April 10, 2014
April 03, 2014
Felix Baumgartner is the man who fell to Earth and lived to tell the tale
"I would not do it again because there's nothing else to
accomplish ... The fact that it worked once, does not mean it will work
again."
Felix Baumgartner is a rock star. At least, he is to the bright-eyed group of tween boys crowding his Red Bull Stratos exhibit at the Smithsonian, the pieces of which are now set to become part of the museum's permanent collection. Baumgartner could also probably be an action movie star. He's brimming with braggadocio in that way only men who've dared and triumphed over the impossible can be; ruggedly handsome in a way you wouldn't expect from a daredevil. And he's also very stylish.
Baumgartner refers to himself as the "fastest man in the sky," and the distinction is well-earned. In October of 2012, the Austrian stepped out from a custom-made space capsule 24 miles high and space dove toward terra firma, breaking the sound barrier along the way. As you might imagine, a free fall from the edge of space is not without significant risks. "I heard a lot of nightmare stories about flat spinning," he told me. "Which, if it happens too fast, you're facing too many RPMs; you cannot stop that spin anymore. And, at a certain point, the blood has only one way to leave your body and that's through ... your eyeballs. That means you're gonna die."
Felix Baumgartner is a rock star. At least, he is to the bright-eyed group of tween boys crowding his Red Bull Stratos exhibit at the Smithsonian, the pieces of which are now set to become part of the museum's permanent collection. Baumgartner could also probably be an action movie star. He's brimming with braggadocio in that way only men who've dared and triumphed over the impossible can be; ruggedly handsome in a way you wouldn't expect from a daredevil. And he's also very stylish.
Baumgartner refers to himself as the "fastest man in the sky," and the distinction is well-earned. In October of 2012, the Austrian stepped out from a custom-made space capsule 24 miles high and space dove toward terra firma, breaking the sound barrier along the way. As you might imagine, a free fall from the edge of space is not without significant risks. "I heard a lot of nightmare stories about flat spinning," he told me. "Which, if it happens too fast, you're facing too many RPMs; you cannot stop that spin anymore. And, at a certain point, the blood has only one way to leave your body and that's through ... your eyeballs. That means you're gonna die."
Google reportedly wants to offer mobile phone service in Fiber areas
Many see Google Fiber
as an attempt to disrupt the stagnant world of internet service
providers, and it now sounds like Google wants to shake up the wireless
industry, too. Sources for The Information claim
that the search firm wants to offer mobile phone service in Fiber
areas. It's not yet clear how this would work, but Google reportedly
told Verizon in January that it would like to become an MVNO
(mobile virtual network operator) piggybacking on Big Red's network.
None of the companies involved are commenting on the rumor, and there
are no guarantees that Google's dreams will become reality. We certainly
wouldn't count on Verizon's cooperation given its vehement opposition
to the net neutrality principles that Larry Page and crew hold dear.
However, Google is the sort of company that's willing to supply internet
access by any means necessary -- if it's really bent on offering phone service, it'll find a way.
Here's another peek at Google's build-your-own-smartphone project
Project Ara has only exploded in prominence since Google unloaded Motorola
earlier this year, and now we're getting yet another peek at the work
in progress. The Phonebloks team just released a video showing off the
progress Google and its partners have made on those modular smartphones,
and things are coming along just as quick as you'd expect.
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