Tech Bytes: Facebook releases Internet drone specs

Facebook releases Internet drone specs

Facebook has unveiled details of its Internet drone, part of the social media giant's plans to bring Internet connectivity to remote parts of the world.

The Internet drone is said to have the wingspan of a Boeing 737 passenger aircraft, can fly as high as 27,000m and stay airborne for up to 90 days at one go.

The drones are able to offer Internet speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second and will be tested in the US later this year.


Viewing deck for Apple's new HQ

Apple's new campus, now being built in Cupertino, California, will have an observation deck for fans to admire its new UFO-style building, according to Silicon Valley Business Journal.

The deck will be a free-standing glass-walled structure to be built on top of the visitors' centre and on-site Apple Store. Apple is expected to move into the new campus late next year.


Windows 10 in 14m devices in one day

The new Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, launched last Wednesday in 190 countries, is proving to be a hit. Microsoft has announced that over 14 million devices have been installed with the new operating system within a day of its launch.

The new free upgrade is to be rolled out in phases to eligible devices.


Obama wants world's fastest computer

US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order that calls for the US to build the fastest computer over the next decade.

According to a White House blog post, an organisation called the National Strategic Computing Initiative will be established to build a supercomputer capable of one exaflop, or a billion billion calculations per second.

China now has the world's fastest computer called Tianhe-2. It has a processing speed of 33.86 petaflops. One thousand petaflops equal one exaflop.


New Samsung image sensor in production

Samsung has announced that it is starting mass production of its latest image sensor for mobile devices. Known as S5K3P3, the 16-megapixel image sensor has a profile of less than 5mm thick to fit the next generation of slim smartphones.

The new image sensor features 1-micron pixels. The image sensors found in Samsung's Galaxy S6 and Note 4 use 1.12-micron pixels.

A bigger pixel size usually translates to higher sensitivity of the image sensor, but Samsung said its Isocell technology allows the new image sensor to deliver image quality on a par with 1.12-micron image sensors.

The new image sensor might be used for Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 that is rumoured to be announced at an event on Aug 13.

Compiled by Trevor Tan

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 05, 2015, with the headline Tech Bytes: Facebook releases Internet drone specs. Subscribe