🎙️ 30: Starlink internet satellite, Threads, MSG Sphere, and virtual events
🎙️ 30: Starlink internet satellite, Threads, MSG Sphere, and virtual events
Rick and Shaun discuss the development of satellite internet, the role of Starlink, how satellite internet works, & the benefits it brings for internet access in farming, transportation & rural areas.
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1. Preamble
Rick and Shaun discuss the extreme weather in Spain. It’s hailstones and flash floods one minute, heatwaves the next. You would think there’s some sort of climate thing going on.
2. Threads, MSG Sphere + AR Sakamoto
A chat about Threads, a new app from Meta that could potentially replace Twitter due to its business model and advertising capabilities, persuading major brands to perhaps leave Twitter.
Shaun talks about the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, where U2 are set to play a series of concerts.
Shaun’s actual tech of the week is something closer to home. He went to see an exhibition by Yayoi Kusama in Manchester recently. This was a recreation of his score for The Tin Drum and was created by a team that used 3D modelling and AI to produce an experience that brought Sakamoto back to life.
3. Tech News
Twitter is considering taking legal action against Meta over rival app Threads, which has gained over 30 million users since its launch. Twitter alleges that Meta, through the hiring of former Twitter employees, has unlawfully used Twitter's trade secrets and intellectual property. Twitter's attorney has sent a letter to Meta accusing them of "systematic, wilful and unlawful misappropriation" and demanding that Meta stop using Twitter's confidential information. Meta denies these claims and states that none of the Threads engineering team consists of former Twitter employees.
Comedian Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI and Meta in the US for copyright infringement. She's doing this with authors Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey. They allege that OpenAI's ChatGPT and Meta's LLaMA were trained on illegally-acquired datasets containing their works, obtained from "shadow library" websites. The authors claim that their books were used without consent and are seeking damages and restitution.
Tesla plans to preparing to launch a retail provider and sell electricity to UK households. And separately, Elon Musk has announced the formation of an artificial intelligence startup called xAI.
Note-taking app Evernote, now owned by Milan-based Bending Spoons, is laying off many of its US workforce and is moving operations to Europe.
4. What is the future of internet satellite connectivity?
At the beginning of this month, Falcon 9 – a SpaceX rocket – launched into what’s called low-Earth orbit from its base in California. In the process, 48 new Starlink satellites were thrust into action. But what is satellite internet (otherwise known as satellite broadband), and is Starlink the only company doing this?
This is the subject that Shaun and Rick make sense of this week.
The future of satellite internet looks promising. Do you live in an area that feels forgotten? Do you care about high-speed broadband? Get in touch with Rick or Shaun using the contact details in the show notes, or find us on LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you.
5. Exclusive content for fans of BTLT
Head over to our Patreon channel to watch an extended video version of this week’s episode. Yes, that’s right, there’s a subscriber-only version of BTLT that also includes a transcript of the show.
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Show Notes
For links, notes and extra details, facts and supporting material for this week’s show, read the Show Notes here.
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🎙️ Big Tech Little Tech
You can find the Big Tech Little Tech podcast on all major podcast platforms.
🎙️ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Anchor | Pandora | Google Podcasts | Castbox | Deezer | Pocket Casts | Stitcher
🌎 For all show notes, background links, and everything else to do with the show, go to the Big Tech Little Tech website.