While there are several similar ideas in this category, there is nothing quite like this.

The new BorgCo animated globe is a must for any consumer who loves gadgets and has more money than sense (we anticipate gigantic sales in the USA and Japan).

When turned off, the Globe is a simple featureless black sphere, supported on a set of gimbals allowing it to be rotated through 360 degrees in every orientation and also spun on its primary axis.

It is much more interesting if you turn it on, however.

Once it has booted up, various displays can appear. On first use, it will request to connect to a local WiFi service; once this has been done, the device is controllable from any suitably equipped device* such as a phone handset, tablet, desktop computer, or neural implant.

When initialized, the globe then downloads an image file from the BorgCo servers. The sphere then appears as a terrestrial globe.

At the click of a mouse, the globe will display the same image, but with the terminator clearly shown, and the dark side will show clusters of pinpoints of light showing the location of larger conurbations, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and a particularly bright spot indicating Boris Johnson’s arse**

The image will remain stable when the globe is tilted and rotated. The terminator will be correctly positioned according to the season of the year. As the moon phase changes, the dark side will be proportionately lighter or darker.

Using composited satellite imagery, real-time weather can be superimposed on the map.

Touching the surface of the globe brings up a menu. The image can be run forward or backward in time***, allowing (for example) the path of specific eclipses to be displayed.

For a small**** subscription, the user can download imaging from other celestial bodies such as the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and various minor moons and asteroids. For a slightly larger fee*****, planetary images from other star systems and time periods can be downloaded – for example, Nedrol, the planet that used to exist between Mars and Jupiter (before the Lesser Interplanetary War).

We can even supply imagery of your planet as it appeared during periods of extensive glaciation (which was a particularly easy thing to do since it’s mostly just white) or a similar image of how it will be after the next major asteroid impact******.

*Only real computing devices are supported – if you have an apple product, forget it.

**Visible even in the daytime.

***Covering +/- 10000 years from the current date.

****Renewable annually

***** POA

****** POA and a binding confidentiality agreement, but that does include a pre-booking option for our “I’m a human, get me out of here !” evacuation service. Numbers are limited so book early, before [MB] block-books any more seats.
-- 8th of 7, May 18 2019

I should think it ought to float above a featureless black base by magnetic levitation or something.
-- pocmloc, May 18 2019


That could be done; a slab with sides in the ratio 1:4:9 would be the traditional design.

Active gyroscopic stabilization might be necessary.
-- 8th of 7, May 18 2019


//a slab with sides in the ratio 1:4:9// Oh - it was a PLINTH! We did wonder why someone had left it in the garden. In the end we broke it up to make part of the south-east rockery. Of course when I say "we" I mean the under-gardener. To his credit, he did chip off the edges nicely so it didn't look artificial.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 18 2019


//rotated through 360 degrees in every orientation and also spun on its primary axis.// redundancy. "every orientation" includes primary axis.
-- pocmloc, May 19 2019


Yes, but the target market doesn't know that.
-- 8th of 7, May 19 2019


The answer is to zoom in, but then stand further away, shirley ?
-- 8th of 7, May 20 2019


//At the click of a mouse, the globe will display the same image, but with the terminator clearly shown// - Will the display differentiate between different models of terminator - e.g. the T-800 shown in "The Terminator" (1984) as opposed to the liquid-metal T-1000 depicted in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991)?
-- hippo, May 20 2019


It certainly will; and if you download the Mars option, you can watch Arnie as he appears in Total Recall, too.
-- 8th of 7, May 20 2019



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