Through working with the UK Space Agency on the Astro Pi project we’ve learnt about something called Outernet. Internet, Outernet – see what they did there? Outernet is a small company started by Syed Karim that broadcasts the most useful stuff from the internet via satellites in geostationary orbit.
Anyone receiving the broadcast then has access to all that stuff for free! The idea is that you can receive it in locations around the world where there is little or no internet infrastructure; or perhaps where the regime in power curtails access to information.
The UK Space Agency is working with Clyde Space, a Scottish technology company, to manufacture and launch a constellation of cube satellites to extend Outernet’s global coverage.
The content is the kind of thing you would find in a public library, with resources on human health, anatomy, encyclopaedias, how-to guides and news feeds. The data is broadcast cyclically so that any new receiver joining the broadcast can catch up with everyone else. The content received from the satellites is cached and served out to the users via http pages, meaning that any device with a browser can be used to read it (both Ethernet and WiFi are supported). It’s worth noting this is only one-way content, because you can’t send messages back up to the satellites.
Outernet also has a board of trustees whose job is to curate which content from the internet makes it into the broadcast. They’re also planning a voting system, which will allow anybody with internet access to participate in that process.
What’s all this got to do with Raspberry Pi? Outernet offers several different kinds of receiver; and the DIY one is based on a Raspberry Pi! After learning this, we decided to get one up and running at Pi Towers to evaluate the tech! So I contacted Syed Karim, and he generously sent us three DIY receiver kits to play with.
The main piece of hardware you need is a USB DVB-S2 dongle. The one included in the kit was designed specifically by Outernet to keep costs down. The dongle allows you to plug in the coaxial cable from a satellite dish and consume the data on the Pi.
In Europe, the Outernet broadcast is delivered through the Hotbird satellite, which has a footprint covering all of Europe, North Africa and parts of the Middle East. Because of its orbital position you need a slightly larger than normal dish to receive it. 60cm or larger is required, so we just ordered an 80cm one from Amazon.
Here it is installed on the roof of Pi Towers:
Aligning a satellite dish correctly can be a bit of a dark art, so we hired a professional with his own equipment to come and make sure it was pointing in the right direction.
It’s then simply a matter of burning a special SD card image provided by Outernet to an SD card, and booting the Pi up. This is essentially a minimal Linux ARM distro that has everything required to make the reciever work; it’s not Raspbian based and currently only works for the Pi 1 CPU.
Here’s our one:
The DVB-S2 dongle on the top plugs in via USB and has its own mains power supply. Currently, we think, we’re the first receiver online in the UK (up since the 2nd of June).
The software you use to access the downloaded content is called Librarian, and looks like this:
At the moment, it’s mostly news articles that are being broadcast. Each row in the list above is a different article, and each has one or two medium-resolution images along with the text.
There is also a nice configuration page allowing you to choose which satellite you’re using, and to monitor how large the database has grown.
New content coming down from the satellites is held prior to being added to your library, allowing you to choose which items to keep or discard.
Currently about 200MB of data per day is delivered through the broadcast; however, in the future they hope to offer up to 1GB per day.
We see this technology as being a fantastic solution to the problems with offline web servers that go out of date over time. When something is updated on the internet, the Outernet service can just retransmit the new version and all the receivers will update their local copies. We’re also aware that various NGO charities are already using Raspberry Pi networks in remote places with equipment like RACHEL-Pi (which we’ve covered here before). This system could easily be dropped into a network like that as an additional resource, providing a great source of searchable information.
We’re going to be watching Outernet with interest in the future, and we are considering the possibility of having some of our educational resources broadcast by their service.
If you want to buy a DIY reciever they’re available in the Outernet online store now.
astroengine writes: Satellites are numerous, vital to many modern activities, and incredibly expensive to build and launch. They're constructed with redundancy and simplicity in mind because if something goes wrong after the satellite reaches orbit, we can't do much to help it. Now, NASA is talking about building an orbital service station that can perform maintenance, repair, and even refueling operations on these satellites. "Is there a way working with humans and robots together to extend the useful life of satellites, by fixing them and by not allowing fuel to spill out, but give it more propellant, close it up and send it on its way?," said Benjamin Reed, deputy director of the Satellite Servicing Program Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "Yes, We have the technologies to be able to do it."
A partial list of reasons to let you skip combat in games with “story/tourist mode”:
Disabled people exist and may have trouble with some combat features (joint issues preventing rapid clicking, etc.) that stop them from playing a game they would otherwise enjoy
By allowing people to skip fights, it’s harder for game developers to pad out content with a bunch of long boring mook fights and artificially inflate gameplay hours
By allowing people to skip fights, you also give game developers an incentive to make the fighting itself fun so that people will actually check it out
Basically it generally gives developers incentive to add interesting content that isn’t endless grinding with a mediocre combat system
I’ve played this game like five times already I’ve done all these fights I just want to see all the outcomes of the decision I make after this boss fight and I really don’t wanna do this goddamn fight five times in a row
I’m taking pictures for reference right now/testing out a mod/farming for banter please get this dragon away from me
I’ve mostly been enjoying the combat in this game but I’ve died literally ten times against this boss please just let me move on
Again, disabled gamers exist.
Making combat an optional fun part of a game instead of the sole focus of a game would do SO FUCKING MUCH to improve the storytelling in a lot of games.
Yup.
This’d be great. I’m already dreading the backlash, though.
FAIRFAX, VA—In the wake of Wednesday’s mass shooting that left nine dead at a church in South Carolina, sources confirmed today that National Rifle Association officials had already started up with their shit about what would be an even greater injustice. “What happened in Charleston is a terrible tragedy, but what would be even worse is if we reacted to this event by passing laws infringing on our constitutional rights,” said NRA board member Charles Cotton, who, right on cue, let loose the same predictable flood of steaming horseshit about how the real threat facing Americans comes from legislators who would attempt to restrict access to firearms. “While we mourn those killed, we should never let an incident like this distract from our defense of [the fact that I myself am a pile of human waste who is fundamentally incapable of responding to the deaths of innocent people ...
Walking along Lafayette Street in NYC’s Nolita neighborhood the other day I came across this incredible geometric painting “Soho Dog” by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel.
You can check out more of his amazing art on his website and Instagram.
Last week, iTunes released Shannon Sun-Higginson’s documentary GTFO: The Movie to the general public. In an interview with TIME, the director discussed her goals and the process of making the film. Sun-Higginson says the inspiration to make the movie started with a video she had seen about harassment in gaming:
For me what was most striking about that video was that this guy was harassing this woman but there were tons of people around. It was an officially sponsored event, and he just felt comfortable enough to harass this woman, he was part of an environment in which he felt like he could do that. One of the things that we really try to get across is that watching it happen to other people is being complicit.
When asked how she felt about trolls and whether she had spoken to any of them, the director replied that the documentary was meant to give voice to women, not the harassers:
I definitely didn’t want to give a voice for those people in the movie. And I shot it almost entirely by myself, and that’s just not a situation I wanted to put myself in.
Sun-Higginson also recounts how her movie kept receiving negative reviews (even before it was released!), and how “hearing those adult male voices was pretty shocking.” The cast includes Anita Sarkeesian, Zoe Quinn, Brianna Wu, Leigh Alexander, and a lot more sharing their thoughts and experiences on sexism in the industry.
Ok, it’s not anywhere near as weird as the X-Men burger commercial but blockbuster film partnerships with food brands almost always make us LOL.
Red Robin’s landing page for their Terminator Genisys promotion however, shows they’re seriously dedicated to selling the product. The site turns your mouse into a Terminator scope and shows you the source of each of the burger’s ingredients (“fire-grilled beef patty topped with roasted jalapeño, pepper-jack cheese, shredded romaine, bacon, tomatoes and jalapeño aioli, served on a new jalapeño-cornmeal bun”) when you hover over them.
And if you visit you can also take advantage of some of their other promotions:
Additionally, Red Robin’s latest Burger & A Movie™ promotion puts the spotlight on guests, with an offer to receive a free movie ticket to see Terminator Genisys when they purchase a $25 limited edition Red Robin gift card. Gift cards can be purchased at participating Red Robin restaurants nationwide now through August 23rd. To drum up additional excitement for the upcoming film, Red Robin is encouraging guests to share pictures while enjoying “The Genisys Burger” on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #RRillbeback. The Gourmet Burger Authority™ will select one lucky winner each week during the first month the movie is in theatres to win free Red Robin burgers for a year.
Ok, instead of free burgers for a year, how about a life-sized T-800 skeleton???
In news that may actually come as a welcome relief for people who want to go to a comic-con and actually buy some comics without being banished to the furthest, coldest, stinkiest reaches of the convention hall, Variety reports that key nerdbait producers Marvel Studios and Sony (and Paramount Pictures) have all decided to skip the San Diego Comic-Con this year.
Candlewick Press, a leading publisher of books for children, seeks a talented Publicity, Brands, and Consumer Outreach Director, to be an integral part of the leadership and vision of the marketing and publicity team. The position offers involvement in bo... Employer: Candlewick Press Posted: 06/19/2015
American Reflexxx is a short film documenting a social experiment that took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Alli Coates filmed performance artist Signe Pierce as she strutted down a busy oceanside street in stripper garb and a reflective mask. The pair agreed not to communicate until the experiment was completed, but never anticipated the horror that would unfold in under an hour
The result is a heart wrenching technicolor spectacle that raises questions about gender stereotypes, mob mentality, and violence in America.
You see how quickly it escalates– and how quick people are to harass when they feel there is no reprecussion. But as soon as they are confronted, they ran away.
Notice that it’s a cis woman who shoves her down and that there are cis women hurling slurs at her right along the men. You can’t just chalk this up to male violence and act like it’s not your business. Cis women who consider themselves allies need to take a stand against violent transmisogynist cis women just like men need to take a stand against violent rapist men and white people need to take a stand against white violence.
Simon and frequent collaborator George Pelecanos were initially hesitant about taking on The Deuce: “I don’t wanna make a porn show,” Simon recalls telling Pelecanos. “I’m married with kids and lawn furniture. I don’t want to go there, man. That’s dark.” But a location manager on Treme whohad been researching the life of a man who worked at a 42nd Street mob front in the ’70s convinced the duo otherwise. “You ...
The 1980s Marvel Super Heroes RPG was well-designed and was supported by a ton of supplements and adventures. But the greatest thing about it was the FASERIP chart, the one chart that could tell you once and for all who would win in a fight, Thor or the Hulk.
and we are considering the possibility of having some of our educational resources broadcast by their service.
Super Opinionated.
I’ll be bac-on.
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