Comment on Be amazed by the uses of Tech...
Thorry84@feddit.nl 2 years ago
While the general message of this meme is true, almost none if the internet actually goes through satellites. There are huge cables all around the world connecting the whole thing. And while launching rockets and deploying satellites is really cool, I think ocean crossing cables are impressive all on their own. Image a cable not only long and strong enough to cross an ocean, but also resting on the ocean floor, exposed to the environment and expected to work for decades. And to think the first of these cables was deployed back in 1858.
rmuk@feddit.uk 2 years ago
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 2 years ago
The cables are flat!
pipe01@lemmy.pipe01.net 2 years ago
I guess the point still stands, I’m sure you need to account for the circumference of the earth when laying those cables
Thorry84@feddit.nl 2 years ago
Yeah that’s true!
But the cables aren’t exactly running in a straight line I think, so I would need to do some math and research to figure out if the circumference actually matters. Someone get on this!
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 2 years ago
Worse for the eco-system than a satellite though
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 years ago
Billy lives out in Bumfuck, Idaho and thus needs Starlink.
cogman@lemmy.world 2 years ago
We have high speed Internet here in bumfuck… But yes, statistically Billy is likely a dumbfuck if he lives here.
Bo7a@lemmy.ca 2 years ago
You might be bumfuck-nowhere-adjacent. But if you have DSL, fiber, or cable, you are not in bumfuck nowhere.
-Sent through my solar powered starlink connection from actual bumfuck nowhere. Where power lines don’t even exist.
ares35@kbin.social 2 years ago
i'm in the outskirts of bumfuck. there's areas here with maximum dsl speeds under 1 mbit/sec. which the telco naturally sells at a higher price than the 40-60 mbit dsl in other parts of town.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 years ago
Maybe in some parts, but HughesNet and Starlink wouldn’t exist if they didn’t have people using them.
Thorry84@feddit.nl 2 years ago
Well Starlink is yet to turn a profit, so I’m not sure it has any place to actually exist. I think it’s mostly there to fill up the SpaceX launch schedule. Especially since the Starlink stuff de-orbits in like 3 years, so they have to keep on launching.