Moon To Get 4G Network

If you can’t get decent 4G coverage in your area, there’s an extreme solution: two companies plan to build a network on the moon next year.

Don’t book your flight yet, though: the network isn’t designed for human use. Instead it will be used for two lunar rovers as they explore the moon.

You may remember the Mars rover Curiosity was able to send data directly to Earth. However this was only possible for a few hours a day thanks to power limitations. It was also limited to a maximum of 32,000 bits per second, a figure in the range of dial-up Internet.

The idea of the lunar rovers is not only to capture and transmit measurement and sensor data, but also high definition video, meaning a direct-to-earth transmission isn’t viable because of power demands.

Instead they’ll communicate over a 4G network built by Nokia and Vodafone to send the data to a lander craft, from which it will be relayed to Earth. The process will be so quick that ground staff will effectively be able to stream live video from the rovers.

Vodafone says the equipment used to create the 4G network will weigh less than a kilogram. The network will use 4G because it’s well-established on Earth, whereas 5G network technology is currently not tested enough to be certain it would work on the moon.



Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The Internet [First Trailer]

Watch this one till the end. The last scene made me spew coffee all over my screen.

“Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2” leaves Litwak’s video arcade behind, venturing into the uncharted, expansive and thrilling world of the internet—which may or may not survive Ralph’s wrecking. Video game bad guy Ralph and fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz must risk it all by traveling to the world wide web in search of a replacement part to save Vanellope’s video game, Sugar Rush.

In way over their heads, Ralph and Vanellope rely on the citizens of the internet—the netizens—to help navigate their way, including a webite entrepreneur named Yesss, who is the head algorithm and the heart and soul of trend-making site “BuzzzTube. “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-Ralph 2” hits theaters on Nov. 21, 2018.

[Walt Disney Animation Studios]



James Gunn Reveals That Groot is Dead. Baby Groot is Groot’s Son

Yep, you read that right. The Groot we see in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is not the Original Groot from Vol. 1 but his son! James Gunn confirmed the new identity after weighing in on a debate about which alien he prefered: Porgs or Groot and which one he would save from death if he could only save one. Naturally, he chose Groot!

There. The original Groot is dead. Long live baby Groot.

[James Gunn on Twitter]

The Tragic Tale of the Extinction of the Dinosaurs as Told by a 4-Year-Old Boy

From Allen Mezquida:

This is an animated dinosaur drama drawn and told by my four year old son. I was so inspired by his drawings, that I offered to animate them. Nathan spends hours drawing every day, mostly dinosaurs. He also loves watching BBC documentaries about dinosaurs. Next thing I knew, we were working on this short film together. Nathan was very clear about the story he wanted to tell and how he wanted it to look. He said he wanted it to be very real, “never cartoony.” I did my best to stay true to his vision. Thanks again to the great Hayes Greenfield for the wonderful musical score.

[AllenMez | Via BB]

Video Game Boxes Get In-Game Purchase Warning

Boxed video games will soon carry a content warning if they allow in-game purchases such as loot boxes. The warning will be along the same lines as those for violence and sexual content.

The move may be an attempt to head off legislator concerns about whether loot boxes are a form of gambling and thus may require tighter regulation, particularly with purchases by children.

The box warnings will come from the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which already labels boxes with a letter indicating the suitable audience, along with a list of specific content descriptions from Cartoon Violence to Use of Tobacco.

The new warning will cover any in-game feature that allows players to spend real-world money, including skins, in-game currency and downloadable content.

The warning won’t distinguish between purchases where players know exactly what they are getting and loot boxes where there’s an element of mystery. The ESRB says doing so would risk overloading parents with information and notes that “a large majority” wouldn’t understand a reference to a loot box anyway.

Instead it’s launching a new section on its website that explains how to set parental controls on different gaming systems and devices, along with how to set spending limits.

While the move may be welcomed by politicians who’ve questioned loot boxes, ESRB President Patricia Vance told Arstechnica the organization rejects the argument about gambling. In making her case she noted it’s possible to complete games without buying a loot box and that there’s no in-game mechanism to turn loot box ‘contents’ into real world money.