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Facebook buys drone technology

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  Facebook buys drone technology Hils <hils@saynotospam.net> - 2014-03-29 08:33 +0000
    Re: Facebook buys drone technology john <nospam@no.net> - 2014-03-29 13:30 -0800
      Re: Facebook buys drone technology RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-31 09:59 +0000
        Re: Facebook buys drone technology Hils <hils@saynotospam.net> - 2014-03-31 15:03 +0100
          Re: Facebook buys drone technology RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-31 14:24 +0000
          Re: Facebook buys drone technology Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-03-31 19:11 +0200
        Re: Facebook buys drone technology Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-03-31 19:10 +0200
          Re: Facebook buys drone technology Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2014-03-31 19:52 +0000
            Re: Facebook buys drone technology Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-04-01 13:16 +0200
              Re: Facebook buys drone technology Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2014-04-02 09:01 +0000

#2122 — Facebook buys drone technology

"Facebook has bought a Somerset-based designer of solar-powered drones
for $20m (£12m) as it goes head-to-head with Google in a high-altitude
race to connect the world's most remote locations to the internet."

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/28/facebook-buys-uk-maker-solar-powered-drones-internet

At first I wondered if it was an early April Fool prank, then I found this:

"Facebook has assembled a team of experts in the US and UK tasked with
connecting the social network's next five billion users to the website
(and the rest of the internet). [...]

The Connectivity Lab plans to use solar-powered drones and satellites
fitted with communications gear to relay internet access to areas of
medium and low population density, along with new laser-based
technologies to create a high-bandwidth transmission network."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/27/facebook_connectivity_lab/

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#2131

Hils wrote:

> "Facebook has bought a Somerset-based designer of solar-powered drones
> for $20m (£12m) as it goes head-to-head with Google in a high-altitude
> race to connect the world's most remote locations to the internet."
> 

Sounds 50% cool and 50% creepy to me. Facebook & Google blanketing the world 
with drones 24/7. Oh well, I guess we are already surrounded by satellites.

I can't see this being a very reliable internet connection. I don't know 
about Africa, but the weather where I live would take those things out 
pretty easily.

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#2157

On 2014-03-29, john <nospam@no.net> wrote:
> Hils wrote:
>
>> "Facebook has bought a Somerset-based designer of solar-powered
>> drones for $20m (£12m) as it goes head-to-head with Google in a
>> high-altitude race to connect the world's most remote locations to
>> the internet."
>> 
>
> Sounds 50% cool and 50% creepy to me. Facebook & Google blanketing the
> world with drones 24/7. Oh well, I guess we are already surrounded by
> satellites.
>
> I can't see this being a very reliable internet connection. I don't
> know about Africa, but the weather where I live would take those
> things out pretty easily.

I do know something about Africa - lived and worked here for almost a
decade and I'm posting from Senegal (write that down, NSA guys).

This whole ballons vs drones in Africa sounds like rich, stupid boys
with their expensive toys.  I lived in Benin, West Africa, from 2006 to
2010.  It's one of the poorest countries on earth but you know what?
It's got nearly complete coverage with cellphone service, and though the
service isn't great and the coverage isn't complete, lots of richer
Beninese have cell phones and even smart phones, and use them to connect
to the internet.

Put a drone in the skies over Benin and a lot of people will suppose
it's some evil spy technology and get pissed off.

In Senegal I've got a 3G cellular dongle I can put in my laptop and
connect to the Internet over mediocre speeds even from the center of my
construction site, which is out in the middle of the boonies.  Remote,
rural farmers don't have access, but they don't have cell phones either.
And if you put a drone over their heads it won't change a damned thing.
If these guys are truly looking for their next million customers,
they'll find them among the business and commercial class of Africans,
who live in small and medium cities, carry (nice) cell phones, and are
pretty computer savvy.  Hell, a lot of them already use Facebook and
Twitter.  I don't get it.

These 'entrepreneurs' need to wake up and drink a nice, hot, steaming
cup of wake-the-fuck-up.  They don't know anything about Africa.

This continent is never going to have land lines, but cellphone
technology is revolutionizing life in Africa.  With a lowend feature
phone capable of doing basic internet stuff and a halfway decent
cellphone network, these drone wet dreams are going to be superfluous.

I highly suspect there's something else at play here.  Hils, you say 50%
cool, 50% creepy.  I'm more at 10% cool and 90% creepy.  Something isn't
right here, and it's either something devious or something outright
stupid.

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#2160

On 2014-03-31 10:59, RS Wood wrote:
> I highly suspect there's something else at play here.  Hils, you say 50%
> cool, 50% creepy.  I'm more at 10% cool and 90% creepy.  Something isn't
> right here, and it's either something devious or something outright
> stupid.

That was john's summary, but Zuck's idea of floating solar-powered
internet repeaters rather smacks of rich kids throwing around money that
has come to them too easily in an attempt to attract more publicity and
"business partners". Their business model is built on perpetual expansion.

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#2163

On 2014-03-31, Hils <hils@saynotospam.net> wrote:
> On 2014-03-31 10:59, RS Wood wrote:
>> I highly suspect there's something else at play here.  Hils, you say 50%
>> cool, 50% creepy.  I'm more at 10% cool and 90% creepy.  Something isn't
>> right here, and it's either something devious or something outright
>> stupid.
>
> That was john's summary, but Zuck's idea of floating solar-powered
> internet repeaters rather smacks of rich kids throwing around money that
> has come to them too easily in an attempt to attract more publicity and
> "business partners". Their business model is built on perpetual expansion.

Oops, sorry John.  Hils, well said.  'boys with toys.'  

Given infinite expansion isn't possible, I will look forward with glee
to the eventual conflagration.

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#2176

On 2014-03-31, Hils <hils@saynotospam.net> wrote:
> On 2014-03-31 10:59, RS Wood wrote:
>> I highly suspect there's something else at play here.  Hils, you say 50%
>> cool, 50% creepy.  I'm more at 10% cool and 90% creepy.  Something isn't
>> right here, and it's either something devious or something outright
>> stupid.
>
> That was john's summary, but Zuck's idea of floating solar-powered
> internet repeaters rather smacks of rich kids throwing around money that
> has come to them too easily in an attempt to attract more publicity and
> "business partners". Their business model is built on perpetual expansion.

A Ponzi scheme by a different name then.

But with a fleet load of lawyers to keep them out of jail.

-- 
Paul Sture

"In that case," said Napoleon, "let us wait twenty minutes; when the enemy
is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him."

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#2174

On 2014-03-31, RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> wrote:
> On 2014-03-29, john <nospam@no.net> wrote:
>> Hils wrote:
>>
>>> "Facebook has bought a Somerset-based designer of solar-powered
>>> drones for $20m (£12m) as it goes head-to-head with Google in a
>>> high-altitude race to connect the world's most remote locations to
>>> the internet."
>>> 
>>
>> Sounds 50% cool and 50% creepy to me. Facebook & Google blanketing the
>> world with drones 24/7. Oh well, I guess we are already surrounded by
>> satellites.
>>
>> I can't see this being a very reliable internet connection. I don't
>> know about Africa, but the weather where I live would take those
>> things out pretty easily.
>
> I do know something about Africa - lived and worked here for almost a
> decade and I'm posting from Senegal (write that down, NSA guys).
>
> This whole ballons vs drones in Africa sounds like rich, stupid boys
> with their expensive toys.  I lived in Benin, West Africa, from 2006 to
> 2010.  It's one of the poorest countries on earth but you know what?
> It's got nearly complete coverage with cellphone service, and though the
> service isn't great and the coverage isn't complete, lots of richer
> Beninese have cell phones and even smart phones, and use them to connect
> to the internet.

I was in Zambia for a year in the mid-80s and the least stressful way to
call the UK on a land line at work was to visit the office of the one chap
who had a "dial last number" button on his phone.

The folks there were very inventive.  The phrase "Necessity is the mother
of invention" really did apply in the face of scarce resources.

In Kenya they have a successful micropayments system which runs over
SMS; they don't even need web enabled phones to use this.

In the following BBC podcast from last July, Peter Day "visits Kenya's
high-tech incubators and talks to the innovators building on the success
of the mobile money system M-Pesa."

<http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio/worldbiz/worldbiz_20130720-0050a.mp3>


> Put a drone in the skies over Benin and a lot of people will suppose
> it's some evil spy technology and get pissed off.

Zambia was no different from other countries in Africa in that they were
pretty paranoid about state security.  Drones or ballons would make
excellent target practice, especially if there's some nice kit inside which
can be put to other uses or just simply sold for cash.

> In Senegal I've got a 3G cellular dongle I can put in my laptop and
> connect to the Internet over mediocre speeds even from the center of my
> construction site, which is out in the middle of the boonies.  Remote,
> rural farmers don't have access, but they don't have cell phones either.
> And if you put a drone over their heads it won't change a damned thing.

I was reading the comments on either The Register or Ars Technica and some
naïve folks were saying how great it would be to get a medical diagnosis
"over the internet".  That isn't the problem: the problem is getting hold
of regular and affordable medical supplies.

> If these guys are truly looking for their next million customers,
> they'll find them among the business and commercial class of Africans,
> who live in small and medium cities, carry (nice) cell phones, and are
> pretty computer savvy.  Hell, a lot of them already use Facebook and
> Twitter.  I don't get it.

Google were up to dirty tricks in Kenya in 2011.

"Google Was Caught Scraping Data From A Kenyan Startup And Telling Lies
About The Startup To Its Customers"

<http://www.businessinsider.com/google-kenya-2012-1>

Unfortunately the links on that page to the original blog are now dead, but
it made for very interesting reading at the time.
The above article ends with another link "Update: Google says it was
mortified to find out this happened and thinks it was a small team that
did it."  In that case how come the scam calls suddenly started coming out
of Google India if it really was a local thing?

> These 'entrepreneurs' need to wake up and drink a nice, hot, steaming
> cup of wake-the-fuck-up.  They don't know anything about Africa.

Exactly.

> This continent is never going to have land lines, but cellphone
> technology is revolutionizing life in Africa.  With a lowend feature
> phone capable of doing basic internet stuff and a halfway decent
> cellphone network, these drone wet dreams are going to be superfluous.
>
> I highly suspect there's something else at play here.  Hils, you say 50%
> cool, 50% creepy.  I'm more at 10% cool and 90% creepy.  Something isn't
> right here, and it's either something devious or something outright
> stupid.

I'll raise you to 95% creepy.

-- 
Paul Sture

"In that case," said Napoleon, "let us wait twenty minutes; when the enemy
is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him."

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#2181

On 2014-03-31, Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> wrote:

[35 lines snipped]

> In Kenya they have a successful micropayments system which runs over
> SMS; they don't even need web enabled phones to use this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa

> In the following BBC podcast from last July, Peter Day "visits Kenya's
> high-tech incubators and talks to the innovators building on the success
> of the mobile money system M-Pesa."

Ahh. Should have read further ahead.

-- 
Today is Setting Orange, the 17th day of Discord in the YOLD 3180
“Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime;
 the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out
                 automatically and without pity.”

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#2186

On 2014-03-31, Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote:
> On 2014-03-31, Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> wrote:
>
> [35 lines snipped]
>
>> In Kenya they have a successful micropayments system which runs over
>> SMS; they don't even need web enabled phones to use this.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa
>
>> In the following BBC podcast from last July, Peter Day "visits Kenya's
>> high-tech incubators and talks to the innovators building on the success
>> of the mobile money system M-Pesa."
>
> Ahh. Should have read further ahead.

Coincidentally, the M-Pesa has hit the press today with a launch in Romania.

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/04/01/mpesa_mobile_money_transfer_service_launches_in_romania/>

"Vodafone is to launch mobile-money-for-the-masses service M-Pesa in
Romania, which introduces and interesting challenge for the European
telcos and banks who have spent a decade wrangling over mobile money and
got nowhere.

...

The service is many times cheaper to use than systems like Moneygram and
Western Union. While they might cost a significant percentage of the cost
of the transfer, M-Pesa transactions typically costs 50 cents. *From its
roots as a corporate social responsibility project*, the service is still
ostensibly designed to serve the people sending and receiving the money
and make them more able to afford phone credit top-ups. It also makes
subscribers incredibly loyal."

And this is the point that Zuckerberg and Google miss.  This successful
project didn't need fancy high tech or squillions to make it happen.

Which reminds me of another African project reported on last year by 
Peter Day.  This one was using the existing distribution network Pepsi
or Coca Cola (I forget which) had to get anti-dysentry kits out to remote
areas.  The packaging was designed to use the empty space in the top of
full bottle crates, so the transport was essentially free, but they also
offered drinks retailers a margin on the kits to motivate them to do it.

I'll look up that podcast URL later...

-- 
Paul Sture

"In that case," said Napoleon, "let us wait twenty minutes; when the enemy
is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him."

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#2203

On 2014-04-01, Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> wrote:

> "Vodafone is to launch mobile-money-for-the-masses service M-Pesa in
> Romania, which introduces and interesting challenge for the European
> telcos and banks who have spent a decade wrangling over mobile money and
> got nowhere.

Well, kinda. Paym launches shortly, and Zapp by the end of the year.



-- 
Today is Boomtime, the 19th day of Discord in the YOLD 3180
“Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime;
 the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out
                 automatically and without pity.”

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