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Outernet - Information from Outer Space

posted by Cactus on Wednesday February 26 2014, @03:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-panic-and-always-know-where-your-towel-is dept.

AnonTechie writes

Media Development Investment Fund, a New York based non-profit, is looking to offer a world-wide data stream free of charge.
Dubbed the 'Outernet', the network will broadcast a one-way data stream to the entire world via a network of mini satellites. The idea is to bridge the digital divide, offering some of the most important (and basic) information on the internet to people regardless of location.

Outernet has posted intention to deliver staples such as: local and international news, OpenStreetMap, Wikipedia, Ubuntu, various educational courseware, and emergency communications systems for use when cell systems fail.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by eravnrekaree on Wednesday February 26 2014, @02:18PM

    by eravnrekaree (555) on Wednesday February 26 2014, @02:18PM (#7443)

    This sounds like nothing more than a mass media/psychological control delivery system. One of the most powerful uses of the internet is alternative sources of information. The term "Most Important" in this article is most likely to mean CBS. CNN, MSNBC and other elite controlled mouthpieces of the regimes in power.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 26 2014, @04:24PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 26 2014, @04:24PM (#7536)

    Or you can visit their website and see what they will broadcast. They might deliver something like CNN, but also Al-Jazeera so I could get differing viewpoints. In somewhere like North Korea they might deliver local propaganda, but also international news that is more legitimate. The point is the restrictions are lifted on what the people have access to.

    WHAT WILL OUTERNET DELIVER?

    NEWS AND INFORMATION
    International and local news
    Crop prices for farmers
    Bitcoin blockchains

    APPLICATIONS AND CONTENT
    Ubuntu & OpenStreetMap
    Wikipedia in its entirety
    Movies, music, games
    EDUCATIONAL COURSEWARE
    Khan Academy and Coursera
    British Council's LearnEnglish
    Teachers Without Borders

    EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
    Used when cellular networks fail
    Disaster relief coordination
    Global notification system

    • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday February 26 2014, @06:05PM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Wednesday February 26 2014, @06:05PM (#7583)

      What good are bitcoin blockchains if you don't have a back channel needed to actually spend or accept bitcoins?

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.