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Comment Polarization along fibers (Score 2) 27

In normal fiber optical communications, both linear polarizations are used to transmit data (see the openZR+ standard). Rather than trying to control the polarization as the light travels down a fiber, they arbitrarily measure two polarizations at the receiver, then digitally do a linear combination of the two signals in whatever proportion makes the result the most orthogonal. So itâ(TM)s not a surprise that fiber technology does not have well controlled polarization.

Comment Re: Collection is Coming (Score 1) 183

It is not just âoegoing afterâ. My daughter had to file a tax return by paper last year. She filed in April and did not get her refund until something like October or November. The understaffing of the IRS affects customer service for people just trying to pay their taxes and need things processed or need help.

Comment Re: Most software does not care about absoute time (Score 1) 106

Interestingly, GPS has a time standard which does not add leap seconds. It was synchronized to UTC time when it was created, but has drifted off by several seconds since then. For systems which are timing critical, they already operate against a time standard without leap seconds.

Comment Re: This is bullshit. (Score 1) 373

Step 1: legalize military style automatic weapons Step 2: defend sites hosting hate speech up to and including âspecific, targeted threatsâ(TM) as a free speech issue Step 3: when the inevitable violence ensues, blame âa few bad applesâ(TM) and talk about âbad personal choicesâ(TM). Maybe send some âthoughts and prayersâ(TM) for good measure Repeat again from step 1

Comment Re: Compete with Starlink? (Score 1) 42

Dead is a strong word. GSO is a pain because of the long (>500 ms ping) latency, but the cost per bit can be lower than a LEO system. It has the advantage that you can put capacity down just where itâ(TM)s needed; LEO systems tend to spread capacity over the globe (although you can tune the density by latitude with the use of inclined orbits). The fact is, much of the internet traffic (streaming video) is not particularly latency sensitive. So a GEO plus LEO system could provide both low latency and a competitive cost per bit. The challenge is having a user terminal that could use both at the same time. LEO systems already use low cost phased arrays, and a dual beam phased array is technically very feasible. Although it would need to be made cheaply. Iâ(TM)m not sure if the proposed new company can pull off a hybrid system - there are a lot of legacy infrastructure issues that would need to be overcome - but it is not infeasible that they could come up with a competitive system.

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