Ostrich Satellite Phone Network to Deorbit 66 Satellites Posted by Pixelfish on Friday October 15, @09:05AM EDT from the can-you-hear-me-now dept. LowEarthLarry writes "After its bankruptcy, the Ostrich satellite phone network has announced it will steer all 66 of its satellites into the atmosphere to burn up. The handsets were the size of a brick, cost $3,000, and only worked outdoors, which turned out to be a hard sell to business travelers who spend most of their time indoors." Five billion dollars of hardware turned into the world's most expensive meteor shower. Ostrich Satellite Phone Network to Deorbit 66 Satellites | Login/Create an Account | Top | 32 comments | Search Discussion Threshold: -1: 32 comments 0: 30 comments 1: 24 comments 2: 14 comments 3: 7 comments 4: 3 comments 5: 1 comments NestedFlatThreadedNo Comments Oldest FirstNewest FirstHighest Scores First The fine print: the following comments belong to whoever typed them. Dashdot takes no responsibility for them, and frankly, neither do most of the people who typed them. FP by Anonymous Coward (Score:-1) Re:FP by SpudGun on Friday October 15, @10:14AM EDT (#7) (User Info) I work in this field, and the parent is basically right, although the details are a bit more complicated than one comment can cover. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:FP by cyber_wombat on Friday October 15, @10:40AM EDT (#9) (User Info) So what you're saying is that it's a conspiracy. Got it. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:FP by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 15, @11:02AM EDT (#11) The parent's point stands, though: it depends entirely on the use case. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:FP by Pixelfish on Friday October 15, @11:57AM EDT (#16) (User Info) Actually, that's a common misconception. The spec explicitly allows it; it's the vendors who didn't implement it. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:FP by HexHead on Friday October 15, @12:56PM EDT (#20) (User Info) Not true at all. I've been running it for months with no problems. Maybe check your hardware? [ Reply to This | Parent ] Sell them to us by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 15, @09:21AM EDT (#2) Can't some university buy them for a dollar? Imagine what amateur radio folks could do with 66 satellites. [ Reply to This ] Business model by modem_mike on Friday October 15, @09:27AM EDT (#3) (User Info) The business model assumed cell networks wouldn't grow. Cell networks grew. Oops. [ Reply to This ] Re:Business model by ShopperSheila on Friday October 15, @09:45AM EDT (#4) (User Info) I think you're missing the point. Nobody is arguing it's perfect, just that it's better than what we had. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Business model by perl_monger_mo on Friday October 15, @09:49AM EDT (#5) (User Info) Hey, at least it's not Portals. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Business model by modem_mike on Friday October 15, @09:54AM EDT (#6) (User Info) This is the most sensible thing I've read on Dashdot all week. Somebody mod this up. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Hype by DaemonDiva on Friday October 15, @10:49AM EDT (#10) (User Info) The hype-to-substance ratio on this one is pretty high. Let's see it running in production before we all get excited. [ Reply to This ] Re:Hype by NullPointer on Friday October 15, @12:15PM EDT (#17) (User Info) Whoosh. That was the sound of the joke going over your head. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Hype by GeckoGuy on Friday October 15, @12:41PM EDT (#19) (User Info) Heh. Nice one. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Offtopic, but by Tux_Tamer on Friday October 15, @11:11AM EDT (#12) (User Info) Offtopic, but does anyone know how to get a Sound Blaster 16 working under the new kernel? It just beeps at me. Rhythmically. [ Reply to This ] My experience by mp3_maniac on Friday October 15, @11:36AM EDT (#14) (User Info) I've been working in this industry for 15 years, and I can tell you that this kind of thing comes around every five years with a new name. The underlying ideas don't change much; the marketing does. [ Reply to This ] Karma by Anonymous Coward (Score:0) Re:Karma by WebWeaver on Friday October 15, @02:17PM EDT (#26) (User Info) Mod parent down! Flamebait. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Karma by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 15, @02:28PM EDT (#27) You must be new here. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Free meteor shower by WindowManiac on Friday October 15, @01:28PM EDT (#22) (User Info) Free light show. I'll bring the lawn chairs. [ Reply to This ] Re:Free meteor shower by NavNerd on Friday October 15, @01:46PM EDT (#24) (User Info) Says the guy posting at 3am on a Tuesday. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Who cares by MediaMaven on Friday October 15, @01:33PM EDT (#23) (User Info) Why is this news for nerds? This is news for people who like being angry at things. [ Reply to This ] Interesting, but... by NavNerd on Friday October 15, @01:58PM EDT (#25) (User Info) This is interesting, but I think the article misses the bigger picture. Technology like this only matters when it gets cheap enough for ordinary people. Until then it's a toy for people who read Dashdot. Which, admittedly, is us. [ Reply to This ] Re:Interesting, but... by PolarPenguin on Friday October 15, @02:49PM EDT (#30) (User Info) Exactly. And the vendors know it, which is why they're scared. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Meh by LawGeek on Friday October 15, @02:34PM EDT (#29) (User Info) Meh. Wake me up when it's open source. [ Reply to This ] Year 2000 by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 15, @03:14PM EDT (#32) Just wait until January. Then we'll see who's laughing. (Probably everyone. The answer is probably everyone.) [ Reply to This ] 8 replies beneath your current threshold. Show them all (threshold -1).

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