I just read some interesting articles about how were close to getting cheap, fast Internet service anywhere from satellites.

Right now, existing satellite Internet service is notoriously slow and expensive.

But OneWeb, a satellite production facility led by Greg Wyler, is planning a fleet of 720 satellites that would form a global network in space-beaming broadband service down to Earth.

Its more than just an idea OneWeb has been testing a proof of concept since 2007, with a network of 12 satellites providing speeds of 1 gigabyte per second (GBps), about as fast as the highly regarded Google Fiber network.

And, last week, OneWeb was given FCC permission to use the broadcast spectrum needed to beam high-speed Internet access from space to Earth.

OneWeb has plans for a slow buildup to spaced-based Net service, with everything fully realized by the 2020s.

If you havent visited the Bismarck Public Librarys website in quite a while, you may want to stop by and check out the online options for accessing various digital media.

For example, you can borrow ebooks and digital audiobooks, access and download popular magazines or borrow digital movies to stream. Its like going to the library from the comfort of your chair and whatever digital device youre using.

Its perfect for when youre outside in the yard relaxing or on a trip or just hanging out at the park.

There is also a service called Tumblebooks, which makes available online books for young people from kindergarten through sixth grade.

Youll need a library card and Internet access to take full advantage of the online offerings. Go to http://bit.ly/2rLA5iq for more information.

If you havent had a chance yet to play around with the latest Google Doodle, do so before its gone from Googles main search page.

The doodle is in honor of Oskar Fischinger, a German-American abstract animator, who gave music a visual form and interpretation.

Music is not limited to the world of sound, Fischinger said in 1951. There exists a music of the visual world.

The Google Doodle is fairly sophisticated. You click on individual triangles in vertical rows to represent musical notes. The doodle then plays the notes from left to right.

There are four different instruments you can score, generating a small orchestra that repeatedly plays the music you create.

Each note and instrument generates a different visual animation. Create enough combinations of notes and instruments and you get a visual display that is as engaging (or distracting) as the sounds you hear.

Its a lot of fun to play and create new melodies. Google even offers a way to save your compositions.

Keith Darnay is the Tribune's online manager and has worked in the online world for more than two decades. His site is at http://www.darnay.com.

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Internet service may become based in space - Bismarck Tribune