US company to beam free wi-fi to entire world from space - Is this possible?

A US company is planning to build an 'Outernet - a global network of cube satellites broadcasting Internet data to all the people on the planet - for free.

The idea is to offer free Internet access to all people, regardless of location, bypassing filtering or other means of censorship, according to the New York based non-profit organisation, Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF).

MDIF proposes that hundreds of cube satellites be built and launched to create a constellation of sorts in the sky, allowing anyone with a phone or computer to access Internet data sent to the satellites by several hundred ground stations.

The organisation claims that 40 per cent of the people in the world today are still not able to connect to the Internet - and it's not just because of restrictive governments such as North Korea - it's also due to the high cost of bringing service to remote areas, 'phys.org' reported.

An Outernet would allow people from Siberia to parts of the western US to remote islands or villages in Africa to receive the same news as those in New York or Tokyo.

The Outernet would be one-way - data would flow from feeders to the satellites which would broadcast to all below.

MDIF plans to add the ability to transmit from anywhere as well as soon as funds become available.

MDIF has acknowledged that building such a network would not be cheap. Such satellites typically run $100,000 to $300,000 to build and launch.

The timeline for the project calls for deploying the initial cubesats as early as next summer.

Once turned down by Facebook and ended up selling a thing to FB for $19 billion

Heights of how things change. 

Look at the timeline of events that happened with Brian Acton who is whatsapp co-founder.

Facebook buys Whatsapp for $19 billion

Facebook Inc will buy fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, as the world's largest social network looks for ways to boost its popularity, especially among a younger crowd.

The acquisition of the hot messaging service with more than 450 million users around the world stunned many Silicon Valley observers with its lofty price tag.

But it underscores Facebook's determination to win the market for messaging, an indispensable utility in a mobile era.

Combining text messaging and social networking, messaging apps provide a quick way for smartphone users to trade everything from brief texts to flirtatious pictures to YouTube clips — bypassing the need to pay wireless carriers for messaging services.

And it helps Facebook tap teens who will eschew the mainstream social networks and prefer WhatsApp and rivals such as Line and WeChat, which have exploded in size as mobile messaging takes off.

WhatsApp is adding about a million users per day, Facebook co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on his page on Wednesday.

Guess who's credit card have been hacked for shopping spree - PayPal president's credit card

PayPal President David Marcus said on Monday that his credit card details were stolen and the information was used to finance a fraudulent spending spree.

Marcus said the card was probably "skimmed" at the hotel he was staying at, or at a merchant he visited, during a recent trip to the U.K.

"They then cloned it and went on a shopping spree," the executive wrote on Twitter.

Marcus noted that his credit card had EMV chip technology, a more secure system currently in use in Europe. But that didn't stop the data from being stolen and used for a "ton of fraudulent" transactions, according to the PayPal chief.

A skimmer is a device fixed to the front of an ATM or point-of-sale terminal that secretly swipes credit and debit information when customers slip their cards into the machines to withdraw cash or pay for something. This malicious technology has been around for years, but skimmers are constantly improving it, according to cyber security expert Brian Krebs.

PayPal's Marcus did not waste an opportunity to tout his company's security benefits, saying the breach would not have happened if the merchant had accepted PayPal as a form of payment. PayPal says it does not share card or bank account details with merchants when shoppers use the service to buy something.

PayPal is trying to expand from its online roots to become a common way to pay in physical stores. The security of card transactions in retail locations has been questioned recently by the massive theft of customer data from Target.

"Obfuscating card data online, on mobile, and now more and more offline remains one of PayPal's strongest value props," Marcus added on Twitter.

Indian Luger Crashes at 70 MPH, Rolls Back on Sled Mid-run

Shiva Keshavan, a 31-year-old luge athlete, is one of the early viral stars of the Sochi Olympics after GIFs and videos of his incredible mid-run crash – at a speed of approximately 70 MPH – and recovery hit the web. 

Keshavan is from India, but he's racing under the Olympic flag owing to his home country's suspension by the IOC. Earlier this year, footage of his training regimen – which includes using a Himalayan highway as a training track – gained attention online. 

Apparently, there are no rules against falling off a sled mid-run, so Keshavan's run will stand. (It was just a practice, though.) 
Medal or not, Keshavan has already won the internet.  

Microsoft Names New Chief; Satya Nadella

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that Satya Nadella was its next leader, betting on a longtime engineering executive to help the company keep better pace with changes in technology.

The selection of Mr. Nadella to replace Steven A. Ballmer, which was widely expected, was accompanied by news that Bill Gates, a company founder, had stepped down from his role as chairman and become a technology adviser to Mr. Nadella.

John W. Thompson, 64, a member of the Microsoft board who oversaw its search for a new chief executive, became the company’s chairman, replacing Mr. Gates.

“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” said Mr. Gates, who remains a member of Microsoft’s board. “Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together.”