Hi unixers,
I've just read an interesting news on Hacker News called Project Loon (Google)
google.com/loon/
I like to hear what unixers think about this project.
Looney maybe? 
The engineering graduate in me is intrigued and looks forward to technically detailed experimental results.
The idealist in me believes that access to all of the services and information mentioned in the video could sure help a lot of people.
The cynic in me thinks this is just the voracious Google data monster ensuring the growth of its food supply.
Those last two are not mutually-exclusive nor incompatible.
Regards,
Alister
As long as the access to the interned is filtered, spied on or in any other way directly or indirectly censored i could care less about one more way to expose myself (or anyone else) to this censorship.
I was raised in the time of the cold war when everybody explained to me that the bad, bad communists ("they") are so evil because they spy on everybody and everything whereas the freedom-loving benevolent democratic people ("we") value freedom and whatnot. Given the last developments with NSA, PRISM, Echelon and whatever programs there most probably are I'd take the "bad" KGB over the "good" NSA every day and twice on sundays. They did the same, just with less technical means and nowhere nearly as well funded as the supposedly "good guys".
bakunin
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there was a company last year that supposedly was going to harness the static electricity in the atmosphere using balloons tethered by cables to the ground. the concept seemed quiet plausible -- a bunch of people bought their stock based on the promise of the "science" -- until further thinking deflated the hoopla. with loon, the issue i see is how much fuel is it going to take to keep the balloons in place if it is not tethered to the ground. since they are expecting to "service" remote mountainous areas, i do not see the balloons staying long enough to actually make a great dent in the areas' lack of internet service. there is, however, the concept of "a little is better than nothing at all" so it would still be useful if you get past the issues with the monitored traffic ....
thinking some more, the majority of the population in those so-called remote areas would most likely not be able to afford the computers to connect to the internet so very much the only ones who would be able to take regular advantage of the internet service would be the occasional researcher in the area, special ops units hunting for deer, and the terrorists looking to update their facebook pages. the concept is altruistic but the reality does not necessarily want to cooperate.