(10-06-2026 01:38 AM)banker Wrote:  Data centers in space by 2030. No electric or cooling costs. The dude is smart.

In The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, Kurzweil predicts that at some point all matter will become media for bandwidth.

"In Ray Kurzweil's vision of the Singularity, he predicts that intelligence will eventually saturate the universe by converting dumb matter into Computronium, a substrate organized for exclusive computational purposes. This process, often described as turning matter into media for bandwidth or information processing, aims to wake up the universe by maximizing computational efficiency across all available matter and energy. Kurzweil suggests this transformation could allow intelligence to expand beyond the solar system, potentially completing the saturation of the universe by the end of the 22nd century."

The Singularity is nearer than ever. In fact, according to Kurzweill's other book called The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI, the timeline has been moved up to 2029 rather than 2050 as postulated in the original book. I read the original book years ago and found it fascinating. I tried to read the second book and was left wondering how I understood any of the first.

Nobody told me there'd be days like these. Strange days indeed. Most peculiar, mama.

(10-06-2026 10:05 PM)Todor Wrote:  

(10-06-2026 09:49 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(10-06-2026 01:38 AM)banker Wrote:  Data centers in space by 2030. No electric or cooling costs. The dude is smart.

okay, so if you put data centers in space, how easy is it going to be for enemies and/or nefarious actors to destroy them? Then what happens to the data and services they were providing? The vulnerability of basing so much of societies' infrastructure on data centers seems striking.

Elon has already thought of that and has the problem solved.

He will get paid first, and if there is a problem later, the public will be responsible for paying to fix it all.

Private profit, public responsibility.

I like Elon Musk. But if anyone thinks any billionaire is going to use their own money to fix things when they go wrong, think again.

It becomes the public’s problem as soon as the check clears.

Well, he did create a program through the government's Trump Account to transfer enough shares from his own personal stock to give every child in America a share of SpaceX stock. Now, was it PR, an act of self-promotion, or was it an act of altruism? Who knows, and who really cares if a current $146.85 share soars to $3K per share at some point. I've got mine and am hopeful.

(10-08-2026 05:36 PM)Todor Wrote:  This article is one that makes me want to root for a Space X mobile network success. The people tearing the idea apart are so smug and cocky about it.

“This ranks as one of the top three dumbest ideas in my four decades of being in this industry," said Earl Lum, the founder of analyst company EJL Wireless Research”

Ouch. He may be right, or he may be wrong. I don’t know. He may just hate Elon Musk. Or he may be an expert in all things wireless that I knows a lot of things few outside that industry really know. I have no way to tell.

Some others cited in the article have questions, some are more optimistic regarding the talent within Space X to innovate solutions.

However, for those that know something about wireless, most of this criticism launched at him is about small cell, or femtocell service that would be provided by Starlink receivers. They would be like wireless hotspots for cell phones in the surrounding area. Apart from that, the idea is that people’s phones would be on a direct satellite connection

That would be fine for small groups and individuals in rural areas as it would provide good indoor coverage that a satellite to phone connection cannot provide. So if he is planning a mobile service aimed mostly at his own Starlink customers who are overwhelmingly in rural areas, I can see it working well for the roughly 3 million subscribers that fit that description. In cities, I see validity in the criticisms. Perhaps existing Starlink customers and customers in rural areas are all that will be marketed to- at first.

And that’s what excites me. He has a viable plan to get at least some mobile customers at launch (if that happens), but it’s fun to think about what innovative solutions may be lying in wait for when the kinks are worked out or a never seen before technical solution emerges and proves these “analysts” wrong. He may have a different type of network in the works apart from everything being discussed.

https://www.lightreading.com/5g/small-ce...won-t-work

Although I am the epitome of the ideal customer for Starlink service, I have stuck with the less than ideal solution I have for now. It was slow to be rolled out to my locale and I lost some interest in it over that time. It also sucks power at a high rate, which I really don’t want as a solar user.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but network extenders are an example of a femtocell or small cell, right? It can be broadly applied across residential or enterprise solutions, no? That seems to indicate to me that such a service could work in both rural and urban settings.

I have no argument, just seeking clarity. As a telecom engineer with 48 years of experience in the telecom industry, including 22 years at AT&T as both a field tech and a field operations manager, and with knowledge of both legacy voice and data and current data or VoIP technology, I have to admit that wireless or cellular service is not my area of expertise. All I know about it is that Wi-Fi 7/IEEE 802.11be is the current standard, with a new Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11bn, on the horizon.

You lost me fairly fast, lol.

(10-27-2026 01:12 PM)TripleA Wrote:  You lost me fairly fast, lol.

Sorry, I geeked out for a minute there.

(10-27-2026 08:18 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(10-08-2026 05:36 PM)Todor Wrote:  This article is one that makes me want to root for a Space X mobile network success. The people tearing the idea apart are so smug and cocky about it.

“This ranks as one of the top three dumbest ideas in my four decades of being in this industry," said Earl Lum, the founder of analyst company EJL Wireless Research”

Ouch. He may be right, or he may be wrong. I don’t know. He may just hate Elon Musk. Or he may be an expert in all things wireless that I knows a lot of things few outside that industry really know. I have no way to tell.

Some others cited in the article have questions, some are more optimistic regarding the talent within Space X to innovate solutions.

However, for those that know something about wireless, most of this criticism launched at him is about small cell, or femtocell service that would be provided by Starlink receivers. They would be like wireless hotspots for cell phones in the surrounding area. Apart from that, the idea is that people’s phones would be on a direct satellite connection

That would be fine for small groups and individuals in rural areas as it would provide good indoor coverage that a satellite to phone connection cannot provide. So if he is planning a mobile service aimed mostly at his own Starlink customers who are overwhelmingly in rural areas, I can see it working well for the roughly 3 million subscribers that fit that description. In cities, I see validity in the criticisms. Perhaps existing Starlink customers and customers in rural areas are all that will be marketed to- at first.

And that’s what excites me. He has a viable plan to get at least some mobile customers at launch (if that happens), but it’s fun to think about what innovative solutions may be lying in wait for when the kinks are worked out or a never seen before technical solution emerges and proves these “analysts” wrong. He may have a different type of network in the works apart from everything being discussed.

https://www.lightreading.com/5g/small-ce...won-t-work

Although I am the epitome of the ideal customer for Starlink service, I have stuck with the less than ideal solution I have for now. It was slow to be rolled out to my locale and I lost some interest in it over that time. It also sucks power at a high rate, which I really don’t want as a solar user.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but network extenders are an example of a femtocell or small cell, right? It can be broadly applied across residential or enterprise solutions, no? That seems to indicate to me that such a service could work in both rural and urban settings.

I have no argument, just seeking clarity. As a telecom engineer with 48 years of experience in the telecom industry, including 22 years at AT&T as both a field tech and a field operations manager, and with knowledge of both legacy voice and data and current data or VoIP technology, I have to admit that wireless or cellular service is not my area of expertise. All I know about it is that Wi-Fi 7/IEEE 802.11be is the current standard, with a new Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11bn, on the horizon.

Yes. That’s a big part of it. The new Starlink terminals will provide actual cell coverage to the surrounding area as well as WiFi.

Tesla cars are also starting to be equipped with those new terminals in the roof. Everywhere there is a Tesla car, there will be a strong signal.

For the average person- regular cell phone antennas aren’t great for reaching into space to connect to Starlink satellites, compared to using nearby cellphone towers. It works, it’s just less than perfect. But a Starlink terminal terminal antenna is huge compared to what’s in a hand held cell phone, so receiver a very strong signal.

Starlink terminals will now be mini cell phone towers providing coverage, Tesla cars will do the same, satellites straight to the cell phones will provide coverage anywhere there is open sky.

But because Musk has purchased a lot of 800mhz spectrum, I would imagine in down towns in big cities etc they will still put up equipment similar to what current providers mount to rooftops of buildings etc.

Starlink will harness the power of all all the terminals and autos they have to create a network without spending billions in building lots of towers. I would imagine that the Starlink terminals, phones, and cars can/will also be used to create a terrestrial network and pass data thru one another the way his satellites do. Old satellites only spoke to earth, not each other. Starlink low earth satellites connect to eat other in a hive too.

The legacy industry experts who were constantly knocking the plan thought he was planning on every phone connecting directly to satellites all the time. This won’t work indoors, in cars etc, What they weren’t accounting for is the network being created in the ground as well.

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/starlin...ional-use/

https://youtu.be/wcb8nqO9lsM?si=xis-wCQFaNdRrhhJ

I’m glad I have held off on trying Starlink now. They just had a price increase in May. Now, they are testing dynamic prices where they may charge more or less for service if you live in an area where demand is high.

People that live 25 miles down the road may have a very different price than you. And they are stating prices will be reviewed quarterly. The “surge/demand” prices are hitting rural and isolated areas harder. That’s counter intuitive because enough would expect urban and suburban areas to be where the network is more congested and subject to surge pricing.

The worst part is, it affects everyone and not just new customers. Personally, I’m not liking the sound of this. Even if I’d received the price decrease email that some people did, I’d be very leary about where it could head.

The V3 satellites being launched are supposed to address capacity issues, which they saw will result in lower prices. It consistency is a big deal and it’s frustrating to deal with constant changes of pricing and policies. I feel like they are damaging their reputation.

My enthusiasm has been dialed back a few notches…

*This is a degree or two off the original thread topic, but I dont think a different Starlink thread is warranted.

The starlink service on T-Mobile works well for texting and weather, I use it often and it replaced a garmin in reach for me.

I also have a starlink mini I suction cup to the inside of the truck sunroof and it gives me 100Mb - 250Mb internet anywhere.

As far as datacenters in space there are going to be some cooling challenges there. Heat management in space is quite difficult, you have to radiate the heat away. You can’t conduct it away in a vacuum. The same reason your Yeti cup keeps ice for 12 hours is the reason getting heat out of an orbital data center is hard.

Elon Musk says two more SpaceXAI data centers tied to the company’s Colossus 2 supercomputer campus in the Southaven and Memphis area are under construction and should be running before the end of the year. In posts on X on Saturday, Oct. 31, Musk gave the new clusters nicknames, “Gun Range” and “Spam,” and said each would hold about 200,000 or more of Nvidia’s newest AI chips.

https://desotocountynews.com/mississippi...ange-spam/