Google Wants to Use Balloons to Cover the World in Wi-Fi

If you go deep inside the desert or climb a mountain or find yourself in the South Pole or a remote farm or any place that can be considered 'the middle of no where', guess what? You have no internet. Well, Wired is reporting that Google wants to change all that by sending high-altitude balloons into the stratosphere to give the world Wi-Fi. Whoa.

Because of course Google would dream something as impossible and radical as cloaking the world in balloons 60,000 feet above sea level so that the entire world can get on the Internet. It's something straight out of meetings about the future, something rooted in conversations between smart people who only ask each other "But why not?", something even Google itself admits is crazy by calling it Project Loon.

What is Project Loon exactly? Only a plan to get hundreds and thousands of high-pressure balloons to circle the Earth and given internet to billions of people on Earth. It's part of Google's famed Google X Lab which is bringing the world Google Glass and self-driving cars. Wired reports:

It is an audacious proposal, and today in Christchurch, Google is holding a press conference with New Zealand's Prime Minister to formally unveil it. Google will also stage Project Loon’s biggest trial yet: 50 testers in Christchurch within the 12-mile range of the balloons will see if they can get connected from the sky.

How the heck will Google control the Internet giving balloons? Variable buoyancy, apparently. It means steering by tweaking altitude to find desirable wind currents. That sounds like guessing to me but Google insists it's controlled better than that. Google lets the balloons fly naturally but also will move them up or down to catch winds in the direction Google wants the balloons to travel in. The balloons will be carried by wind at altitudes twice as high as planes and "beam Internet access to the ground at speeds similar to today’s 3G networks or faster."

Read the whole report about the current testing of the Google Wi-Fi Balloons at Wired. Learn more about Project Loon at Google. And wonder what seemingly unsolvable problem Google wants to solve with the future with us down below. [Project Loon, Wired]

LIST OF RUN COMMANDS

 [A] 

Add/Remove Programs = appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools = control admintools
Authorization Manager= azman.msc "New"

[C]

Calculator = calc

Certificate Manager = certmgr.msc

Character Map = charmap

Check Disk Utility = chkdsk

Control Panel = control "New"

Command Prompt = cmd.exe

Component Services = dcomcnfg

Computer Management = compmgmt.msc = CompMgmtLauncher "New"

[D]

Date and Time Properties = timedate.cpl
Downloads = Downloads "New"
Device Manager = devmgmt.msc
Direct X Troubleshooter = dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility = cleanmgr
Defragment User Interface = dfrgui "New"
Ditilizer Calibration Tool = tabcal "New"
Disk Management = diskmgmt.msc
Disk Parmelonion Manager = diskpart 
Display Properties = control desktop or desk.cpl
DPI Scaling = dpiscaling "New"
Driver Package Installer = dpinst "New"
Driver Verifier Utility = verifier or /reset
DVD Player = dvdplay "New"
[E]

Encryption File System = rekeywiz "New"
Event Viewer = eventvwr.msc
[F]

Fax Cover Sheet Editor = fxscover "New"
File Signature Verification Tool = sigverif 
Folders Properties = control folders 
Fonts = control fonts
Free Cell Card Game = freecell
[G]

Game Controllers | joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor = gpedit.msc
[I]  

Internet Explorer = iexplore 
Iexpress Wizard = iexpress
Internet Properties = inetcpl.cpl
IP Configuration = ipconfig.exe
iSCSI Initiator = iscsicpl "New"
[K]

Keyboard Properties = control keyboard

[L]

Libraries = explorer or Windows key + E
Local Security Settings = secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups = lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out Of Windows = logoff
[M] 

Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool = msdt "New" 
Microsoft Paint = mspaint.exe
Mouse Properties = control mouse
Mouse Properties = main.cpl
Mobility Center (only on mobile) = mblctr or Windows key + X
[N]
  
Network Connections = control netconnections
Network Connections = ncpa.cpl
Notepad = notepad 
[O]

ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32 "New" 
Optional Features Manager = optionalfeatures "New"
On Screen Keyboard = osk or Windows key + U 
[P]  

Package Installer = dpinst
Pen & Touch Options = tabletpc.cpl
People Near Me Identifier = collab.cpl
Performance Monitor = perfmon.msc
Phone and Modem Options = telephon.cpl
Power Configuration = powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes = control printers
Printer Migration = PrintBrmUi "New"
Private Character Editor = eudcedit
Problem Steps Recorder = psr.exe
Programs and Features = appwiz.cpl
[R] 
  
Regional Settings = intl.cpl
Registry Editor = regedit.exe
Remote Assistance = msra "New"
Remote Desktop = mstsc
Resultant Set of Policy = rsop.msc
[S]
   
Scheduled Tasks = control schedtasks
Screen Resolution = desk.cpl
Security Center = wscui.cpl
Services = services.msc
Shared Folders/MMC = fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows = shutdown 
Snipping Tool = snippingtool "New"
Sounds and Audio = mmsys.cpl
Sound Recorder = soundrecorder "New"
Sound Volume = sndvol "New"
Spider Solitare Card Game = spider
SQL Client Configuration = cliconfg
Stored User Names and Passwords = credwiz "New"
Sticky Note = StikyNot "New"
System Configuration Editor = sysedit
System Configuration Utility = msconfig
System File Checker Utility = sfc
System Information = msinfo32
System Properties = sysdm.cpl or Windows key + Pause/Break
System Restore = rstrui.exe
[T]   

Task Manager = taskmgr 
Trusted Platform Module = TpmInit "New"
[U]

Utility Manager = utilman
User Accounts = netplwiz or control userpasswords2
[W] 

Windows Activation = slui "New"
Windows Backup Utility = sdclt "New"
Windows Fax and Scan = wfs "New
Windows Firewall = firewall.cpl
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security = wf.msc "New
Windows Image Acquisition = wiaacmgr "New" 
Windows Media Player = wmplayer
Windows Magnifier = magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure = wmimgmt.msc
Windows Update App Manager = wuapp "New"
Windows Standalong Update Manager = wusa "New'
Windows System Security Tool = syskey
Windows Share Creation Wizard = shrpubw "New" 
Wordpad = write

IBM's Smarter Cities Billboard Campaign

Billboards are meant to distract and annoy, to draw attention and to not fit in. In its recent on-street ad campaign, IBM promotes its People for Smart Cities Program with billboards that are even more invasive.

Ogilvy & Mather France took the concept of the board and bent it into shapes that could – with some effort – be seen as solutions for a somewhat smarter city, London and Paris in this case. A board bends to become a bench, a rain shelter or a ramp over stairs.

It is still visual clutter, it is still preaching something, but at least it is doing it with a bit more imagination than just pushing a loud message. How many citizens actually paid attention to IBM’s message on the street while perusing the practical benefits of the boards, we don’t know, but the social media attention this campaign is achieving has certainly worked its magic. We certainly found ourselves deep in the depths of IBM’s Smarter Planet, Smarter Cities site, reading white papers and studies about retail and merchandising. - Tuija Seipell

HIDING TEXT BEHIND TEXT

FOR HIDING

Step 1

Open command prompt and create a text file to where ever location you want or create a text file using windows GUI (in this example we have created our text file with name yourname.txt and saved it to the Desktop)

Step 2

Go to the location where the file has been saved and use “type” command to view the content of the file.

Step 3

Here comes the main step of hiding secret information. A hidden / confidential file is now been created through Echo command and the confidential information is being saved in it.

Syntax: echo <Secret/confidential message> > host text file (yourname.txt in our case) : <secret file name(secret.txt as shown below)>

We have saved our confidential file (secret.txt) containing confidential data within our host file (yourname.txt)

FOR UNHIDING

Step 4

To view the content of this hidden file, we need to use the following command after entering into the directory containing host file (yourname.txt)

Syntax : start .<host file(yourname.txt)> : <confidential file(secret.txt>