Wow, now I know. Thanks to a new "killer app" from Google called My Location. The folks at AppleInsider see it:
New Google Maps feature could simulate GPS on iPhones
By Slash Lane
A new version of Google Maps introduced this week includes a beta feature dubbed My Location that was designed to simulate the GPS experience on mobile phones and handheld devices that do not include GPS hardware, like Apple’s iPhone.
Essentially, the My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near non-GPS equipped mobile phones to approximate the device’s current location on the map down to about 10 city blocks.
"It’s not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average)," the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant explained on its website. "We’re still in beta, but we’re excited to launch this feature and are constantly working to improve our coverage and accuracy."
The My Location feature is currently available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices. However, it is not yet compatible with Apple’s iPhone.
Still, Apple has promised to continuously update and improve upon the feature set of its inaugural mobile handset, making it more than likely that the feature will turn up once it emerges from the beta stage.
For a more detailed explanation of My Location and a visual demonstration, please see the video below.
Just downloaded it on a BlackBerry and it works. Amazing.
Lagos Analysis Corp. (LANCOR) Files Lawsuit Against Nicholas Negroponte and OLPC Association for Patent Infringement. Negroponte’s OLPC Accused of Unauthorized Use of LANCOR’s Multilingual Keyboard Technology Invention in XO Laptops
BOSTON, MA–(Marketwire – November 27, 2007) – Lagos Analysis Corporation, a United States-based Nigerian-owned company with a subsidiary called LANCOR Management Limited, in Nigeria (LANCOR) announces today that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division holding at Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria against Nicholas Negroponte, One Laptop Per Child Association (OLPC) and its enablers in Nigeria.
The patent infringement lawsuit was filed on November 22nd, 2007 as a result of OLPC’s willful infringement of LANCOR’s Nigeria Registered Design Patent # RD8489 and illegal reverse engineering of its keyboard driver source codes for use in the XO Laptops.
LANCOR is seeking substantial damages as well as a permanent injunction to prevent OLPC from continuing to unlawfully manufacture, sell, distribute or offer for sale the XO Laptop, and any other products infringing on the RD8489 and using the illegally acquired keyboard driver source codes.
LANCOR is a pioneer in the development of advanced physical multilingual keyboard technology using four shift keys and characters with combining properties to allow for direct access typing of accents, symbols and diacritical marks during regular typing. LANCOR’s technology named Shift2 keyboard technology has been used to create a new class of region specific based keyboards called KONYIN Multilingual Keyboards, which are currently on sale globally. (http://www.konyin.com)
LANCOR has retained the law firm of Adedeji & Owotomo a Lagos, Nigeria-based law firm that specializes in intellectual property litigation. Both LANCOR and its legal counsel are extremely confident that LANCOR’s case will be successful.
LANCOR’s lawsuit alleges that OLPC purchased two KONYIN Multilingual Keyboard models (KONYIN Nigeria Multilingual Keyboard and KONYIN United States Multilingual Keyboard) with the express purpose of illegally reverse engineering the source codes for use in OLPC’s XO Laptops. "The willful infringement of our client’s intellectual property is so blatant and self-evident in the OLPC’s XO Laptops," said Solicitor Ade Adedeji, "we will have no problem establishing the facts of our client’s case against OLPC in any court of law."
"LANCOR treats its intellectual property as one of the Company’s most important resources," said Adé G. Oyegbola, chief executive officer of LANCOR. "This patent infringement lawsuit is another step in LANCOR’s continued protection of its intellectual property. LANCOR will continue to take aggressive steps to protect its intellectual property around the world. LANCOR is also in the process of filing a similar lawsuit against OLPC in a United States Federal Court," Oyegbola, added.
China’s Chang’e 1, its first lunar orbiter, has captured its first lunar image:
China’s Premier, Wen Jiabao didn’t miss the opportunity to extra-emphasize the picture’s importance:
"It showcases eloquently that the Chinese people have the will, the ambition and the capability to compose more shining new chapters while ascending the science and technology summit."
and
Citing a letter from an overseas Chinese, Wen said that the farther the China-made satellite flew, the higher would the overseas Chinese hold their heads.
and
"The success shows it’s completely possible for China to make breakthroughs in priority projects and win decisive battles in the competition of new high technologies."
Whew. He didn’t mention, however, that the Japanese had just returned their own lunar images — but in high-definition. We discussed those last month.
Building on its success, will China venture into manned moon missions (excuse my alliteration)? Rumors have been flying, but it appears they are not true:
The head of China’s space agency has confirmed that his country has no plans to put a man on the Moon.
Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, said that the hurdles to manned space exploration are too great for the time being, and that his agency will concentrate on mechanical exploration.
"I have read reports by foreign media saying that China would carry a manned Moon landing in 2020, but I do not think there has been such a plan," Sun told the state run Xinhua News Agency at a press conference in Beijing.
"So far, our Moon mission only includes unmanned probes. But I believe one day China will send its own astronauts to land on the Moon. I hope I can see it happen."
But it appears China does have plans to launch a lunar rover:
"The success of the Chang’e-1 project has helped us train a professional team and will support the mission’s next aim of landing a rover on the moon," he said.
A remote controlled Moon rover will land in 2012 and a second mission in 2017 will try to bring back rock samples.
China has big plans for remote exploration of space. The country is building a new space centre on the island province of Hainan in the South China Sea, and in 2005 became the third nation to put astronauts into space.
Intended to deliver broadcast and broadband services across Europe and Africa, the SIRIUS 4 satellite successfully launched yesterday for SES-Sweden:
A Proton launch vehicle successfully lifted the SIRIUS 4 satellite into orbit today, marking the fourth mission of the year for International Launch Services (ILS).
The Proton Breeze M vehicle, built by ILS partner Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, lifted off from Pad 39 at the cosmodrome at 4:39 a.m. today local time (5:39 p.m. EST Saturday, 22:39 GMT Saturday). After a 9-hour-13-minute mission, the launcher released the satellite into geostationary transfer orbit.
The SIRIUS 4 satellite is expected to go into service at the beginning of January at 5 degrees East longitude, where it will deliver broadcast and broadband services across Europe and parts of Africa for SES SIRIUS of Sweden.
“This was an especially important mission for ILS and our customer, SES SIRIUS,” said ILS President Frank McKenna. “ILS and our partner, Khrunichev, continue to focus on performance and on our long-term relationship with the SES group of companies.” This was SES SIRIUS’ first mission with ILS, which has launched 12 other satellites on Proton for sister companies SES ASTRA and SES AMERICOM since 1996.
“We are very proud and satisfied that the SIRIUS 4 mission has been a success,” said Hakan Sjodin, managing director of SES SIRIUS. “SIRIUS 4 will benefit our customers and extend our coverage and service in Eastern Europe. The success of the SIRIUS 4 mission is a milestone in our company history and we would like to express our appreciation of the good cooperation with our launch partners, International Launch Services and Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems.”
Lockheed Martin built the SIRIUS 4 spacecraft using its A2100 platform. This was the 10th Proton mission with this type of spacecraft.
The Sirius satellites will be operated by the Swedish Space Corporatoin. Sven Krohn, who from his bio appears to be the Swedish space business superstar, runs their blog.
Dans la nuit du mercredi 14 au jeudi 15 novembre 2007, Arianespace a mis en orbite de transfert géostationnaire deux charges utiles : le satellite de télécommunications militaires Skynet 5B d’Astrium Paradigm pour le Ministère britannique de la Défense et le satellite de télécommunications civiles Star One C1 de Thales Alenia Space pour l’opérateur brésilien Star One.
Trente-cinquième lancement d’Ariane 5, vingt-et-unième succès d’affilée et nouveau record de masse en orbite. Ce nouveau succès du lanceur Ariane 5, le cinquième en 2007, confirme que l’offre de Service & Solutions d’Arianespace est la référence pour tous les opérateurs du secteur des télécommunications civiles ou militaires. Depuis le début de 2007, Arianespace a lancé dix des douze satellites commerciaux de télécommunications lancés avec succès vers l’orbite géostationnaire.
Now, in English:
On Wednesday evening, November 14, Arianespace boosted two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO): the Astrium Paradigm Skynet 5B military communications satellite for the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the Star One C1 commercial communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Brazilian operator Star One.
The latest successful launch of an Ariane 5, the fifth in 2007, confirms that Arianespace’s launch Service & Solutions continues to set the standard for all telecom operators worldwide, whether civil or military. Since the beginning of 2007, Arianespace has successfully launched 10 of the 12 commercial telecommunications satellites placed in geostationary orbit. The Ariane 5 ECA launcher set a new record on this mission, orbiting a total payload of more than 8,700 kg.>
This is very cool: a video shot from the jungles of French Guiana. So this is what’s its really like to be there.
The Ariane 5’s cryogenic, liquid fuelled, main engine was ignited first. Seven seconds later, the solid fuel rocket boosters were also fired, and a fraction of a second after that, the launch vehicle lifted off.
The solid boosters were jettisoned 2 min: 19 sec after main engine ignition, and the fairing protecting the payload during the climb through the Earth’s atmosphere was discarded at 3 min: 10 sec. The launcher’s main engine was shut down at 8 min: 58 sec; six seconds later the main cryogenic stage separated from the upper stage and its payload.
Four seconds after main stage separation, the engine of the launcher’s cryogenic upper stage was ignited to continue the journey. The upper stage engine was shut down at 24 min: 56 sec into the flight, at which point the launch vehicle was travelling at 9377 metres per second (just over 34 800 km/h) at an altitude of 626.1 kilometres and the conditions for geostationary transfer orbit injection had been achieved.
At 27 min: 12 sec after main engine ignition, Skynet 5B separated from the launcher, followed by Star One C1 at 33 min: 47 sec.
What about that payload?
The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses the Skynet satellites for communications, with this newest generation provided many times more capacity than the previous series. Interestingly, the MOD doesn’t really own the satellite. They contract with Paradigm Secure Communications to design, build and operate the entire Skynet system. They make sure it’s suitable for military use (hardened, jam-proof, etc.)
Star One C1’s X-band payload will be used by the Brazilian military, but most of the payload will be used for television broadcasting and Internet applicaitons. Representing the third generation of Embratel satllites, Star One C1 was built by Thales Alenia Space and is based on the Spacebus 3000B3 configuration. It will replace Brasilsat B2 at 65° West. The C-band beam will be pretty hot over Brazil, and will be available to commercial teleports in southern Florida, as will the Mercosur Ku-band beam. The Brazilian Ku-band beam will be concentrated over Brazil’s urban centers along the southeast coastal area.
We blogged about Intel helping establish the most remote WiMAX city in the world before, so we’re glad to see Embratel placing an emphasis on bridging the digital divide. The Embratel Institute is their dedicated organization, setting up communications points, digital libraries and distance learning programs throughout Brazil.
"Qualcomm has won a federal contract to provide a satellite-based tracking system for U.S. and Mexican trucks participating in a contentious experiment that opens the border to long-haul commercial traffic," SignOn San Diego reports:
Federal officials said yesterday that the San Diego-based company’s OmniTRACS system will allow the U.S. government to closely monitor trucks from both countries, including compliance with regulations that prohibit truckers from driving more than 11 hours per day.
Although Qualcomm is best-known for its prominent role as a chip-maker in the wireless industry, the company also is a major designer of satellite tracking systems for vehicles.
Qualcomm will provide tracking technology for 100 trucks at a cost of $367,000, officials said.
U.S. transportation officials hope the tracking system will soften congressional opposition to the two-month-old pilot project. Five carriers from Mexico and three from the United States are participating in the program, which is limited to a maximum of 100 carriers from each country.
OmniTRACS uses geosynchronous satellites and "helps fleets improve productivity, reduce operating costs, enhance customer service, and increase security." Features include:
* Automatic satellite vehicle positioning * Two-way text and data communications * Highly reliable message delivery * Customizable reports * AS/400, Windows®, or web-hosted operation * Panic Buttons (available option)
We’re not sure what the Panic Button achieves, but we assume it won’t be ignored like the car alarms that bleet plaintively in our local mall parking lot.
Maptuit NaviGo is a real-time, hybrid in-cab navigation service that provides professional truck drivers and trucking companies with interactive maps for increased routing efficiency and improved driver satisfaction. QUALCOMM plans to offer NaviGo on the OmniVision platform later this year….
The OmniVision mobile computing platform is an integrated system consisting of hardware, software and network infrastructure, enabling delivery of two-way data communications and value-added services to enterprises in a mobile environment.
SIRIUS has announced "Doctor Radio", a "24/7 Health and Wellness Channel" that will launch in early 2008. The new channel will be a collaborative effort from SIRIUS and the NYU Medical Center and will feature content from doctors and medical experts.
To serve Americans’ hunger for health, medical and wellness information, SIRIUS’ Doctor Radio will cover the human condition and the complexities of the bodies we inhabit, as well as entertain a little bit along the way. Doctor Radio will give listeners direct access to the best doctors in every field, breaking down barriers between the medical world and the everyday world, and giving listeners information to make important decisions about their health and well-being. NYU Medical Center doctors will take new medical research and findings and translate them into easy-to-understand advice and knowledge in an innovative and new way to better peoples’ lives.
This announcement comes just five years after GE Medical Systems and NBC launched "The Patient Channel", a television channel that distributes health-related content to US hospitals. NBC also maintains "The Newborn Channel", a similar health-related network that focuses on parenting.
Want to check out these channels but don’t want to visit the hospital? Both channels are carried by AMC-3, transponder 1K – check out Lyngsat for the latest downlink information and tune-in.
On the other side of the content spectrum, XM Radio has just announced the launch of the Led Zeppelin channel this Thursday.
From the site:
A 24/7 celebration of the music and magic of Led Zeppelin. A handcrafted channel dedicated to everything Led Zeppelin, including studio albums, rare and archival concerts, interviews, and listener interaction. A continuous and mystical radio voyage into the past, present, and future of the mighty Led Zeppelin.
This is part of "Whole Lotta Love Week" in America. It also coincides with the release this Tuesday of "Mothership", the newest "greatest hits" album in the Zeppelin catalogue, hand-chosen by the three remaining members of the band and remastered for sonic perfection (read Pitchfork’s review). The band is also re-releasing the live album "The Song Remains the Same", including versions on HD-DVD. But perhaps the biggest news is the release of the entire Led Zeppelin catalogue exclusively on iTunes tomorrow. For $99, you can purchase the "box set", which includes every single Led Zeppelin album. If you don’t already have copies of all albums in vinyl or CD, that’s a fantastic price for an essential part of anyone’s music collection.
Of course all of this recent Led Zeppelin mania has been inspired by their upcoming concert in London this December. For those who are lucky enough to go but already bought your plane tickets, you better call the airline – the concert has been postponed for two weeks because guitarist Jimmy Page broke his finger. I just hope it’s not his left ring finger – the solo on "Stairway" wouldn’t sound the same without those crazy arpeggios at the end.
A la suite d’une anomalie constatée sur l’un des équipements du lanceur Ariane 5, Arianespace a décidé de reporter le lancement prévu le vendredi 9 novembre afin de procéder à des vérifications complémentaires. Une nouvelle date de lancement sera communiquée dès que possible.
Translation: Arianespace has postponed tonight’s Ariane 5 lift-off following the detection of an anomaly on the launch vehicle. Additional verifications on the launcher are being performed. A new launch date will be announced shortly.
Tonight’s Ariane 5 lift-off has been postponed by Arianespace following the detection of an anomaly on the launch vehicle.
Both the launcher and its dual-satellite payload are in a safe mode, and the Ariane 5 is being moved back to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building. The electrical anomaly involves a flight support unit on one of the launcher’s two solid propellant boosters, and this unit will be swapped out with a new one.
A new launch date for the mission will be announced shortly. The flight will be Arianespace’s fifth Ariane 5 mission of 2007, and the launcher carries the Skynet 5B and Star One C1 satellites.
Skynet 5B was built by Astrium, and will be delivered in orbit to Paradigm Secure Communications. The spacecraft is to provide military telecommunications services for the United Kingdom’s armed forces, NATO and other countries.
Star One C1 is a Thales Alenia Space-manufactured satellite, which will be used by Brazilian satellite operator Star One for communications, multimedia and broadband Internet services over South America.
In September, we discussed the launch Japan’s lunar study, KAGUYA – what many consider the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission in the post-Apollo Era. KAGUYA is already showing results, bringing us the first high definition image of Earth (link):
The photograph was taken from a distance of 110,000 km– hundreds of times further away from Earth than any spaceship with similar capabilities had ever been. After taking these breathtaking images, KAGUYA went on to orbit the Moon and then released a baby satellite as part of its ongoing lunar exploration mission.
Until recently there were only three possible ways to photograph Earth from a distance of several hundred kilometers- via a Space Shuttle, via the International Space Station (ISS) or via orbiting satellites. Now, thanks to the KAGUYA Lunar explorer, which was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), we can see Earth in its full glory, as it is from afar.
In September 2007, JAXA launched the KAGUYA (SELENA: Selenological and Engineering Explorer) into space. It is composed of a main orbiting satellite and two smaller satellites in polar orbit, and is equipped with instruments for scientific investigation of the Moon.
KAGUYA’s (SELENA) main mission is to collect scientific data from the Moon that will be used to explore the possibility of utilizing the Moon in the future. The three HD CCD 2.2 Mega-pixel cameras onboard the KAGUYA were developed by Japan’s Broadcasting Corporation specifically for this mission. In addition to the cameras, the ship is equipped with 13 other scientific instruments which will be used to explore the Moon.
The abovementioned image was processed from a high resolution video that was shot periodically over eight minutes, on September 29th, 2007. When looking at the image, one can see the outlines of the west coast of South America quite distinctively.
This is a still image taken out from the first moving image shooting when the KAGUYA flew from the northern area of the Oceanus Procellarum to the centre of the North Pole. As the altitude near the North Pole is high, the angle of the coming sunlight was lower, thus the shade of the crater topography looks long in the image. The moving image was taken at 4:07 AM on 31 October 2007 (JST) by eight-fold speed intermittent shooting (eight minutes is converged to one minute) from the KAGUYA, and the data was received at the JAXA Usuda Deep Space Centre on the same day.
A video of the moon captured by the HDTV camera is available here.
When I was a kid in Brooklyn, we never carried backpacks to school. We had bookbags or even brief cases (plastic Samsonite). Sure, I had a backpack as a boy scout and I did find it convenient for hiking and exploring. But for school? We took public transportation. It was easier to let your book bag rest on the floor, between your feet, rather than taking out some 90-year-old woman while you turn around. In fact, I was six years old and getting on a public bus in Brooklyn — by myself. School was a mile away, too.
Things sure have changed since then. Every kid has a backpack now. One of today’s more popular pre-school cartoon characters, Dora the Explorer, has a talking backpack. Parents don’t let little kids out of their sight for a moment. Grown-ups now carry their laptops in backpacks to work. Hikers’ backpack are super high-tech: some generate electricity as you walk.
But by far the coolest is a complete satcom terminal — an ultra-portable from Norsat — that fits into two backpacks and can be checked as luggage on most commercial airlines:
The GLOBETrekker is particularly well suited for "grab-and-go" applications and "temporary situations" — wherein broadband communications need to be initiated quickly and on very short notice or on a temporary basis. Its ergonomically designed backpack and overall "quick-connect" design enables users to transport, assemble, operate and disassemble quickly and discreetly. This is particularly appealing to journalists, disaster relief agencies, the military and first responders — all of which are often given very short notice of an impending assignment. This is also of interest to companies seeking an emergency backup system or VIPs seeking to establish a reliable broadband connection while they are traveling.
The GLOBETrekker is equipped with sophisticated "built-in" intelligence. The GLOBETrekker’s Sensor Driven System Manager is housed in a single board computer, which acts as the nerve center of the entire system. It continuously monitors the internal environment of the system and automatically counters harsh weather elements (extreme temperatures, sand and humidity) by engaging built-in defenses.
This latest addition to Norsat’s product portfolio has been designed to withstand harsh transport and operating conditions. The GLOBETrekker sports three physical layers of protection including a hard shell exterior, shock absorbing foam inserts and shock-mounted baseband.
The GLOBETrekker supports data transmission rates of up to four megabits per second. It is capable of operating on multiple bands, including the Ku, Ka and X bands. The GLOBETrekker is a highly integrated system which includes a 1m carbon fiber antenna, RF electronics, motorized azimuth/elevation superstructure, motorized feed assembly, built-in inclinometer, compass, GPS and a baseband unit with a modem, spectrum analyzer, DVB-S receiver, Ethernet switch, DC-DC converter and shock protected chassis.
The European Patent Office notified the company that it intends to grant the patent for the technology, which reduces the weight and footprint of transmit reject filters, one of several elements of the RF transmit chain.
"This patent award is part of our broader and long-term strategy to establish a leadership role in the design, development and marketing of portable satellite terminals," Amiee Chan, president and CEO, Norsat International, said in a statement. "Our frequency selective surface waveguide filter, protected under this patent, allows the weight of transmit reject filters to be reduced 50-fold, significantly decreasing the occupied volume. This is a function that is especially useful for the next generation of milsatcom terminals."
