powered AirPods alternatives, more Android Q news, and a lot more. It’s time to talk about the biggest, coolest, or generally most interesting stories from the last 24 hours.
Amazon Wants to Send 3,236 Satellites into Low Earth Orbit to Bring Internet to the Masses
Last September, there were murmurs of Amazon working on some sort of space project. More details recently arose, showing that the plan is to launch a bunch of satellites to trickle down internet access to underserved communities.
Seriously though, how cool is that?
Amazon is calling this effort “Project Kuiper,” (named after astronomer Gerard Kuiper) and the details were recently uncovered by GeekWire in a series of three filings made by the FCC. The plan is to launch 3,236 satellites—784 at 367 miles, 1,296 at 379 miles, and 1,156 at 391 miles—to provide internet access in places around the Earth that are either totally unserved or generally underserved. Amazon wants to bring internet access to the globe.
In response to the findings, GeekWire reached out to Amazon for a statement, at which time the project was confirmed:
Project Kuiper is a new initiative to launch a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world. This is a long-term project that envisions serving tens of millions of people who lack basic access to broadband internet. We look forward to partnering on this initiative with companies that share this common vision.
The report goes on to state that the satellites would provide coverage ranging from 56 degrees north to 56 degrees south latitude, and that “about 95 percent of the world’s population lives within that wide swath of the planet.” Sorry, other five percent.
Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t provide a timeline for the launch of these satellites, nor did it speak about the logistics or economic aspect of the project.
There’s still a lot of work to be done here to make this project a reality, however, and these filings are just the beginning—mostly logistics. Amazon has to prove that its satellites won’t interfere with existing satellites (or, you know, anything else), for example. All the details will need to be finalized and approved before the project can begin to take a more realistic shape.
[GeekWire]
Apple News: Another AI Expert Moves from Google to Apple
Things have been quiet for Apple over the last day, with the biggest news being a move that aims to make the company’s AI tech better.
- Apple hired Ian Goodfellow, a former top Google AI expert. Goodfellow was named the Director of Machine Learning last month. Interesting stuff. [Engadget]
- MacWorld reviewed the 2019 iPad Mini, which is probably worth a read if you’re considering picking up this new pint-sized powerhouse. [MacWorld]
While people frequently move from one company to another and it’s generally not a big enough deal to talk about, Goodfellow moving from Google to Apple is notable for a few reasons.
First off, this is the man who invented GAN, or Generative Adversarial Network; a specific type of machine learning that uses dueling neural networks to create realistic photos and videos. This is the type of technology that is used to create deepfakes.
While it’s still unknown exactly what Goodfellow’s role will be at Apple, it is known that he’ll be part of Apple’s Special Projects Group. This is the team within Apple responsible for designing the tech that powers future products and services.
It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the first time Apple has taken a top AI expert from Google—former AI and Search Chief John Giannandrea joined Apple in December of last year and was quickly appointed to Senior VP of Machine Learning. It’s unclear if Goodfellow and Giannandrea will work together, but either way, it’s pretty clear that Apple is looking to take its AI tech to the next level.
Google News: More Android Q Details Emerge
Plus, Smart Compose is coming to subject lines, the dates for the Android Dev Summit were revealed, and Google Arts & Culture explores Kansas City.
- If you’ve ever had a hard time writing the subject line of an email (which, let’s be real here, is often the hardest part), Google has your back. Smart Compose is coming to subject lines. This was announced specifically for G Suite, but like with other Gmail features, we’ll likely see it in the consumer version of Gmail soon as well. [G Suite Update]
- The official Android Developers account sent out a tweet yesterday with a “Big Announcement” to “Save the date.” The thing is, it didn’t have a date. It was a fun…
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