tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234352457576834792024-03-13T22:48:44.135-07:00OuternetChronicling the journey to information equalityRachel Feinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13404512731143150472noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-18567944261498115652015-02-04T16:27:00.001-08:002015-02-05T10:50:27.052-08:00Reflections on IndieGoGoAfter a very successful campaign, I took some time to reflect on the activities and decisions we made and wrote them down for posterity. Because Outernet values openness and honesty, I thought I would share them. Hopefully other prospective IndieGoGo campaigners can learn from our experiences, and our customers will better understand our team’s decision-making. The focus will mostly be on shipping, which became a complicated, time-consuming issue, and our attempts to fix the problem appeared as ungrateful behavior to some customers, when in fact, the opposite is true.<br />
<br />
The most overwhelming feeling the team and I have surrounding the campaign is gratitude. As a crowd-funder, your customers are more than customers. They are your supporters, your backers. A vote with the wallet is a strong vote, and I speak for the team when I say we are incredibly humbled by the outpouring of support from all over the globe. Quite literally, we could not do what we’re doing without these pledges. So, to all of our backers: please accept our most heartfelt, sincere thank-you!<br />
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On that note, I’ll shift gears to tackle the biggest headache of our campaign…shipping.<br />
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We apologize to all of our customers for the complex and confusing process we asked you to go through to pay for shipping, and for our poor communication throughout the process. We have reflected on this quite a bit and will make an effort to improve in the future. Future IndieGoGo campaigners, if you are going to take away anything from this post, here it is: having customers manually add funds to their final purchase amount should be a last-resort option for shipping. Read on and I'll explain why</div>
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<b>Shipping Payments on IndieGoGo</b><br />
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Unlike the retail sites most of us are familiar with, IndieGoGo’s check-out system does not have a separate step to pay for shipping. Shipping must be in the contribution. Though it might seem that the obvious choice would be to just include in in the price, but we were expecting many international orders, which have a higher shipping cost. So this left us with three options: <br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li>List perks with directions to manually add shipping to the final cost (our final choice).</li>
<li>Include shipping in the cost of the perk and double the number of perks, one each for International and Domestic.</li>
<li>Include a flat shipping charge in the perk price that covers global shipping.</li>
</ul>
</div>
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We chose option #1 because we thought #2 would create too many perks, and #3 wouldn’t be fair to domestic customers. We maintain that this choice was the best based on available information at the time, but if we were to do it again, we'd choose option #3. Option #1 caused many problems that included, but were not limited to:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Customers did not see the note about adding shipping (more than 50% of purchases did not include shipping).</li>
<li>Customers added the extra amount, but upon selecting a perk, the system reset the final amount without warning (this happened to me when I was testing the system).</li>
<li>After completing the purchase, some customers realized they hadn’t paid shipping. Our initial attempts to fix this problem resulted in very messy data that makes tracking payments difficult to this day.</li>
<li>Our requests for payment were interpreted as ungrateful or underhanded attempts to get more money. </li>
</ul>
</div>
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<b>We NEED Shipping</b></div>
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Throughout the entire campaign, each perk requiring shipping included a note to add additional funds to the final payment (the exception being donated Lanterns). It was included from day one because without money to cover shipping, we lose money with every purchase. If you check the campaign page today, you will see that the current price is $169 (retail price of $149 plus global shipping). The $99 cost of the Lantern included no margin for us, so without shipping payments, we take a serious loss on each device.</div>
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Many customers didn’t see these notes, so when we asked for shipping later it came across as an attempt to extract additional funds. If you are one of these individuals, please know we are very sorry that it wasn’t clear when you made your purchase, and we realize the subsequent emails poorly communicated this requirement.</div>
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<b>Initial Attempts to Fix</b></div>
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Early on in the campaign we noticed that shipping wasn’t being added to the perks being purchased. Initially we instructed customers to make custom contributions without choosing a perk, but we realized it was unfair to ask our customers to do the work. Although we wanted to avoid cluttering the page with additional perks for shipping, we eventually gave in and added them to make the payment process easier.</div>
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Unfortunately, we waited too long. Future crowd-funders, be forewarned: without a clear way to indicate a payment was for shipping, payment records get messy very quickly. We ended up creating more work for ourselves than we needed. Before we added the shipping perk, we had our customers pay with custom contributions. Some people made large contributions for the Collage of Humanity perk. We were even lucky enough to have considerate customers email us to let us know what the contributions were for.</div>
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These were totally reasonable ways for our customers to pay, but the result was an incredibly complicated database. Even with the shipping perk, some users paid using a different email address than what they used for their Lantern, which makes it difficult to match payment records. Let me be completely clear - we do not fault our customers for these complications – it’s our fault, and we are sorry for the headaches shipping has caused our customers.</div>
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<b>Communication</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Even with these new perks added and a few gentle email reminders to pay shipping, going into the final days of our campaign, fewer than 50% of our customers had paid for shipping. As I previously explained, we need shipping, so we decided to email customers to let them know they still owed shipping. While this was successful in collecting much of the shipping costs, we also discovered we need to be better communicators.</div>
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As previously stated, our shipping records are complicated and the update process is slightly behind real-time. So when we sent emails to people who showed up in our system as owing shipping, we included individuals who had paid but weren’t in our records yet, or paid with a separate email account, or thought they had paid but hadn’t. Ultimately, our rush to close the campaign with as many shipping dollars included in the total trumped sensitivity and being thorough in combing our records. We apologize for this sloppiness.</div>
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We learned that when we ask for shipping or payment of any kind, communication needs to be gentle and more customer-focused. In the future we will be more aware of customer perception.</div>
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All in all, I hope this information is useful to other campaigners, and expresses our regret for the complicated process we put our customers through. We will keep the lessons we learned in mind as we design an online store for our website, and in all of our future customer communications.</div>
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Again, thanks to everyone who supported us financially, or helped spread the word!<br />
<br />
--- Rachel G Feinberg</div>
</div>
Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-30261431445968393432015-01-22T06:43:00.002-08:002015-01-22T09:17:41.942-08:00Searching for Outernet UI/UX Lead<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Design Brief: Design a website for those without access to the internet</h2>
<br />
Currently about ⅔ of humanity - 4.3 billion people - do not have access to the Internet. Outernet is the first way to reach all of those people with regularly updated information. We need help designing a user experience that is effective, elegant, and relevant.<br />
<br />
This may become the most viewed digital design project in history.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
About Outernet:</h3>
<br />
Outernet is a digital media broadcaster of essential information. We offer ordinary citizens across the world free access to any type of digital file – audio, video, text, images – in any language. We call ourselves “Humanity’s Public Library.” <br />
<br />
Our free-to-receive satellite broadcast provides a basic level of uncensored information to everyone in the world, independent of income, infrastructure, and geography. Users can control their experience by filtering what information they receive. Users may also request content to be broadcast on Outernet by submitting a request to Outernet over any medium.<br />
<br />
Using Outernet requires no fee. To download information, we <a href="https://github.com/Outernet-Project/orx-install/tree/master/raspbian">publish instructions</a> for a user to build their own receiver or a receiver may be purchased from Outernet. To upload, a user may submit a free content request or sponsor their content for a fee.<br />
<br />
We offer digital content owners an inexpensive, efficient means of delivery to a global audience with minimal interference. Our flat pricing structure makes broadcasting content accessible to all organizations. <br />
<br />
Please familiarize yourself with Outernet via our successful <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet">IndieGoGo campaign</a>, <a href="http://blog.outernet.is/">our blog</a>, <a href="https://discuss.outernet.is/">our forums</a>, and <a href="http://outernet.is/">our website</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
About the project:</h3>
<br />
We are searching for a designer to refine the presentation of information that Outernet broadcasts. For a sense of the breadth of information we need to present, please read <a href="https://medium.com/outernet-blog/what-outernet-broadcasts-and-why-e7c4672a47b">this blog entry</a>. <br />
<br />
Librarian is an offline web application that displays content from our data broadcasts. The current version of Librarian can be seen <a href="http://librarian.outernet.is/">here</a>. Librarian should be designed to be useful to any human on Earth, especially to those who have previously had little or no experience with the internet. This is an enormous design challenge and requires an exceptional individual. <br />
<br />
A successful candidate will have the following:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Experience in designing websites that present a large volume of information in an intuitive way. </li>
<li>Familiarity with the hurdles that Outernet’s wide user base will have in accessing information, from language barriers to a complete lack of familiarity with the Internet, including the basic concept of a website.</li>
<li>Be extremely aggressive in meeting deadlines in a remote working arrangement.</li>
<li>A quixotic personality. Outernet is a simultaneously audacious and achievable project that can change humanity forever. That goal should drive you.</li>
</ul>
<br />
This position will be a contract position with the goal for the candidate to join Outernet full time, subject to performance on this project. Stage one (outlined below) is in the purview of the current contract opportunity, with the later stages to be completed upon successful hiring of the candidate.<br />
<br />
<div>
<b><u>Creation of Librarian v1.0 (Internet version)</u></b><br />
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This will be a version of Librarian that provides utility to a user who has Internet access. It serves primarily two functions: preview to what is available via an Outernet receiver and be a content destination for an Internet user. This should be humanity’s homepage.<br />
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<b><u>Compatibility of Librarian (Outernet/offline version)</u></b><br />
<br />
This version of Librarian will be distributed over Outernet to receivers. While it will be aesthetically similar (if not identical) to the version above, it will require additional testing for Outernet use cases.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Creation of user request interface</u></b><br />
<br />
When a content request is received by Outernet, it will be posted on this site and visitors will have the opportunity to fulfill those requests. For more details on this process, see “User Requested Content” in <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpPo1YCIrgJJrY3SJK8KRJhSdr_jJidTxw4yEsf6m7k/edit?usp=sharing">this document</a>.<br />
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<b><u>Creation of sponsored content interface</u></b><br />
<br />
Any person or organization should have the opportunity to sponsor content for broadcast on Outernet. This will be a payment gateway based on a dynamic pricing of Outernet bandwidth based on multiple factors. For more details on this process, see “Sponsored Content” in <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpPo1YCIrgJJrY3SJK8KRJhSdr_jJidTxw4yEsf6m7k/edit?usp=sharing">this document</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
To apply:</h3>
<br />
Please send an email to <a href="mailto:jobs@outernet.is">jobs@outernet.is</a> including with all of the the following information.<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Link to portfolio of previous work, specifically work relevant to this project.</li>
<li>Link to any open source contributions </li>
<li>Feedback on the current version of Librarian.</li>
<li>Resume or link to updated LinkedIn profile.</li>
<li>Desired compensation for a) contract period b) full time UX designer at Outernet</li>
<li>In your opinion, what will be the most important details to consider in the successful completion of this project?</li>
</ul>
<br />
If you have any questions about this position, please post them on the <a href="https://discuss.outernet.is/t/outernet-searching-for-outernet-ui-ux-lead/1134" target="_blank">thread for this post</a> in our forum. They will be answered by an Outernet staff member. Do not email questions.</div>
</div>
Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-43345528858107581622015-01-10T17:57:00.003-08:002015-01-10T17:57:41.455-08:0010 MB Daily For Every Human<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We just learned that this is possible if we reach $500,000 in our campaign. We are 80% of the way there. <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet" target="_blank">Help us do it.</a><br />
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How much is 10 MB? Quite a bit. Here is an example of what we could broadcast in a day:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP5e1NPkjtKL9CEmR-G0tPGqN1mMvMQjUftXtD2jtvERbfJb3PAuRnxcyLGSPzNFgT1VpQqnoWrNsE2FJXp2YUbUCytqEWKpXOVMBQAtU_tRV4Y0m7UKII5tzRQO4Xt96bxzfychmGIQ/s1600/10+MB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP5e1NPkjtKL9CEmR-G0tPGqN1mMvMQjUftXtD2jtvERbfJb3PAuRnxcyLGSPzNFgT1VpQqnoWrNsE2FJXp2YUbUCytqEWKpXOVMBQAtU_tRV4Y0m7UKII5tzRQO4Xt96bxzfychmGIQ/s1600/10+MB.jpg" /></a></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-50159073195210433312015-01-07T07:33:00.000-08:002015-01-07T08:34:51.828-08:00Announcing Citizen Journalism For All<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, we are extremely excited to announce our partnership with <a href="https://www.the-newshub.com/stories/trending" target="_blank">The News Hub</a>, a UK-based online publishing platform for citizen journalism. As part of Outernet's curated content, Outernet will be broadcasting a selection of The News Hub's top articles across various subjects. Additionally, Outernet will be broadcasting instructions for how Outernet users can submit articles of their own that Outernet will submit to The News Hub on the user's behalf. Not only does this empower the most disconnected populations to have a voice in global media, but it gives them an opportunity to get paid for their writing too.<br />
<br />
An Outernet user who wishes to contribute to The News Hub will write a story on a topic of their choosing. This will be outlined in a simple document that will also give guidance on the basics of writing a compelling story and structuring a narrative. The user would then have to email the story to Outernet. We would provide minor editing and then post the story to The News Hub on the writer's behalf if the writer could not create their own account on The News Hub due to lack of Internet access. The News Hub pays the top 10% of stories published each month $30 and the top 6 contributors a $150 bonus. For the poorest areas of the world, this income is substantial.<br />
<br />
Thane Richard, Outernet COO/Editor, says,<br />
<br />
"The entire purpose of Outernet is to give the exceptionally powerful tool of information to those who currently do not have it. Ultimately, it is about agency. Agency to effect the outcome of one's life and to change one's surroundings to move life in its desired direction. Being able to share currently untold stories with a wider audience and to potentially earn an income from those stories is a service we are thrilled to provide. Everyone wins when more people can contribute to the global marketplace of ideas."<br />
<br />
William Stolerman, Founder of The News Hub, says<br />
<br />
"We're incredibly excited to be working with Outernet. Together we can help end censorship, but our partnership means more than that. We'll be giving a voice to people who are currently silent, who have no way of telling the outside world what's happening on the ground. We'll be giving those people a chance to share their stories and we'll be giving them a chance to make money from their work."<br />
<br />
At present all stories on The News Hub are published in English. As this program moves forward, the ability to translate submissions and offer content in different languages will be explored. The News Hub uses a payment mechanism that is accepted in dozens of countries around the world.<br />
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-12787464473107980022014-12-18T13:00:00.000-08:002014-12-18T13:16:05.974-08:00What Outernet Broadcasts And Why<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In <a href="http://qz.com/243444/i-am-editing-the-internet-for-the-rest-of-the-world-and-could-use-your-opinion/">an op-ed in Quartz</a> this past August, I wrote about some of the things we grapple with at Outernet when we think about how to fill the shelves of Humanity’s Public Library. The conclusion reached very quickly is that there are no right answers, only better answers, and “better” is limited to the information available. Outernet is a truly revolutionary service that fills an important gap in global data accessibility. </div>
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<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41izu_zdBjs3Yo_knTV3hTsL9QoH1Yor6yasFhcb9S8ceQIOwk2iPO6Bc_HnQ-JqwTpJ3LfpxvuPB6h5rhzEzshho4SKfKMW06U2VARcvF3o93lG2rTpC3GjjteACyHzw_MOiW5JYfmM/s1600/Upload-Download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41izu_zdBjs3Yo_knTV3hTsL9QoH1Yor6yasFhcb9S8ceQIOwk2iPO6Bc_HnQ-JqwTpJ3LfpxvuPB6h5rhzEzshho4SKfKMW06U2VARcvF3o93lG2rTpC3GjjteACyHzw_MOiW5JYfmM/s1600/Upload-Download.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Every one-way service passes through an editorial filter before it reaches its audience, as do many two-way services as well. On the Internet, there is no upper limit to what you could post on your website. The New York Times could theoretically turn their website into an enormous blog that posts everything. They do not because there is an expectation of quality from visitors to the New York Times and quality is a very fine filter. Furthermore, while the Internet may not provide a physical bandwidth constraint, humans provide one with our attention span.<br />
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But Outernet is not the Internet, and this is critical in understanding how Outernet works and the thinking behind our editorial decisions. Outernet is subject to the same constraints as the other one-way dynamic types of broadcasts: instead of airtime on radio or TV, our limit is the bandwidth we are able to beam from our satellites in orbit. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYkQvhxngb8CSF2KnxPlji2M6Gw9ve6NSNZP2yNHI1m2pOiZP7ukSJmtDov5d9x9gr16gvqXk6DXkxaiUfvqEOJVaxRqXckb61bXgBtleEw71Y7mEaztS_WgMTnp8G8A9PBRZeq5XKuM/s1600/Outernet+One+Page+Description+(FM).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYkQvhxngb8CSF2KnxPlji2M6Gw9ve6NSNZP2yNHI1m2pOiZP7ukSJmtDov5d9x9gr16gvqXk6DXkxaiUfvqEOJVaxRqXckb61bXgBtleEw71Y7mEaztS_WgMTnp8G8A9PBRZeq5XKuM/s1600/Outernet+One+Page+Description+(FM).jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
The pipe through which we deliver content has a finite diameter, which necessitates an editing process to make sure what bandwidth we do have is used most effectively. Whenever there is a small group making decisions on behalf of a larger group, it is important that the processes are transparent and the parameters for decisions well understood by all. For this reason, today Outernet has published a comprehensive <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpPo1YCIrgJJrY3SJK8KRJhSdr_jJidTxw4yEsf6m7k/edit?usp=sharing">set of guidelines</a> covering how content is broadcast over Outernet as well as our first round of <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/outernet.is/spreadsheets/d/1H5DPN45683K3eqSYIt9kawOi6RO_1SDfK2RtAL0szXI/edit?usp=sharing">content sources</a> for what Outernet curates. I encourage you to read both documents and make <a href="https://discuss.outernet.is/c/outernet-content/editors-corner">comments and suggestions</a>. I will be hosting an AMA on Reddit on 12/19 at 2:30pm EST and have created an <a href="https://discuss.outernet.is/c/outernet-content/editors-corner">Editor’s Corner</a> section of the Outernet forum that I will check in on regularly.<br />
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<div>
For the selection of Outernet’s curated content, we rely on our Core Principles as guides and require that any piece of content broadcast on Outernet, including sponsored content, fulfill one or more of our Content Goals.<br />
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Outernet Core Principles:<br />
<ol>
<li>Free access to information is a human right. No one should be denied a basic level of information due to wealth, geography, political environment, or infrastructure.</li>
<li>Every person should be able to participate in the global marketplace of ideas, and, consequently have a say in what Outernet broadcasts to the world.</li>
<li>The process of curating what Outernet broadcasts should be transparent in its execution and involve the input of Outernet’s constituents.</li>
</ol>
Outernet Content Goals:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Education.</b> A work should enable a user to be a more informed participant in society and/or aid in moving them towards a higher plane of knowledge.</li>
<li><b>Truth.</b> A work should be true and support the right of the public to truth.</li>
<li><b>Transparency.</b> A work should allow a user to have greater understanding of the institutions that affect their daily life.</li>
<li><b>Empowerment.</b> A work should give a user an enhanced ability to manipulate the course of their life towards their intended goal.</li>
<li><b>Health and Safety.</b> A work should provide the required information to lead a healthier, safer, and ultimately more enjoyable life.</li>
<li><b>Quality of Life.</b> A work should either directly or indirectly provide a means for a user to improve their quality of life.</li>
</ul>
Below I have summarized some of the issues we contended with in creating this document and the stand we have taken. Finally, I want to emphasize that this is a living document. When we say we are <i>Humanity’s</i> Public Library, there is deliberate emphasis on the first word. This system cannot function without a committed group of users. Thank you for being involved!<br />
<br />
Here are some of the issues we are balancing:<br />
<br />
<b>The Inclusiveness Dilemma</b><br />
<br />
Outernet broadcasts to everyone with a particular emphasis on those who have limited alternative means of receiving critical information. The more inclusive we are in our editorial process, which happens online, the more we move towards a system where those with Internet are deciding what those without read. While Outernet employees fall into this group, we are bound by our mission while random Internet users are not.<br />
<br />
<i>Current fix:</i> User <i>requests</i> cannot be voted on, only the <i>content</i> picked to best match the request can be voted on; Transparency and general willingness to revise curated content and pathways for that content to be changed by Outernet users; Dedicated information targeted at offline populations.<br />
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<b>Free Speech vs. “The Chilling Effect”</b><br />
<br />
We value free speech immensely and see Outernet as a way to fight against those who would suppress free speech. However, the things that free speech enables individuals to say can naturally upset the values of others. If Outernet were to become associated with the fringe, offensive aspects of its content, it could make the entirety of Outernet taboo in offended areas and prevent more universally lauded content from reaching those who need it most. This is of particular concern in areas that are disconnected and would have no other means of accessing information.<br />
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<i>Current fix:</i> Creation of Outernet Content Goals and requiring that anything broadcast on Outernet fulfill them; Any piece of content broadcast on Outernet may be commented on and reviewed by the community.<br />
<br />
<b>Speed of Delivery vs. Quality of Product</b><br />
<br />
When we receive a request from a user, we want to turn around a piece of content to fulfill that request in a very timely manner. At the same time, Outernet staff do not have the time to personally review every request, nor would that be the most inclusive approach. The diverse members of the Outernet community often can find a better answer than we would and sometimes it takes time and discussion for that answer to surface. We also want to avoid the misuse of Outernet, whereby an ill intentioned community member might select nefarious content for broadcast and it moves through the queue too quickly without a chance to be noticed.<br />
<br />
<i>Current fix:</i> Certain content, like news and updates related to disasters, are prioritized and broadcast by Outernet as part our curated selection; Moderators may prioritize content requests when appropriate; every request, once matched with content, endures a minimum 24 hour period of public review.<br />
<div>
<br />
<b>Majority vs. Minority</b><br />
<br />
With a limited amount of bandwidth, it is important to make sure that content selected for broadcast is useful to as many people as possible. However, such an allocation scheme is what is adopted by most systems with limited resources. It perpetuates the further marginalization of communities that are in the minority through language, location, culture, or other defining trait. Outernet is committed to serving those who are largely unserved by anyone else<br />
<br />
<i>Current fix:</i> Minimizing the hegemony of English content; Providing a news source for every nation on Earth in that country’s major language; where possible, additionally providing a source of news that serves a minority group, typically through language; broadcasting active petitions and/or movements that are ongoing, especially those serving underrepresented groups; categorizing content not only by country but by language and ethnicity and assessing content curation by those standards.<br />
<br />
<b>Openness vs. Integrity</b><br />
<br />
Specifically regarding the user management of content requests, we struggled with wanting to make the minimal level of input very accessible (e.g. voting without creating an account) while not impeding committed users by excessive participation by trolls or spam users. The system should cater to those who are novices in online community projects as well as those who are advanced users.<br />
<br />
<i>Current fix: </i>Requiring a free, basic account be created for participation in content selection; Giving weight to voting, but not making votes the sole decider in content selection; increasing accountability as a user earns more privileges in the Outernet community; Moderator verification before any content gets broadcast.<br />
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For a look at how User Requested Content works, see this diagram. For greater explanation, you may look in the document itself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaEcxYGSMFlMwJAvySyVQr7zcwQijAqSwK94ktabMZLimIqV52o54LjBAKwl2cKbPnXhu5GZgQKJ3pmO8el4FbiZX6zQkoId-ZyOzLLQtR8L38W_wFFVnqYZQ9UYzSywLmqcjBrT6ZKg/s1600/User+Request+Outline+(white%2Bbg).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaEcxYGSMFlMwJAvySyVQr7zcwQijAqSwK94ktabMZLimIqV52o54LjBAKwl2cKbPnXhu5GZgQKJ3pmO8el4FbiZX6zQkoId-ZyOzLLQtR8L38W_wFFVnqYZQ9UYzSywLmqcjBrT6ZKg/s1600/User+Request+Outline+(white%2Bbg).jpg" /></a><br />
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For Sponsored content, the following general guidelines will be adhered to:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Source Transparency. </b>A sponsor will be required to provide basic information about who they are and alongside each piece of sponsored content will be displayed the following information:</li>
<ul>
<li>Name of the sponsor</li>
<li>Sponsor’s home nation</li>
<li>Time of broadcast</li>
<li>Duration of broadcast (i.e. has it been paid to be broadcast multiple times)</li>
<li>Sponsorship history (i.e. has it been sponsored before)</li>
<li>Geographies in which it has been sponsored for distribution</li>
</ul>
<li><b>The 25% Rule.</b> Sponsored content will never take up more than 25% of the total content being broadcast by Outernet. Due to the nature of satellite datacasting and the functioning of our data carousel, this figure may be exceeded for a given span of time, however the working distribution of data will be kept below an average of 25%.</li>
<li><b>Content Review.</b> All sponsored content, like any other content broadcast on Outernet, must fulfill one of our Content Goals and adhere to our Broadcast Standards and Goals.</li>
<li><b>Visual Demarcation.</b> In the condensed content display, sponsored content will be differentiated in its visual presentation.</li>
</ul>
For further discussion of any of these topics, please refer to the entire set of <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpPo1YCIrgJJrY3SJK8KRJhSdr_jJidTxw4yEsf6m7k/edit?usp=sharing">Broadcast Guidelines</a>. We also need assistance in building up the curated content for each nation, so if you have a source for a particular country that you think be a part of Outernet’s regular broadcast, please submit it <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1J0aNd-m0mwM_NZGlpYxJsOfUX2dOJ5ewzlm21PxXUYo/viewform?usp=send_form">here</a>.<br />
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Thank you for your support and I look forward to receiving your feedback.<br />
<br />
-Thane Richard</div>
</div>
</div>
Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-49127972806355933272014-12-09T09:30:00.000-08:002014-12-09T09:30:01.088-08:00We Made It To $300,000, Allowing Us To Add Android Compatibility<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9nUK0Bb91YN862CwTaAFAVhqhocI2KvIipNyefiMSfT-bhS18YrD-zr1zOkSRgTc3qPb40THZCDD8KE9M4iAs8kaJKgy93ycmYQkIgqHHhZwXHXs9UFjChCiGv2JoYwfEVRq2Tvelis/s1600/Android-games.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9nUK0Bb91YN862CwTaAFAVhqhocI2KvIipNyefiMSfT-bhS18YrD-zr1zOkSRgTc3qPb40THZCDD8KE9M4iAs8kaJKgy93ycmYQkIgqHHhZwXHXs9UFjChCiGv2JoYwfEVRq2Tvelis/s1600/Android-games.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Reaching this milestone means we can invest in making Outernet compatible with Android set top boxes. This makes it substantially easier and cheaper for anyone to build their own Outernet receiver. This is an extremely important milestone because not everyone will be able to purchase a Lantern. The ubiquity of Android set top boxes around the world means that millions of people will already have everything they need to receive Humanity's Public Library.<br /><br /><b>Next milestone: $500,000.</b> Reaching this amount will let us increase our broadcast rate from 2 MB/day to 10 MB/day for a one continent, which will be voted on by our backers.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5ctOkyF6C4miw_ug5pPZnIjSQwsXPn0E0j0T2gU68xWFb9mEUgkEeJTDYwmUQY_7qBpzCWITD4eTCK8N5Pxi5_BK5R3uIy7XZqxj7Ipkens0_XxFfxdhvUDJ1pQoDSdEfG98yL925PA/s1600/funding+timeline+300k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5ctOkyF6C4miw_ug5pPZnIjSQwsXPn0E0j0T2gU68xWFb9mEUgkEeJTDYwmUQY_7qBpzCWITD4eTCK8N5Pxi5_BK5R3uIy7XZqxj7Ipkens0_XxFfxdhvUDJ1pQoDSdEfG98yL925PA/s1600/funding+timeline+300k.jpg" /></a></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-85803035540135838552014-12-01T12:30:00.000-08:002014-12-08T08:16:12.203-08:00Welcome to Outernet, Africa!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We are very excited to announce that as a result of the momentum of this campaign, we are able to turn on a signal that covers sub-Saharan Africa beginning today, December 1, 2014. This signal will be over Ku-band and so it requires a dish to receive the signal, which will be at an initial download rate of about 200 MB/day. Anyone who wants to take advantage of this signal right away can visit our website for <a href="https://www.outernet.is/en/receive">instructions</a> on how to build their own receiver. When Lantern ships next summer, you will be able to plug it into a dish in order to receive this high speed signal. This is not required - Lantern will always receive its own data - though for increased data a user may add a dish to Lantern.<br /><br />Data is being broadcast from Intelsat 20, so dishes should be pointed to the appropriate coordinates based on user location.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-vY5pBY19G0kORKO8T8dEQEIQD0y4KaCmO-igcQM5WnCnDkrhlsd6OevtjBVL3WcfMvt5ymBR_EaatVil1dEv5979yrUbTVmCMOW7U17VqmH0bzoVqTW6ZZWwQU8vMv5nRzNIyWtsMk/s1600/Intelsat+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-vY5pBY19G0kORKO8T8dEQEIQD0y4KaCmO-igcQM5WnCnDkrhlsd6OevtjBVL3WcfMvt5ymBR_EaatVil1dEv5979yrUbTVmCMOW7U17VqmH0bzoVqTW6ZZWwQU8vMv5nRzNIyWtsMk/s1600/Intelsat+20.jpg" /></a></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-36213821068115358852014-11-24T10:26:00.001-08:002014-11-24T10:29:30.195-08:00IndieGoGo Referral Program: Refer Friends To Earn A Free Lantern!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Help us by spreading the word via email and social media. You can earn $10 in credit toward our campaign every time one of your referrals purchases a Lantern.<br />
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There is no limit to how much you can earn!<br />
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<br />
<img src="https://images.indiegogo.com/file_attachments/1043015/files/20141124094918-Referral_Chart.jpg?1416851358" /><br />
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Once the campaign is over, we will apply this credit to your account, giving you a refund on your purchase or credit on the purchase of a new Lantern. We are able to track how many people visit our campaign from your link and whether they contribute. For the Village Lantern or Solar Village Lantern, we will give you credits worth the equivalent number of Lanterns ($60 credit and $100 credit, respectively). Please note that contributors cannot receive referral credit for referring themselves. Of two contributors, only one can be the 'referrer' and receive campaign credit for the other's contribution.<br />
<br />
How to participate in the referral program: It’s simple. Log in to your Indiegogo account . Be sure to use the same account you used when you claimed your Lantern. Then, look below our main video at the top of this page for buttons to share and copy your unique URL. Start sharing!<br />
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<br />
<b>Here's How It Works:</b><br />
<br />
Everytime someone purchases a Lantern using your unique URL, we will give you $10 credit. You must use your unique URL for this to work. There are two ways to find your URL:<br />
<br />
<b><br />First method: Using the links provided in your purchase confirmation email.</b><br />
<br />
1. Log into your Indiegogo account. If you don't have an account, you can sign up for one.<br />
Make sure to remember your username and password - you will need it later to log in and track your referrals.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgzzSWfRz7sgaw6B6GR7jeFRhuRsdsCAW6ksOY4cypB6m7NuwpKFMjWbmufdzfDtxtF_nfoodWjp4JMkI4rE30MLplrhxsqnH3N1P6Ivb93MpjuOhkThDTq8OzGgv6AhhyphenhyphenJFY1_zqLLgQct7QfPXleMxnvndejW4bE8=" /><br />
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2. Visit our <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet">campaign</a> and contribute at any perk level.<br />
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3. A confirmation email will appear in your inbox. Scroll down to the bottom of the email.<br />
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4. You will see these icons.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEia10y0_oJLoj9Z_-CIRZKjrzn31sD88Ek-MQ5gmPR_ypByROVkCAnIMxdU4wuPZO3OyK1ESUnpGHKjIxYfRYP3B4TH3d22mrwBEtJmLd4MoXmagto0fa4hBrhtwr_6ng3QXm4IgTvZenMa56NmlhhZP5e7hDiVx3V7iVogkXZNkrQ=" /><br />
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These links will share your unique URL via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Email.<br />
<br />
5. Simply click on any of the links and follow the instructions.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Second Method: Logging into your Indiegogo account</b><br />
<br />
<br />
1. Log into your Indiegogo account. If you don't have an account, you can sign up for one <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/accounts/sign_up?return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiegogo.com%2F">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
2. Visit our <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet" target="_blank">campaign</a> page.<br />
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3. See the video at the top of the page? Look underneath it and you will see the share icons.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj_mzwnuPEST1qUp3mByFX1JapEdq79GEfNQ6pXsXv2SyUeHcBqhIykXh1C0jpKA1f5sbcIPHuIOQ_Ut4o9LC9UX0yW271x36uc9nVBDbilvhkl8jQYPmk5gk-g_G1htdYspe5bnMCGufwBK6ZPJ4IMDJks0jK5dTeXOki_UQ=" /><br />
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4. Click on the link icon to generate your unique URL.<br />
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5. Share it via social media and email.<br />
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<br />
<b>Tracking Your Referrals</b><br />
<br />
1. Log into your Indiegogo account.<br />
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2. On the top right corner of the page, you will see your profile name. Click on it.<br />
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3. In the dropdown menu, click ‘My Contributions’<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjYOB8VrlOv2W2DgZF-385qI-jTsjgxyrwfePusdrRRv4yKGVUpbRu6Mx7ti2IJ-UOiy08QLSn0OvTlE9M7Ikw_P3LNdhzligAOKv_ZL6yzPxmJL4PvcNS-u2Y-rX8k6dpfBtDknW4NNPJM_HSKZ0-hVWru13Fvx6CD=" /><br />
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4. In the menu bar, click on the ‘Referrals’ tab.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh1BOF2-9pBxSBkHrAF4UEooF1wPHD62GE3QKk6LNjxWUXLuas-bTPAyd0gAzSRTwLwTL7baTyMWhr_zMU9nYKppHfcZbYXJEaV_dWkp7ShsmfrtFA9t9AkKfb6NEgn-NOwbbkBXoaSKg0I3brVhYrjaDuOq_4X=" /><br />
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5. You will see the number of people you referred, the number who have purchased and the total dollar amount of their contributions.<br />
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6. Once the campaign is over, Indiegogo provides us with detailed information on how many Lanterns were purchased through your referrals and at what perk level.<br />
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7. We then either issue you a refund on Lanterns you have purchased, or issue you campaign credit toward the purchase of a new Lantern.<br />
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*Please note that contributors cannot receive referral credit for referring themselves. <br />
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<br />
<b>If someone I refer buys the $1 Collage of Humanity or $30 Global Library Card, will I get a credit?</b><br />
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No. Only referrals who choose a reward that includes a Lantern will earn you credit. This is because our goal is to increase the number of Lanterns we will produce as a result of this campaign. For high value rewards that are one piece of hardware (e.g. Solar Village Lantern) we will credit you based on the equivalent number of Lanterns using their $99 value (i.e. one of your referrals purchasing a Solar Village Lantern would earn you a $100 credit).<br />
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<b>How will you fulfill my referral rewards?</b><br />
<br />
Once the campaign is over, Indiegogo will provide us with detailed information on how many Lanterns were purchased through your referrals and at what perk level.<br />
<br />
We will then either issue you a refund on Lanterns you have purchased, or issue you campaign credit toward the purchase of a new Lantern. <br />
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Here's <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet">the link</a> to the campaign: http://igg.me/at/outernet. Thank you for sharing!</div>
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We reached our $200,000 goal on <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet" target="_blank">IndieGoGo</a> within 5 days after launching on November 12, 2014. We are so thankful to our supporters. Our campaign is still live and if we reach $10 million, we will be able to launch our own fleet of cubesats into orbit. <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet" target="_blank">Help us do it!</a><br />
<br />
The concept of Outernet is still something we endeavor to communicate in a clear way and with Lantern, this is even more critical. A really great analogy to Outernet is FM radio except we broadcast data instead of music. Let us know if this graphic helps explain our new device, <a href="http://igg.me/at/outernet" target="_blank">Lantern</a>, and Outernet in a more understandable way. Thank you!<br />
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-61733031004500037162014-11-07T11:44:00.001-08:002014-11-07T11:44:23.236-08:00A Library In Every Pocket<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_0yxpOII419GXl1qt1r0nOuTao5nzxPWNZU9rk22h2BBetShCa2G8aaF74-es-zL9PwVb9mC1cpAHnM5djR2CyMr-ZwJgNX-qX3Ect5JXeAUr4cZc-700TqGzP84acDzEbt72deelvc/s1600/Library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_0yxpOII419GXl1qt1r0nOuTao5nzxPWNZU9rk22h2BBetShCa2G8aaF74-es-zL9PwVb9mC1cpAHnM5djR2CyMr-ZwJgNX-qX3Ect5JXeAUr4cZc-700TqGzP84acDzEbt72deelvc/s1600/Library.jpg" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
November 12, 2014</h2>
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Share our <a href="http://launch.outernet.is/" target="_blank">launch page</a> with your friends. We will be emailing a special deal you won't want to miss. </div>
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We can't wait to show you what we've been working on.</div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-74655703407167581702014-11-04T07:09:00.002-08:002014-11-04T07:09:10.333-08:00Outernet Signs RNW as Sponsored Content Partner<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
PRESS RELEASE<br /><br />Outernet Signs RNW as Sponsored Content Partner<br /><br /><br />November 4, 2014<br />By Thane Richard<br /> <br /><br /><b>RNW (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) and Outernet BV, the Dutch Outernet entity, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to begin a 6 month pilot of RNW content broadcast over Outernet. The content being selected by RNW includes <a href="http://www.rnw.org/articles/rnw%E2%80%99s-ma3akom-tv-connects-syrian-media">Ma3akom</a>. </b><br /><br />Ma3akom is a 24/7 satellite channel broadcasting to Syria and the millions of Syrian refugees. It’s the only independent satellite channel fully dedicated to this target group. RNW decided to devote its Arabic-language satellite transmissions entirely to Syria in view of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country and the lack of reliable information about the ongoing civil war in the country. <br /><br />Outernet broadcasts the best content from the Internet via satellite to the entire Earth for free. To receive the broadcast, users can either purchase a receiver from Outernet or build their own using instructions provided by Outernet. Outernet targets people who live in places where data is too expensive, there is no existing connectivity, or the government restricts access to information.<br /><br /><b>Reliable information for Syrians</b><div>
<b><br /></b>RNW works exclusively with carefully selected, professional Syrian media who operate according to international journalistic standards. Besides satellite broadcasting, from October Ma3akom will share content through Outernet. Andy Clark, Deputy Editor in Chief at RNW: “Our organisation is committed to free speech around the world and is always interested in new technology which helps achieve this goal. Getting independent information into Syria is vital – it helps people really know what is going on. RNW partners with independent media to help them get their message out and give people real information so they can make real choices, this helps now in the ongoing war situation and also helps build a diverse media landscape for the future for the country.” <br /><br /><b>Sharing content from RNW and Deutsche Welle </b><br /><br />Sponsored content fills a very important component of the Outernet library. For a fee, Outernet will broadcast content that is in line with its mission of improving information access globally. In addition to Sponsored Content, Outernet allows anyone to suggest or vote on content in the Queue. Finally, content that is deemed to be of core value to humanity, either by editorial selection or vote via the Queue, is added to the Core Archive, which is re-broadcast regularly.<br /><br />Syed Karim, CEO of Outernet, said, “RNW has a global reputation for delivering content of exceptional quality, not just in the traditional sense of radio broadcast but also in educational and free speech. It is very exciting to have them broadcasting on Outernet.”<br /><br /><br />END PRESS RELEASE<br /><br /><b> About Outernet (www.outernet.is)</b><br /><br />Outernet, Humanity’s Public Library, was founded in February, 2014 and turned on its first broadcast signal on August 11, 2014. Outernet broadcasts the most important content from the web to Earth from satellites for free. Users can access the Outernet signal using a homemade receiver built from widely available components, instructions for which are available on the Outernet website. Outernet is the most significant step towards universal information access regardless of wealth, geography, or political environment.<br /><br /><b>About RNW (rnw.org)</b><br /><br />RNW is an independent media organisation active in China and 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Arab world, where freedom of expression is severely restricted. RNW offers information unavailable in local media because of legislation or taboos. For more information about RNW, check <a href="http://www.rnw.org/article/about-rnw">rnw.org</a>.<br /><br />For more information, please contact:<br /><br />Thane Richard<br />Head of User Engagement & Partnerships and Editor of the Archive at Outernet<br /><a href="mailto:thane@outernet.is">thane@outernet.is</a><br />313-896-8504<br /><br /> <br /><br /> </div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-30956707801428823672014-11-03T06:01:00.001-08:002014-11-03T14:56:03.500-08:00Progress Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At Outernet, we are constantly endeavoring to create a relationship built on trust with our audience. Whether it is allowing users to select what is broadcast, telling everyone how to build a receiver, putting our code on Github, or deciding to raise the funds for our next product via crowdfunding, for us transparency is critical.<br />
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We have decided to post weekly summaries of what we have been working on here at Outernet to give the public a feel for how the project is moving forward. Here is what we worked on last week:<br />
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1. Released first beta 0.1 version of Librarian:<br />
- Integrated translations from POEditor (14 languages incl. English)<br />
- First release of apps for Librarian<br />
- First example app (Announcements) for receiving announcements from Outernet staff[1]<br />
- Can run scripts from within file browser interface (will be used for applying Librarian updates)<br />
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2. Implemented automatic harvesting of RSS feeds<br />
- Currently handles Radio Netherlands Worldwide content, updating every day<br />
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3. Started research on possible port of Librarian to Android<br />
- Will probably use Kivy[2]<br />
- Depending on the results, may need to be reformulated as native Android app, rather than a web-based app like it is now<br />
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4. We hired a Sales Director! Welcome to the team, Rachel Gottlieb Feinberg.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehYt8Gh0c8QvoGYC5rY0vj1OjSc2WcTmiB698CvZziGol4DIDXeCZgPgs5SKaq5XIgo82JV3rTWX6isNRDUG2xh10_Hj5l4Gbzr60gQgxK2ObOGGFacI23Nlb6HpeKbtz1krq1woAtbU/s1600/RGF_Book1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehYt8Gh0c8QvoGYC5rY0vj1OjSc2WcTmiB698CvZziGol4DIDXeCZgPgs5SKaq5XIgo82JV3rTWX6isNRDUG2xh10_Hj5l4Gbzr60gQgxK2ObOGGFacI23Nlb6HpeKbtz1krq1woAtbU/s1600/RGF_Book1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel's pic in Outernet's Collage of Humanity (collage.outernet.is)</td></tr>
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After graduating from Lake Forest College where she studied psychology and international relations, Rachel spent 7 years as an advertising and marketing strategist for clients across an array of different industries. As Global Sales Director at Outernet, Rachel will pursue her initial passion for people, and is dedicated to empowering and elevating women living without the freedom to learn.<br />
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[1] <a href="https://github.com/Outernet-Project/messages-app">https://github.com/Outernet-Project/messages-app</a><br />
[2] <a href="http://kivy.org/#home">http://kivy.org/#home</a></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-41257481053691873992014-10-31T11:13:00.001-07:002014-10-31T11:13:51.131-07:00Outernet Explained<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We have found that the idea of Outernet can be a little confusing. So we put together this one pager to help clarify what it is we do, why we do it, and how you can benefit from it.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxTGl-0g_VIqhxq0Qcr5VtsnhAcADKWijI9vEeVLTS5SlaKV4cIHRMViqLBGmUVHBsv6lWYuj3f844ED-lytmu6uxG8_ujhrYuo8N6xswl8YYUzK9ZK_M_-D7b2B9cyGZLc_3MGzRo3k/s1600/Outernet+One+Pager+Summary.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxTGl-0g_VIqhxq0Qcr5VtsnhAcADKWijI9vEeVLTS5SlaKV4cIHRMViqLBGmUVHBsv6lWYuj3f844ED-lytmu6uxG8_ujhrYuo8N6xswl8YYUzK9ZK_M_-D7b2B9cyGZLc_3MGzRo3k/s1600/Outernet+One+Pager+Summary.png" /></a></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-13450765320881230552014-10-10T10:00:00.000-07:002014-11-03T14:55:30.937-08:00Denied by NASA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just got a chance to read this rejection letter for testing our broadcast material from space. We're actually not sure what this means since our project was self-contained. As our CEO put it "There is no quick explanation; it's NASA. They just weren't into the project, I guess."<br />
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<i>Note (11/3/14): At the request of the individual who assisted Outernet in its application, his name has been redacted.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeT5XQ1DZ2OlfC0MUEtb7sxxd3OXYFeN8Qq0ZPfgwgOYtV_vlU45JRjnfTP3_QSetc0X1AB3Mv4reDPIGHVGtRMKlA3k70gn994kA4yA9rswGp1cXmT43r7meHwWmnWHbd77HchkSxLxE/s1600/CASIS+Notification.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeT5XQ1DZ2OlfC0MUEtb7sxxd3OXYFeN8Qq0ZPfgwgOYtV_vlU45JRjnfTP3_QSetc0X1AB3Mv4reDPIGHVGtRMKlA3k70gn994kA4yA9rswGp1cXmT43r7meHwWmnWHbd77HchkSxLxE/s1600/CASIS+Notification.jpg" /></a></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-82305143388416869372014-10-01T12:06:00.001-07:002014-10-01T12:08:08.298-07:00Outernet Launches in Beta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='640' height='532' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jNx3vDSuzkY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-74275708189671541832014-09-26T07:50:00.000-07:002014-09-26T07:51:56.538-07:00Outernet Broadcasting Scholarly Content From Space for Free, Beginning with Harvard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As of today, the Harvard Library Office for Scholarly Communication through its <a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/" target="_blank">Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard</a> (DASH) database has been added to the Outernet Core Archive. DASH is the first open-access university repository to participate in Outernet and represents Outernet’s first foray into university partnerships.<br />
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As part of Outernet’s initial service roll out, Outernet and the Harvard Library Office for Scholarly Communication have entered into a content partnership whereby Outernet will begin broadcasting select articles from the Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) database (see below). The goal will be to eventually make all eligible scholarship available as part of the Outernet archive. The Harvard Library Office for Scholarly Communication joins Project Gutenberg, Deutsche Welle, and Open Source Ecology as content partners.<br />
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Syed Karim, CEO of Outernet, said, <br />
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“Broadcasting the academic content of one of the leading universities in the world is an enormous win for information equality. Now the thinking of some of our greatest minds can be read, critiqued, and built on by people all over the world in a way never previously possible. This is the essence of academic collaboration. The open mission of DASH and the Harvard Library Office of Scholarly Communication are strongly aligned with Outernet - we are thrilled to work with them to bring their content to a truly global audience.”<br />
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Peter Suber, Director of the Harvard Library Office for Scholarly Communication, said,<br />
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“Harvard supports open access to peer-reviewed faculty scholarship, and the participation of our open-access repository in Outernet is entirely consonant with our mission to enhance the distribution, visibility, and usage of Harvard research."<br />
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<b>About Outernet (<a href="http://www.outernet.is/">www.outernet.is</a>):</b><br />
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Outernet is Humanity’s Public Library, founded in February 2014 and turned on its first broadcast signal on August 11, 2014. Outernet broadcasts the most important content from the web to Earth from satellites for free. Users can access the Outernet signal using a homemade receiver built from widely available components, instructions for which are available on the Outernet website. Outernet is the most significant step towards universal information access regardless of wealth, geography, or political environment.<br />
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<b>About Harvard Library Office for Scholarly Communication:</b><br />
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The Library Office for Scholarly Communication spearheads campus-wide initiatives to open, share, and preserve scholarship at Harvard. <a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/">Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard</a> (DASH) is the University-wide, open access repository used to house articles that fall under the faculty open access policies. Visitors to DASH can locate, read, and use up-to-the-minute scholarship from Harvard. <br />
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For more information, please contact:<br />
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Thane Richard<br />
Director of User Engagement, Outernet<br />
<a href="mailto:thane@outernet.is">thane@outernet.is</a><br />
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Peter Suber<br />
Director of the Harvard Library Office for Scholarly Communication<br />
peter_suber@harvard.edu<br />
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Popular DASH articles that are available on Outernet as of today:</div>
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Peter K. Bol. Middle-Period Discourse on the Zhong Guo: The Central Country.<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3629313/Bol%20paper%20Central%20Country%20REV0909.pdf?sequence=2">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3629313/Bol%20paper%20Central%20Country%20REV0909.pdf?sequence=2</a><br />
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Karen L. King. The Place of the Gospel of Philip in the Context of Early Christian Claims about Jesus’s Marital Status.<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11041837/King%2c%20Gospel%20of%20Philip%20%26%20Jesus%27s%20Marital%20Status%20published%20NTS%20Oct%202013.pdf?sequence=1">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11041837/King%2c%20Gospel%20of%20Philip%20%26%20Jesus%27s%20Marital%20Status%20published%20NTS%20Oct%202013.pdf?sequence=1</a><br />
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Christine M. Korsgaard. The activity of Reason.<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3629313/Bol%20paper%20Central%20Country%20REV0909.pdf?sequence=2">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3629313/Bol%20paper%20Central%20Country%20REV0909.pdf?sequence=2</a><br />
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David M. Lazer, R. Kennedy, Gary King, and A. Vespignani. The Parable of Google Flu: Traps in Big Data Analysis.<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/12016836/The%20Parable%20of%20Google%20Flu%20%28WP-Final%29.pdf?sequence=1">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/12016836/The%20Parable%20of%20Google%20Flu%20%28WP-Final%29.pdf?sequence=1</a><br />
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Samuel A. Mehr, Adena Schachner, Rachel C. Katz, and Elizabeth S. Spelke. Two Randomized Trials Provide No Consistent Evidence for Nonmusical Cognitive Benefits of Brief Preschool Music Enrichment.<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11276120/mehr-two-randomized.pdf?sequence=3">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11276120/mehr-two-randomized.pdf?sequence=3</a><br />
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Afsaneh Najmabadi. Making (Up) an Archive: What Could Writing History Look Like in a Digital Age?<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11297828/Brown%20University%20draft%20paper.pdf?sequence=1">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11297828/Brown%20University%20draft%20paper.pdf?sequence=1</a><br />
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Antoine Picon. Learning from utopia: contemporary architecture and the quest for political and social relevance.<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/10579145/Picon_LearningFrom.pdf?sequence=1">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/10579145/Picon_LearningFrom.pdf?sequence=1</a><br />
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Stuart M. Shieber. There Can Be No Turing-Test--Passing Memorizing Machines<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11684156/3521354.0014.016.pdf?sequence=7">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11684156/3521354.0014.016.pdf?sequence=7</a><br />
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Peter Suber. Thinking about prestige, quality, and open access. <br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4322577/suber_oaquality.html?sequence=1">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4322577/suber_oaquality.html?sequence=1</a><br />
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Jonathan Zittrain. Be Careful What You Ask For: Reconciling a Global Internet and Local Law.<br />
<a href="http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/9696322/Zittrain_CarefulWhatYouAskFor.pdf?sequence=1">http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/9696322/Zittrain_CarefulWhatYouAskFor.pdf?sequence=1</a></div>
Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-15751279231819902162014-08-27T11:11:00.002-07:002014-08-27T11:42:13.797-07:00We Lit a Pile of Books on Fire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifonxbdapt8arHyI5bbnP3lfLKvd3lfdBorkM1JhMrdzGJWrFzlktZ3NlPXwMljWi73VWlBpqvpFVBtFBjYunNBOyeerwFASHxiPp81ukuWX8LAZ55CmOyEDyVNC_V3EQLoSk6kXcGsxA/s1600/Burning+Books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifonxbdapt8arHyI5bbnP3lfLKvd3lfdBorkM1JhMrdzGJWrFzlktZ3NlPXwMljWi73VWlBpqvpFVBtFBjYunNBOyeerwFASHxiPp81ukuWX8LAZ55CmOyEDyVNC_V3EQLoSk6kXcGsxA/s1600/Burning+Books.JPG" /></a></div>
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How do you create a video that conveys the enormity of Outernet? An enormous library of the best digital content from all over the world - the notion is actually quite hard to grasp. It is also difficult to grasp the enormity of the problem. Saying that 35.5% of humanity cannot access the Internet, which is essentially a wealth of information - is such a cold statistic. Add on to that the fact that you need to make the video stand out amongst a daily bombardment of media. Hmmm...<br />
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So, we decided to light a pile of books on fire in what we hope will be the last book burning, well, ever.<br />
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We filmed the scene in an abandoned warehouse in Detroit. The guys at <a href="http://www.motionparade.com/" target="_blank">Motion Parade</a> produced the final video for us, which we will be releasing next week. To see a preview, scroll to the end of this post.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZhtt9h76vTg67FGhJo9SzltinlorfiPD9wtoYt0Vh7pFFlEizXPTzT6Z9-3fwG9_cJenfeNy2AQ0wqaRt25V1ok_2tA4XOKE8t7cUKlf8HXo_xjmT8hht-xkShrbH2u7rCcBGqdXoPA/s1600/2014-07-20+13.54.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZhtt9h76vTg67FGhJo9SzltinlorfiPD9wtoYt0Vh7pFFlEizXPTzT6Z9-3fwG9_cJenfeNy2AQ0wqaRt25V1ok_2tA4XOKE8t7cUKlf8HXo_xjmT8hht-xkShrbH2u7rCcBGqdXoPA/s1600/2014-07-20+13.54.51.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the set. We selected an area without a ceiling for ventilation.</td></tr>
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The book burning would symbolize the lack of information access that most of humanity currently experiences. Outernet will reverse this trend and bring those outside the realm of connectivity into contact with anything they want.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of the factory location.</td></tr>
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The books will then burn in reverse, showing how Outernet will create this wealth of information out of nothing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YlU6mozD8db5lciI-MqyVoL74RsMr_cXyHMXAEJQIWcbmVZRkGpshj04iyYV6EcF-EQyygYKxfz03z0iMZ1AoKT3SC_pOwrbRYP91m9OlMVd2SrYa4z0dzIfqYuvS4Viu0hZlpfLfVw/s1600/2014-07-20+14.30.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YlU6mozD8db5lciI-MqyVoL74RsMr_cXyHMXAEJQIWcbmVZRkGpshj04iyYV6EcF-EQyygYKxfz03z0iMZ1AoKT3SC_pOwrbRYP91m9OlMVd2SrYa4z0dzIfqYuvS4Viu0hZlpfLfVw/s1600/2014-07-20+14.30.06.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting the set in order.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0vN_ziiNUQb0BPS9bT8THJxMIaapqnD6iaLtw1J-qYFqBY6OEnbUzUrnaV4A2FAmHUzt51_ixnHAsxwco_GzZfWGF-Ly1VEdt5d-imV8FK3Cf-3EGbAbqFCPIS0MVBbubZmocdh4SmU/s1600/Getting+Ready.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0vN_ziiNUQb0BPS9bT8THJxMIaapqnD6iaLtw1J-qYFqBY6OEnbUzUrnaV4A2FAmHUzt51_ixnHAsxwco_GzZfWGF-Ly1VEdt5d-imV8FK3Cf-3EGbAbqFCPIS0MVBbubZmocdh4SmU/s1600/Getting+Ready.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving books and film equipment into the space was treacherous.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Dz-0AI7RZOVbKalW4oCZ2VQ-mBoc6QhgxMUh-yHutoUN2iK5WYT8zCQaFlbQAv7mNnYeG5V3yQUUDrRCi9SjH58-kRjCWDHXfwcI_C8GS4u0YeHdtnpUWci3xyxIkrWPWvZGC_fYDig/s1600/Pile+of+stuff.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Dz-0AI7RZOVbKalW4oCZ2VQ-mBoc6QhgxMUh-yHutoUN2iK5WYT8zCQaFlbQAv7mNnYeG5V3yQUUDrRCi9SjH58-kRjCWDHXfwcI_C8GS4u0YeHdtnpUWci3xyxIkrWPWvZGC_fYDig/s1600/Pile+of+stuff.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From here, it had to be moved two more times.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
First, we spoke to the Detroit Fire Department and had them come over and inspect the site. They were aware of our work and were monitoring the phone lines in case a call came through. Several did.<br />
<br />
Once we had all of the equipment and props in place, we had to arrange it in a pile and display the different material as representative of what can be broadcast and ultimately consumed over Outernet. In that pile we had: books (in multiple languages), magazines, newspapers, posters of art, maps, blueprints, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, DVD's, records, a TV, a record player, textbooks, film, sheet music, a laptop, several cell phones, weather forecasts, health manuals, and more. We spent several weeks collecting an extremely diverse set of materials to burn, which doesn't even cover all of the types of digital files that Outnernet could be used to disseminate.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6XHQ373aiIFms5JQbsatp58W2cTlK2JszRJpIimmYNT0WwJKfEjZgl37XjF9BsVaTqJAhXJV2DOd7x0OUQ_ud5wqudMn5le4hcuPg1mpQ_USs6A5yo0PCgm5BRXHHRLmXy_S97bg83E/s1600/Adjusting+pile.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6XHQ373aiIFms5JQbsatp58W2cTlK2JszRJpIimmYNT0WwJKfEjZgl37XjF9BsVaTqJAhXJV2DOd7x0OUQ_ud5wqudMn5le4hcuPg1mpQ_USs6A5yo0PCgm5BRXHHRLmXy_S97bg83E/s1600/Adjusting+pile.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We selected a variety of mediums to add to the pile, representing everything one could receive on Outernet. The Director adjusts the pile for the camera.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23K9RaKvwKg4DANzvJIcigEBpLOwoA77_aFX15s0ZwBkewJ7PQGYEyFPgFrRVHI9uDJB541v_npjSYnhdodTiaCne6XsEv50-8vHDyCaVzkX5amDEwsYDeHwSI2r3KBZS9055hNLq7A8/s1600/Prepping.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23K9RaKvwKg4DANzvJIcigEBpLOwoA77_aFX15s0ZwBkewJ7PQGYEyFPgFrRVHI9uDJB541v_npjSYnhdodTiaCne6XsEv50-8vHDyCaVzkX5amDEwsYDeHwSI2r3KBZS9055hNLq7A8/s1600/Prepping.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In addition to several cameras and the material we planned to burn, we hauled in a generator, several lighting fixtures, fire gear, and Outernet hardware.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
However, before we could shoot the pile and its subsequent burning, we filmed the prototypes of Outernet hardware, which will replace the need to have these piles of books and other physical information, which is cumbersome to distribute globally compared to bits of data.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKP4jxcWK0kGiPLahyphenhyphendmPa7sID29YWtO6waBdMoagWTYedfnop-BFyjnCAwS1xKyQXHpa_l7YZAbD3gJZK5qKBdHbJgfPH0HMoV6HVVmOGMv3WAuC1yNON5QLtHqDnE7j6di-UZe2N-Yc/s1600/Prototype+closeup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKP4jxcWK0kGiPLahyphenhyphendmPa7sID29YWtO6waBdMoagWTYedfnop-BFyjnCAwS1xKyQXHpa_l7YZAbD3gJZK5qKBdHbJgfPH0HMoV6HVVmOGMv3WAuC1yNON5QLtHqDnE7j6di-UZe2N-Yc/s1600/Prototype+closeup.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prototypes of Outernet mobile receivers and a broadband receiver.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OhFPRzf1JgbXWbxhFDQ8Lbzr4q9IlLQfZW6MliunyuyoEpmmD5mWXVJ2SPJvFkr9zJRFXFZ7l_j4csFc1q7Yxztpq9tvQ0Ioq338it5eWSizLmQRKgt3vv8Vy9rrjRyNwfxuCHMN1CY/s1600/Prototype+hardware.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OhFPRzf1JgbXWbxhFDQ8Lbzr4q9IlLQfZW6MliunyuyoEpmmD5mWXVJ2SPJvFkr9zJRFXFZ7l_j4csFc1q7Yxztpq9tvQ0Ioq338it5eWSizLmQRKgt3vv8Vy9rrjRyNwfxuCHMN1CY/s1600/Prototype+hardware.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outernet will soon fill Earth's empty halls with endless information.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />We used several different cameras to film the various shots we wanted to include in the film. Motion Parade says about the equipment, "We used a RED Epic which shoots 300fps as well as more than 4K at 24fps. We also used a Phantom Miro which shoots up to 1500fps...<br /><br />The reason these were necessary is that we knew in planning that we wanted a vibe-y sweeping feel to the piece, and with fire, it needs to be slow mo to accomplish that...also, with the reversing of the flames, ash, lighter, gasoline... we knew that we had to capture these in super slow mo to literally turn seconds into minutes of footage and utilize all of the incredible detail."<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZLS7ClK4-N0KwlRPpeVu8UTVUtS575NXaAWyci7sgXvADAvGoZv-D3tderWo7d6F2OSZuPxd36KlQjsnhkakMxUWqFcoXaxrSDb-u7K0E4uzs53Ub5sW5USzliYXHnx17kp_0et7yXI/s1600/Camera+tinkering.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZLS7ClK4-N0KwlRPpeVu8UTVUtS575NXaAWyci7sgXvADAvGoZv-D3tderWo7d6F2OSZuPxd36KlQjsnhkakMxUWqFcoXaxrSDb-u7K0E4uzs53Ub5sW5USzliYXHnx17kp_0et7yXI/s1600/Camera+tinkering.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A member of Motion Parade readies a camera.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/c9pdHGgelkA" width="640"></iframe>
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Once we had filmed the Outernet hardware, we focused on burning different sections of the pile to focus on specific types of content being assembled out of nothing. Outernet will broadcast the necessary data from space to construct files of any type anywhere in the world.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQWFKBk3BiKQNcM-Q1t6VQaAnyU-v8ewPtxINFvJ1OPr-xDP7itOepRmfSP05V5l6RPlsyET5DAoXJ81XdAXTEnADLgCzjYgKudxj7syvg4lC_05pKmY7pnp6qrpDtzMXeNiDoTLkiOc/s1600/Burning+Record+Player.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQWFKBk3BiKQNcM-Q1t6VQaAnyU-v8ewPtxINFvJ1OPr-xDP7itOepRmfSP05V5l6RPlsyET5DAoXJ81XdAXTEnADLgCzjYgKudxj7syvg4lC_05pKmY7pnp6qrpDtzMXeNiDoTLkiOc/s1600/Burning+Record+Player.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burning of blueprints, sheet music, and a vinyl record player, among other items.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we had filmed several sections of the pile - extinguishing each section as we went - it was time to douse the entire pile in gasoline and light it up. Motion Parade positioned several cameras and took the Phantom High Frame Rate camera to the second floor to film the lighting event from above.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OpEygMQ7UKg85SIiYiYlK5T42dbH7nWRt0PnhBbXydK2P3Dz8_nhBA0ZEuphyphenhyphend_0u2lv8hZCtZGljxOUKNim0WgDdpCGJq4pd7WLF32amMfFpyRXEFzLyBBu3UXBuPodakAQfIctFBI/s1600/IMG_5282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OpEygMQ7UKg85SIiYiYlK5T42dbH7nWRt0PnhBbXydK2P3Dz8_nhBA0ZEuphyphenhyphend_0u2lv8hZCtZGljxOUKNim0WgDdpCGJq4pd7WLF32amMfFpyRXEFzLyBBu3UXBuPodakAQfIctFBI/s1600/IMG_5282.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Motion Parade lights the book that ignites the pile.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Then, after hours of preparation, it was time to light the thing. Outernet's Thane Richard was standing a little too close to the pile when it lit and got a little singed.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/a8Z5Zk5sY6I" width="640"></iframe><br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
We all stood mesmerized as the pile burned. For all of us, it was an emotional moment. Everyone at Outernet and Motion Parade is extremely passionate about access to knowledge and destroying this small pile of creativity, even though its purpose was to tug at the hearts of viewers and spread a larger library to every corner of the world, it still stung.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HuamKcSlJ4sEeZUirBxXoJiL7N7wq7dHqmAq629y_wizWqIOJ9iluM_Et4fHKcfsNAAXADpOtm4RInBiUrhNJhF-2ewDZbex4oNzOG6LApmi5GyGWvzBByhA-1L0hhyWZeQnUGbKerc/s1600/Filming+the+Burning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HuamKcSlJ4sEeZUirBxXoJiL7N7wq7dHqmAq629y_wizWqIOJ9iluM_Et4fHKcfsNAAXADpOtm4RInBiUrhNJhF-2ewDZbex4oNzOG6LApmi5GyGWvzBByhA-1L0hhyWZeQnUGbKerc/s1600/Filming+the+Burning.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pile burns with veracity.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The results of this shoot were beautiful in their intensity. Motion Parade has done an outstanding job creating what is itself a piece of art. We cannot wait to share it with you. Until it's ready, enjoy this small clip.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9K40dxy0hUU" width="640"></iframe>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-56110584241384006492014-08-26T12:14:00.000-07:002014-08-26T12:14:04.573-07:00A Statement About Ferguson, Missouri<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.whtknght.com/"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtAnzoqEhT1kmTIlQJBzJOLZLEqJliymfR2gT6aX9F5XalGgyL3KFfCmYgQwq1DVlZZ46YUVEp5TM9Ef1-Hdb1a-l86HLUe6Rt9esIyUuGlVKqQWHwz-wEfAWmIl666yhFjfrRtLifsk/s1600/White+Knight+Phone+image.jpg" height="640" title="" width="305" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I have spent my life listening to people lament the repetitive dreariness of the mainstream news cycle - murder, terrorism, economic woe, natural disaster - but the last two weeks have been particularly troubling. First, there was the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, which led to large scale protests and rioting, resulting in a overwhelming police response largely seen as excessive. Then there was the execution of journalist James Foley by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Both of these events happened against the backdrop of the ongoing fighting in Gaza between Hamas and Israel and the separatist movement in Ukraine.<br />
<br />
"What is the cause of all of this?" One might ask. Is it in our human nature, or is there something else at work? While it is a foolhardy exercise to try and reduce these tragedies to a single cause, there is something that they all share. They are all rooted in two groups of people that do not trust one another and, on a very fundamental level, do not understand one another.<br />
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This brings us to the heart of empathy. If I could truly understand your worldview - the reasons you feel the way you do about a particular issue or set of issues - then there is much less of a chance that I will resort to violence. I can put myself in your shoes.<br />
<br />
How do we bridge this gap of understanding? One way, is through fighting ignorance.<br />
<br />
This is one of the principle aims of Outernet. With a library that spans language, geography, culture, and history, everyone everywhere can finally read anything they want. We all crave information. If there is an unknown, we want to make it known. Nothing can take the place of experiencing diversity in the world, but if I am a white person who knows nothing about black history, I am probably much less likely to seek out that experience than if I do. Understanding breeds empathy.<br />
<br />
We have been thinking about these events at Outernet, particularly the riots in Ferguson since they are so close to some of us, and we created <a href="http://www.whtknght.com/" target="_blank">this website</a> as a way to talk about why this happens in the United States. Let us know what you think in the comments.</div>
Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-30694758718599481022014-08-11T14:26:00.002-07:002014-08-11T14:26:31.087-07:00Press Release: Outernet Test Signal is LIVE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today is an historic day.<br /><br />Today, the first step was taken towards universal information access when Outernet unveiled its first broadcast signal to the public. <a href="https://www.outernet.is/launch/">The doors have officially opened to humanity’s public library</a>, but watch out for the wet paint. Many of the bookshelves are not finished yet and there is still much more work to be done.<br /><br />For one, the signal right now only touches about 1.3 billion people, far short of 100% of humanity. North America, Europe, most of the Middle East, and North Africa are the only regions currently receiving the Outernet signal. This test signal is being broadcast over Ku-band, which requires a dish and a <a href="http://outernet.is/pages/how-to">slightly complicated assembly process</a>, though everything does work. Outernet also has a limited selection of content: a few hundred Wikipedia articles, a few dozen books from <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Partners,_Affiliates_and_Resources#Outernet">Project Gutenberg</a>, and a similar number of news articles from <a href="http://blogs.dw.de/insider/2014/07/25/new-outernet-partnership-puts-focus-on-free-internet/">Deutsche Welle</a>. Again, this will expand very soon. Users can request content via <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/outernet.is/forms/d/1kjrgeva2yoePEwl0yQv68NHM4wDjftXzvwZRQcWvo-8/viewform">a basic form</a>, a process that will mature significantly in the coming months.<br /><br />Yet, slowly, the grip of censorship is being pushed back. Today, Outernet also announces a very exciting partnership with Project Gutenberg, the oldest producer of free ebooks. Greg Newby, Director of the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, says, <br /><br />"I'm thrilled at the Outernet vision of free-to-air broadcast of eBooks and other content. It is Project Gutenberg's mission to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. We have a focus on free access to information for all people, in the pursuit of literacy and enlightenment. Outernet has a vision that is wonderfully aligned with Project Gutenberg, encompassing free access, freedom from censorship and monitoring, and unlimited distribution."<br /><br />Outernet continues to rely on the support and feedback of individuals and organizations passionate about eradicating barriers to people everywhere reading, watching, and listening to whatever they wish. If Outernet is not broadcasting to your part of the world a right now, we hope to soon.<br /><br />Outernet challenges you to <a href="http://ctt.ec/C6Da6">#ImagineIf</a> censorship did not exist and information were broadcast from space to everyone for free. What would that world look like? What new inventions could be created or diseases cured? What would people read about if their governments no longer deprived them of their right to free information?<br /></div>
<div>
Today, we begin moving from imagining to creating.</div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-84110242155381347492014-08-11T13:09:00.002-07:002014-08-11T14:29:40.110-07:00Project Gutenberg Announces Partnership with Outernet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Outernet is thrilled to announce a content partnership with Project Gutenberg, the oldest provider of free ebooks in the world. As part of Outernet's launch today, we are offering a selection of a few dozen of Project Gutenberg's most popular ebooks, a library we plan to expand very soon.<br />
<br />
Greg Newby, Director of the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, said: <br />
<br />
"I'm thrilled at the Outernet vision of free-to-air broadcast of eBooks and other content. It is Project Gutenberg's mission to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. We have a focus on free access to information for all people, in the pursuit of literacy and enlightenment. Outernet has a vision that is wonderfully aligned with Project Gutenberg, encompassing free access, freedom from censorship and monitoring, and unlimited distribution. I am enthusiastic about Outernet's effort to bring eBooks from Project Gutenberg and other great collections to a broader audience."<br />
<br />
Syed Karim, CEO of Outernet, said:<br />
<br />
"For decades, Project Gutenberg has been pioneering increased access to knowledge and dissemination of the wealth of creativity found in public domain works. Outernet is honored and excited to have Project Gutenberg as both a launch partner and critical element of the Outernet core archive."</div>
Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-55052424951449877412014-08-11T12:33:00.002-07:002014-08-11T12:33:08.387-07:00Wanted: Content Partners<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Outernet is looking for content partners who are aligned with our mission of creating humanity's public library. Much of the content that Outernet broadcasts will already be in the public domain or available under a creative commons license. Even so, we believe that if our missions are shared, we can accomplish more together rather than Outernet just quietly broadcasting a potential partner's content over our network. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Partners,_Affiliates_and_Resources#Outernet" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>, one of Outernet's early content partners, is an excellent example of this.<br />
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If you or your organization has content that you believe would enhance Outernet's mission, please get in touch with us. Here are some notes for potential content partners:<br />
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We are working with all types of organizations, from for-profits to non-profits and governments.<br />
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We are interested in any type of content. Outernet broadcasts bits, so text, audio, video, and software are all fair game.<br />
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When it comes to licenses, it is easiest to broadcast content that is either in the public domain or under a creative commons license. However, we are working with partners to adequately address copyright.<br />
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With all Outernet content, we offer the only vehicle to achieve truly global distribution. The Outernet signal will soon be available everywhere and will always be free to our users. Do you want your work to touch every human on Earth?<br />
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Please contact Outernet's Director of User Engagement, Thane Richard, to inquire about content partnerships. Email thane@outernet.is.</div>
Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-13018556155460244362014-07-30T08:53:00.001-07:002014-07-30T08:53:44.454-07:00Poll Results for Outernet Debut Location<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We asked for you to tell us where in the world you wanted Outernet to come first and the response was overwhelming. We had a very strong turnout: 32,161 responses. The winner was Europe/Middle East/North Africa with 27,094 votes.<br />
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We have posted the breakdown in distribution below.<br />
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Remember, you can support Outernet by <a href="http://eepurl.com/Tp87T" target="_blank">signing your name to our list</a> and saying you support free information for all.<br />
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Countries That Contributed the Greatest Number of Votes<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6LpP2D9IlV6ow7_ppuW6q0TNtDkJnsCoro8JrCvE_0B0Zsb-vYjNeyS1jsNnu3KMEPcQWUzduw5nul_TdU4NuHPYw7HKKWI2VqXpNGvHr7drzII4QPXRPuYx4l0BMeIbqSe9Io7nM3k/s1600/Survey+Results.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6LpP2D9IlV6ow7_ppuW6q0TNtDkJnsCoro8JrCvE_0B0Zsb-vYjNeyS1jsNnu3KMEPcQWUzduw5nul_TdU4NuHPYw7HKKWI2VqXpNGvHr7drzII4QPXRPuYx4l0BMeIbqSe9Io7nM3k/s1600/Survey+Results.png.jpg" /></a></div>
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Vote Results<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57XBWLMDUgC6d8bHMuwSap7j05u9xIDTsjcsTZAfv6aPz4A7LBGGCH9qNlD6-gXkZTMUT_XPX9z3JXvewxisR6eEsaOeY98jWOZxn-33sEZ0kJDNRvJfTa0fpk-9H5p02lcPhZvg4l9w/s1600/Survey+respondents.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57XBWLMDUgC6d8bHMuwSap7j05u9xIDTsjcsTZAfv6aPz4A7LBGGCH9qNlD6-gXkZTMUT_XPX9z3JXvewxisR6eEsaOeY98jWOZxn-33sEZ0kJDNRvJfTa0fpk-9H5p02lcPhZvg4l9w/s1600/Survey+respondents.png.jpg" /></a></div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-46168662538314293482014-07-24T11:45:00.000-07:002014-07-24T11:45:44.530-07:00Deutsche Welle Announces Content Partnership with Outernet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Connecting the Dots and Mobilizing the Masses</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1q1AKYWgAhv4BFeVveOgk8VppJJW0leScYd_oOQCp85LweU2TrWmdCc-QoVMTi1SG0o_1HN2PAZgtF45XVSt7AHprIQqGjaJGrsFBM8lj25XwGw5JO8FyVCnVj_F2WPGEBOGQE5fz3Mk/s1600/Photo_Oliver_Linow.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1q1AKYWgAhv4BFeVveOgk8VppJJW0leScYd_oOQCp85LweU2TrWmdCc-QoVMTi1SG0o_1HN2PAZgtF45XVSt7AHprIQqGjaJGrsFBM8lj25XwGw5JO8FyVCnVj_F2WPGEBOGQE5fz3Mk/s1600/Photo_Oliver_Linow.jpg" width="195" /></a>By Oliver Linow<br /><br />There are no absolutes when dealing with information. </div>
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As long as there has been information, there have been individuals and organizations who have tried to limit the access or even censor that information. This, unfortunately, will continue. With the Internet, we have seen a boom in not only the number of people learning and discovering new things, but also those producing and sharing. It’s a wonderful piece of technology that makes our lives richer and more diverse. It has also been a leading force in bringing the world closer together. Events from distant areas around the globe don’t stay there anymore. They are in our living rooms, our offices and our pockets. It has revolutionized the way we communicate, create and consume. It can really be considered the backbone of globalization. <br /><br />Censorship and propaganda are blatant attempts to rob enlightened world citizens of their rights. Deutsche Welles’ values are based on openness, tolerance, diversity and respect – a set of democratic principles that have helped define civil society over centuries. By giving people – everyone – the right to access information, we are giving them the right to choose. The right to form their own opinion, mobilize, and participate. The Internet and digital communication has simplified how we operate. There is more active participation, community involvement and interest in political decision-making processes. And this is a good thing – it’s what will ultimately make democracy a richer and more encompassing process. <br /><br />It is more important than ever to deliver uncensored information to those who don’t enjoy the freedom of opinion and freedom of the press at home. Outernet strives to provide this open access to everyone around the world. We share those values. As a partner, we will accompany Outernet over the next few months and provide them with practical support in their test phase. This undertaking by Outernet could represent one of several ways to combat limited net neutrality and Internet censorship – for example in Africa and parts of Asia. Only time will tell, if this will be successful, but we are happy to collaborate along the way in this grand experiment in global information equality.</div>
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We are excited to share a first glance of our end user program, Librarian. Librarian is what a user would have installed on their device that would receive our content and act as their browser; it is the content archive/library manager. <br />
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Librarian decrypts the broadcast content that has been downloaded to the device, allows the user to discard content or add it to the archive, provides a list of favorites to which content can be added, and (in the future) it will also provide search and configuration interfaces.<br />
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Check out some of the screenshots below. If you’re a programmer and want to see the gritty details and contribute yourself, see <a href="https://github.com/Outernet-Project/librarian">Librarian on Github.</a><br />
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(Don't forget to <a href="http://eepurl.com/Tp87T" target="_blank">sign up for our newsletter</a> for critical project updates!)<br />
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Dashboard</h3>
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<img height="428" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lPonIDjWc2MeGbav--DEHDCMpXh26hYCxe7CBHhzACqDD4lhd-3e8Yy4mp7VYy9xP7wGdWPopaloBAJITfleLore3eIaSaeH2xyQeeeB7TyvzB_sGWz2WPARaoZQMeMy5A" width="640" /></div>
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Dashboard is the Librarian's startup page. It lists the basic content archive statistics, information about the disk space, and shows the list of favorites.<br />
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The toolbar at the top provides access to other features.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Updates</h3>
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<img height="428" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gWm43UFEkGHgEWIycWAqsL0Uyc6mQU8tlhn7QqRN3aNp7-m6AzUmT7Up_PAAVtj6py3H2-VLnvLH3jaaaBmSUHe-_1V6VExu3TM4gJ3aQf3HNpJhfhK2zIvJQttg1yFRcw" width="640" /></div>
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The updates screen shows the decrypted content that has been downloaded. This content is not yet added to the archive. User has an option of either adding it, or discarding it. Once content is added to the archive, it appears on the Archive page.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Archive</h3>
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<img height="428" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/R8HbjEt3o7aBfjhS7y5PgUnLKKeT9Ow4ZL1Idkg_StWdJrXd1_ypAgqjGYTiNr7_OSIMr4moe4h5Y2q30peYsExOMq1qnQckAQL7aRcQBu3JBuRzHKYLflH3K1JZv8zeKA" width="640" /></div>
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Archive page shows the list of content in the archive. In this early prototype, there is no search functionality yet, but normally the search interface would be present on this page as well.<br />
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Each content has a 'favorite' button that can be used to add it to the favorites list.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Favorites</h3>
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<img height="428" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Hz8m7ha7070deTX7Ng2oOopfYiS5D_KedBhu2Dnp5Jtc_RSr87MhHPp-jGMpJ4NrnIsDZ5P7e_E6FDqbjjeRilXgW4FAbIo2fP9MXadDzMbkt8z564qHXeqFa6KwQHs_pg" width="640" /></div>
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Favorites are… well, favorites. :) The 'unfavorite' button allows the user to remove content from this page.<br />
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Five most viewed and most recently added/updated favorites are also listed in the dashboard. Outernet has no way of tracking user Favorites or what information is most popular in the Archive of users. Remember, Outernet is a one-way data broadcast. We will rely on alternative feedback channels (SMS, USSD, web-based voting, etc.) to prioritize content that is broadcast.</div>
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Content</h3>
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Original Wikipedia page:</div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LX6Cg4FsByPH9WnJpx49770fnsBhuXL_aIw9Eme5VgXwEZcf63xD_qM68hPSyoFNy_cEpWMNozpY1Gcv8h_QvCd1UHSg89d_-wcnUc1vTvN712ZAQK3SlYfyeDKyJLMOGw" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="554" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LX6Cg4FsByPH9WnJpx49770fnsBhuXL_aIw9Eme5VgXwEZcf63xD_qM68hPSyoFNy_cEpWMNozpY1Gcv8h_QvCd1UHSg89d_-wcnUc1vTvN712ZAQK3SlYfyeDKyJLMOGw" width="640" /></a></div>
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Page as it appears on Librarian via Outernet:<img height="554" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/XFu06pj2G61y1F0yCoAfj7DeQNfQ8FBHLS_Cm5mRA2WpBxizz9fO3hKR3xBDvp4cTxbBEbtiq9E5tAxSycxFFr29DkBjy5vI0Z6_iogluSfTmVWIVlYHZwGVGP0V9fAXew" width="640" /></div>
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Content is broadcast stripped of all junk content (ads, navigation, etc), and appearance (stylesheets). Librarian provides its own stylesheet to make the reading experience arguably a bit nicer than the browser defaults. It does so by providing a fairly minimal stylesheet in order to allow even older browsers to take full advantage.</div>
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Implementation details</h3>
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Here is some under-the-hood highlights:</div>
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Multi-language support</h3>
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From start, Librarian has been built with multi-language support. This does not extend to content, though. Content is always shown in the original language in which it was found on the Web.</div>
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Content signature</h3>
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Each piece of content (HTML page and/or images) is sent in encrypted format using <a href="https://www.gnupg.org/">GnuPG</a> and 2048-bit encryption key. The Librarian has a key for decrypting content and it discards any content that it cannot decrypt. This prevents injection of content that hasn't been broadcast by Outernet in the the data stream.</div>
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Storage conservation</h3>
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In order to conserve bandwidth and storage, all content is broadcast as zip files. These files are never unpacked to storage. Instead, all files are served after being unpacked into memory and served directly from RAM. Although this has a small speed impact, it is almost unnoticeable and it potentially saves a lot of storage space.</div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435245757683479.post-87589492423396187112014-07-11T14:23:00.000-07:002014-07-11T14:23:04.618-07:00Amazing Infographic*<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We recently saw a pretty <a href="http://imgur.com/27OKaec" target="_blank">great infographic</a> posted on Reddit that some anonymous author created. We have posted it below and are searching for the author with the hope that we can correct some of the errors and re-post it on our website. Nothing like a beautiful diagram to help explain our mission!<br />
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The only reason for the asterisk is that there were a few errors that caused some misunderstanding. We have corrected those errors in text below the image. Other than that, great work - kudos to the author!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs04XmSmXMCmfoYKL1mOOCMX6gJa3nrt58-3Epi1qZqklrwES4fhjW5AJFcNch7NZMc-np_QdanLW7u8zsSJAzuqdpd-i7V8LwWZnQ60RLRb4OFennNLw0NaFj3DhtE81A_o20kWzp074/s1600/infographic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs04XmSmXMCmfoYKL1mOOCMX6gJa3nrt58-3Epi1qZqklrwES4fhjW5AJFcNch7NZMc-np_QdanLW7u8zsSJAzuqdpd-i7V8LwWZnQ60RLRb4OFennNLw0NaFj3DhtE81A_o20kWzp074/s1600/infographic.jpg" height="3840" title="" width="504" /></a></div>
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1. Outernet will always be free and available to the entire planet, though the near-term goal is not to offer universal web access. Instead, we are offering universal information access. It just happens to be that the content we distribute originates on the web. <br />
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2. Although we are currently designing a purpose-built nano-satellite constellation, we will also be leveraging existing space assets. The high-speed service will always come from geostationary satellites because the cost per global megabyte is just way lower than any alternative means of distributing digital content globally. <br />
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3. Yes, we will be uplinking to satellites through existing commercial teleports. Eventually, we will have our own ground stations. The antennae that users will need to receive the mobile information will be much smaller than what is required for the high-speed service. Think of a small FM radio antenna attached to either a wifi router or plugged directly into a smartphone. <br />
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4. We don't know where that $12BN figure came from. We could easily deploy our constellation for 1/1000 of that cost. $12M, *not* $12BN. In order to keep launch costs to a minimum, we are targeting 10cm x 10cm x 10cm satellites. However, we are finding it may actually be less expensive to go with a slightly larger design, as off-the-shelf components can be used. The target price of each satellite is $100,000, and then another $100,000 per launch, which will increase if we choose to move to a larger satellite. With an initial constellation between 16 and 25 satellites, well, that's pretty simple arithmetic. At most, the satellites will be 30cm x 10cm x 10cm. The eventual aim of the project is absolutely to offer an additional two-way service (there will always be value in broadcast data), but that vision is many years away. <br />
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6. Yes, space starts around 100 miles up. But that's not where the nano-satellites would be. Our constellation is modeled on an altitude of roughly 500km. <br />
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7. Peter Whitehead is not the president of MDIF. As a matter of fact, that role does not exist. Harlan Mandel is MDIF's CEO.<br />
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8. Our initial pathfinder mission will likely go up in later spring of 2015. We are still determining whether it makes sense to have two orbital planes with 8 satellites, or 4 planes with 6 in each. If it's the former, it's feasible that the nano-satellite constellation could be deployed by the end of 2015/early 2016--depending on ride-share availability. <br />
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9. Outernet is not about internet connectivity. It's about information access. </div>
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Thanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10426200636993015070noreply@blogger.com