Paul Ikpe's Blog ❤

​ High-altitude balloons paved the way for satellites. Decades later, could they be poised to replace them? The near future: tourists peer excitedly out of portholes far above the Earth, entranced by the sight of the starry blackness above and the curved blue horizon below. However, this is not a spacecraft, but a ‘near-space balloon’. It was launched from Mongolia, not Houston. And the tourists are Chinese. Such balloons are a new ‘high frontier’. In 1958, Russia amazed the world by launching Sputnik, the first satellite. American hurriedly set up Nasa to compete in the space race and became the world’s pre-eminent space power. Satellites are vital in communications, weather monitoring, navigation and other areas. But 60 years after Sputnik high-altitude balloons are challenging them. Balloons provide a vantage point at 30 kilometres (18.7 miles) for communications or monitoring, much closer than satellites. They cost a fraction of the price and, unlike satellites, can easily ...

​ High-altitude balloons paved the way for satellites. Decades later, could they be poised to replace them? The near future: tourists peer excitedly out of portholes far above the Earth, entranced by the sight of the starry blackness above and the curved blue horizon below. However, this is not a spacecraft, but a ‘near-space balloon’. It was launched from Mongolia, not Houston. And the tourists are Chinese. Such balloons are a new ‘high frontier’. In 1958, Russia amazed the world by launching Sputnik, the first satellite. American hurriedly set up Nasa to compete in the space race and became the world’s pre-eminent space power. Satellites are vital in communications, weather monitoring, navigation and other areas. But 60 years after Sputnik high-altitude balloons are challenging them. Balloons provide a vantage point at 30 kilometres (18.7 miles) for communications or monitoring, much closer than satellites. They cost a fraction of the price and, unlike satellites, can easily ...

ACCORDING BUSINESS INSIDER, THE TECH GIANT MICROSOFT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BUYING GITHUB, A web-based hosting service for version control using git and it is mostly used for computer code. The interest that the tech giant Microsoft has for GitHub is not new since throughout these years there have been many rumours about conversations about a purchase agreement.   Negotiations talks by the tech giant Microsoft to acquire GitHub started in 2016, but never advanced enough, until now. Although there are no confirmations from either party, the sources of Business Insider, assure that GitHub would be willing to carry out an agreement, if certain conditions are respected. As for the amount of the sale, it seems that they have not yet reached an agreement, but the last assessment received by GitHub was 200 million dollars in 2015. However, CNBC mentions that the acquisition would be for a price of 500 million dollars or more, according to the expectations of GitHub. At the...

ACCORDING BUSINESS INSIDER, THE TECH GIANT MICROSOFT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BUYING GITHUB, A web-based hosting service for version control using git and it is mostly used for computer code. The interest that the tech giant Microsoft has for GitHub is not new since throughout these years there have been many rumours about conversations about a purchase agreement.   Negotiations talks by the tech giant Microsoft to acquire GitHub started in 2016, but never advanced enough, until now. Although there are no confirmations from either party, the sources of Business Insider, assure that GitHub would be willing to carry out an agreement, if certain conditions are respected. As for the amount of the sale, it seems that they have not yet reached an agreement, but the last assessment received by GitHub was 200 million dollars in 2015. However, CNBC mentions that the acquisition would be for a price of 500 million dollars or more, according to the expectations of GitHub. At the...

​ FACEBOOK WILL REMOVE THE TRENDING TOPICS SECTION THIS WEEK The removal comes after years of criticism around how Facebook picked stories to sit in the Trending box, not to mention more than a year of struggles with the reliability of any news being distributed through its platform.   The Trending box will be removed next week. Facebook says it was active in five countries and accounted for “less than 1.5 percent of clicks to news publishers on average.” The company is currently testing other ways to deliver news, including breaking news labels and a section that collects local stories. On top of all that, the Trending box was just bad. It’s been a long-running joke that Facebook runs a day behind Twitter when it comes to news and jokes, and the Trending section rarely helped matters. The system does seem to have gotten faster at picking up stories over time, but it’s still hard to imagine it being the place someone learns about a major story. Facebook says the...

​ FACEBOOK WILL REMOVE THE TRENDING TOPICS SECTION THIS WEEK The removal comes after years of criticism around how Facebook picked stories to sit in the Trending box, not to mention more than a year of struggles with the reliability of any news being distributed through its platform.   The Trending box will be removed next week. Facebook says it was active in five countries and accounted for “less than 1.5 percent of clicks to news publishers on average.” The company is currently testing other ways to deliver news, including breaking news labels and a section that collects local stories. On top of all that, the Trending box was just bad. It’s been a long-running joke that Facebook runs a day behind Twitter when it comes to news and jokes, and the Trending section rarely helped matters. The system does seem to have gotten faster at picking up stories over time, but it’s still hard to imagine it being the place someone learns about a major story. Facebook says the...

XIAOMI’S NEW MI 8 CLOSELY MIMICS APPLE’S IPHONE X Xiaomi has replicated the look of the rear of the iPhone X as well as the front – also adding in very similar-looking wallpaper. It’s no surprise: Xiaomi has a long history of copying everything Apple, from product designs, similar-sounding names, an iOS-like skin on Android, marketing materials and even keynote presentations. The company has in the past dismissed all accusations of copying Apple, claiming back in 2014 that it was all just coincidence. The Leagoo S9 will initially be on sale only in Xiaomi’s home market of China, where the company will be hoping that the combination of iPhone X design and decent Android specs will make it an appealing prospect for consumers who can’t afford the real  The Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 SE will hit China from June 5 and 8 respectively, while the Mi 8 Explorer Edition is set to launch later, though no dates were provided. The Mi 8 will have a starting price of 2,699 yuan — ...

XIAOMI’S NEW MI 8 CLOSELY MIMICS APPLE’S IPHONE X Xiaomi has replicated the look of the rear of the iPhone X as well as the front – also adding in very similar-looking wallpaper. It’s no surprise: Xiaomi has a long history of copying everything Apple, from product designs, similar-sounding names, an iOS-like skin on Android, marketing materials and even keynote presentations. The company has in the past dismissed all accusations of copying Apple, claiming back in 2014 that it was all just coincidence. The Leagoo S9 will initially be on sale only in Xiaomi’s home market of China, where the company will be hoping that the combination of iPhone X design and decent Android specs will make it an appealing prospect for consumers who can’t afford the real  The Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 SE will hit China from June 5 and 8 respectively, while the Mi 8 Explorer Edition is set to launch later, though no dates were provided. The Mi 8 will have a starting price of 2,699 yuan — ...