Facebook wants to connect world to Internet with drones
Facebook officially unveiled its plan to expand the reach of the Internet through a sophisticated system of drones, lasers and satellites this week. The social media giant acquired Ascenta, a UK-based builder of solar-powered drones for $20 million as part of the push to connect the world.
Facebook’s plan goes head-to-head with Google’s own attempts to deliver connectivity to all corners of the globe. Google’s plan is called Project Loon and involves high altitude balloons beaming Internet from the skies. These types of technology are very much within the realm of possibility for deployment by both Google and Facebook. But the real problem will be obtaining the agreement of foreign governments to clutter their aerospace with drones and balloons.
Oculus Rift VR developers shun platform following $2bn Facebook acquisition
Facebook has had a busy week. The social media giant followed up on its $19 billion acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp by spending $2 billion on Oculus VR this week. Oculus’ one and only product is the highly-praised Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset aimed at gamers. But the move has gone down very badly with developers who were eagerly putting together games for the Rift platform, leading many to abandon the platform altogether. Markus Persson, who created Minecraft, revealed he had been in talks to bring Minecraft to Oculus Rift, but following the acquisition, has canceled the deal. “Facebook creeps me out,” Persson said in a blog post.
BlackBerry reports $5.9b losses
BlackBerry’s woes continued, as the smartphone manufacturer announced a net loss of $5.9 billion for its last financial year. The company did have a glimmer of good news, though, as its losses for the three months up to March 1, at $423 million, were smaller than expected. BlackBerry says it is on “a path to returning growth and profitability.”
The company now plans to focus heavily on its services and keyboard devices in order to turn its fortunes around.
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