Vint Cerf Plugs Android Into Interplanetary Net 69
Several readers sent in an update on DTN, the interplanetary Internet protocol that Vint Cerf has been working on for many years (and we have been discussing for nearly as long). The news now is that Cerf has added a DTN stack to the open source Android code, seeing uses in mobile applications for a protocol that does not assume a continuous connection.
Synergy (Score:5, Insightful)
See? Space research does have spinoffs for everyday life. If we weren't trying to get to Mars, we wouldn't have this useful protocol for Earthside use.
Double NASA's budget at once.
Re:Vint Cerf Got the Ill Communication (Score:3, Insightful)
If you have a constant speed (i.e. the speed of light), then units that normally describe duration can reasonably be used to indicate distance, especially over great distances.
Think of the light year mentioned above. A light year is the distance that light can travel in a year - so we're using a unit of time to describe distance. It works because the speed of light is the same regardless of your frame of reference, which also means the distance is the same regardless of your frame of reference.
1980 wants its protocol back (Score:4, Insightful)