To enable connectivity with regular phones, Starlink will fit some of its satellites with advanced eNodeB modems that act like a cellphone tower in space.

Starlink said this would allow for network integration similar to a standard roaming partner.

For South Africa, with its strict Black Economic Empowerment requirements, it has so far meant no Starlink access unless there is a local BEE ownership. But this new service may "fly" as it would be an upstream service rendered through the local cellular providers (not directly to end consumers), much like any roaming cellular partner.

Because this would work with any cellphone, it will be even more important for under serviced areas, and those travelling in more remote rural areas.

The plan is to launch texting services in 2024, followed by voice and data connectivity in 2025.

Very interesting too, to see IoT support planned from 2025.

See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/511228-starlink-launching-cellphone-towers-in-space.html

#technology #Starlink #SouthAfrica

To enable connectivity with regular phones, Starlink will fit some of its satellites with advanced eNodeB modems that act like a cellphone tower in space.

Starlink said this would allow for network integration similar to a standard roaming partner.

For South Africa, with its strict Black Economic Empowerment requirements, it has so far meant no Starlink access unless there is a local BEE ownership. But this new service may "fly" as it would be an upstream service rendered through the local cellular providers (not directly to end consumers), much like any roaming cellular partner.

Because this would work with any cellphone, it will be even more important for under serviced areas, and those travelling in more remote rural areas.

The plan is to launch texting services in 2024, followed by voice and data connectivity in 2025.

Very interesting too, to see IoT support planned from 2025.

See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/511228-starlink-launching-cellphone-towers-in-space.html

#technology #Starlink #SouthAfrica

To enable connectivity with regular phones, Starlink will fit some of its satellites with advanced eNodeB modems that act like a cellphone tower in space.

Starlink said this would allow for network integration similar to a standard roaming partner.

For South Africa, with its strict Black Economic Empowerment requirements, it has so far meant no Starlink access unless there is a local BEE ownership. But this new service may "fly" as it would be an upstream service rendered through the local cellular providers (not directly to end consumers), much like any roaming cellular partner.

Because this would work with any cellphone, it will be even more important for under serviced areas, and those travelling in more remote rural areas.

The plan is to launch texting services in 2024, followed by voice and data connectivity in 2025.

Very interesting too, to see IoT support planned from 2025.

See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/511228-starlink-launching-cellphone-towers-in-space.html

#technology #Starlink #SouthAfrica

Firefox’s Review Checker is now preparing to give users the tools to weed out unreliable reviews. Screenshots posted by MSPowerUser show how the tool is accessible via a price tag icon in the browser’s URL bar, which brings up a sidebar with details on the current open product page. The tool assigns the product’s reviews a grade based on how reliable it believes them to be, offers an “adjusted rating” out of five stars with “unreliable reviews removed,” and pulls out some highlights of the existing reviews.

Fakespot already offers its review checking services via its website, extensions for browsers like Chrome and Safari, and iOS and Android apps.

It is being tested in the USA currently, but unfortunately, Fakespot only works with some of the major US shopping sites. Currently, those sites are: Amazon, BestBuy, Flipkart, Home Depot, Sephora, Steam, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Walmart. It would be really useful if this could also work on AliExpress and many other international eCommerce sites.

It's worth noting that such extensions require access to the content of visited pages to work, so where you have this installed as an extension, you can use an extension like Extensity to quickly deactivate/activate it when needed.

See https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/11/23912457/firefox-review-checker-fakespot-feature-test-experiment

#technology #fakereviews

Firefox’s Review Checker is now preparing to give users the tools to weed out unreliable reviews. Screenshots posted by MSPowerUser show how the tool is accessible via a price tag icon in the browser’s URL bar, which brings up a sidebar with details on the current open product page. The tool assigns the product’s reviews a grade based on how reliable it believes them to be, offers an “adjusted rating” out of five stars with “unreliable reviews removed,” and pulls out some highlights of the existing reviews.

Fakespot already offers its review checking services via its website, extensions for browsers like Chrome and Safari, and iOS and Android apps.

It is being tested in the USA currently, but unfortunately, Fakespot only works with some of the major US shopping sites. Currently, those sites are: Amazon, BestBuy, Flipkart, Home Depot, Sephora, Steam, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Walmart. It would be really useful if this could also work on AliExpress and many other international eCommerce sites.

It's worth noting that such extensions require access to the content of visited pages to work, so where you have this installed as an extension, you can use an extension like Extensity to quickly deactivate/activate it when needed.

See https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/11/23912457/firefox-review-checker-fakespot-feature-test-experiment

#technology #fakereviews

Firefox’s Review Checker is now preparing to give users the tools to weed out unreliable reviews. Screenshots posted by MSPowerUser show how the tool is accessible via a price tag icon in the browser’s URL bar, which brings up a sidebar with details on the current open product page. The tool assigns the product’s reviews a grade based on how reliable it believes them to be, offers an “adjusted rating” out of five stars with “unreliable reviews removed,” and pulls out some highlights of the existing reviews.

Fakespot already offers its review checking services via its website, extensions for browsers like Chrome and Safari, and iOS and Android apps.

It is being tested in the USA currently, but unfortunately, Fakespot only works with some of the major US shopping sites. Currently, those sites are: Amazon, BestBuy, Flipkart, Home Depot, Sephora, Steam, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Walmart. It would be really useful if this could also work on AliExpress and many other international eCommerce sites.

It's worth noting that such extensions require access to the content of visited pages to work, so where you have this installed as an extension, you can use an extension like Extensity to quickly deactivate/activate it when needed.

See https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/11/23912457/firefox-review-checker-fakespot-feature-test-experiment

#technology #fakereviews

The linked article really focusses on physically printing photos and sticking them in an album. But I've actually found printed Photo Books to work very well. They do achieve the same purpose of sitting around a table and being able to enjoy looking at the memories together, and they both last 100+ years. I've been able to add the text captions, stickers, etc quite well to Photo Books, and they look great with their hard covers which also include selected photos.

Digital photos are very easy to share, and to forget, as the constant stream on Instagram or Facebook moves relentlessly onwards. People die, and hard drives crash: It's easier than you think to lose thousands of photos in a flash. We're not even sure if the JPG format will be readable in 100 or 200 years time.

A photo book is a great birthday or anniversary gift, as memories are probably more precious than a pair of socks or another T-shirt. By doing a book, you are also forced to select the very best memories to be printed.

And it's not just about family or friends, organisations should also be producing similar printed Photo Books. When I left my company I was working for, I had 10+ years of photos and videos. Hopefully, many of those are still on one of the servers, but a collection of printed Photo Books by the year, would have been really worth something to have on a bookshelf or even in the reception area.

I've been slack myself, but I'm going to now commit to doing at least just one such Photo Book annually from now on.

See https://www.wired.com/story/photo-album-rave/

#technology #photos #memories

The linked article really focusses on physically printing photos and sticking them in an album. But I've actually found printed Photo Books to work very well. They do achieve the same purpose of sitting around a table and being able to enjoy looking at the memories together, and they both last 100+ years. I've been able to add the text captions, stickers, etc quite well to Photo Books, and they look great with their hard covers which also include selected photos.

Digital photos are very easy to share, and to forget, as the constant stream on Instagram or Facebook moves relentlessly onwards. People die, and hard drives crash: It's easier than you think to lose thousands of photos in a flash. We're not even sure if the JPG format will be readable in 100 or 200 years time.

A photo book is a great birthday or anniversary gift, as memories are probably more precious than a pair of socks or another T-shirt. By doing a book, you are also forced to select the very best memories to be printed.

And it's not just about family or friends, organisations should also be producing similar printed Photo Books. When I left my company I was working for, I had 10+ years of photos and videos. Hopefully, many of those are still on one of the servers, but a collection of printed Photo Books by the year, would have been really worth something to have on a bookshelf or even in the reception area.

I've been slack myself, but I'm going to now commit to doing at least just one such Photo Book annually from now on.

See https://www.wired.com/story/photo-album-rave/

#technology #photos #memories

The linked article really focusses on physically printing photos and sticking them in an album. But I've actually found printed Photo Books to work very well. They do achieve the same purpose of sitting around a table and being able to enjoy looking at the memories together, and they both last 100+ years. I've been able to add the text captions, stickers, etc quite well to Photo Books, and they look great with their hard covers which also include selected photos.

Digital photos are very easy to share, and to forget, as the constant stream on Instagram or Facebook moves relentlessly onwards. People die, and hard drives crash: It's easier than you think to lose thousands of photos in a flash. We're not even sure if the JPG format will be readable in 100 or 200 years time.

A photo book is a great birthday or anniversary gift, as memories are probably more precious than a pair of socks or another T-shirt. By doing a book, you are also forced to select the very best memories to be printed.

And it's not just about family or friends, organisations should also be producing similar printed Photo Books. When I left my company I was working for, I had 10+ years of photos and videos. Hopefully, many of those are still on one of the servers, but a collection of printed Photo Books by the year, would have been really worth something to have on a bookshelf or even in the reception area.

I've been slack myself, but I'm going to now commit to doing at least just one such Photo Book annually from now on.

See https://www.wired.com/story/photo-album-rave/

#technology #photos #memories