

IPhone 4 films final Discovery launch from 30,000 feet up.  - marklittlewood
http://thebln.com/2011/02/iphone-4-video-of-discovery-launching-on-sts-133-from-commercial-plane/

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fourspace
A rocket carrying human beings going to space to live for a few days in zero
gravity, viewed from an airplane carrying hundreds of humans 30,000 feet in
the air, filmed on a camera that fits into your pocket.

Do we need any more proof that human beings are incredible?

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mkramlich
And yet despite all this amazing intellectual capability we seem somehow
unable to balance a government budget, year after year after year. Hmmmmmm....

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cal5k
Everything is amazing and nobody's happy.

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mkramlich
haha, nice! yes the great Louis C.K. routine. "You're sitting in chair. But
it's thousands of feet in the air and hurtling along at hundreds of miles an
hour but you're perfectly safe. Yet we complain about the taste of the coffee
not being just right." to summarize.

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s00pcan
How is it relevant in any way that this was filmed with an iPhone?

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ugh
The specific device is irrelevant and so is your question.

The headline “Smartphone Films Final Discovery Launch From 30,000 Feet Up”
would be just as good but complaining about the additional (albeit irrelevant)
information in the real headline seems just strange.

The information in the headline that this was taken by a smartphone is
certainly valuable – you immediately know that this is not about professional
video footage for example from a NASA plane but amateur footage taken from a
commercial airliner which is a lot cooler.

Does it really annoy you and all the people who upvoted you so much that the
writer of the headline (not even the guy who took and published the video)
went that small extra step and mentioned the specific model of the device used
to capture the video and not just the general category? Why exactly?

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mberning
You don't seem to understand people that suffer from gadget inadequacy. They
look at their own and other people's choices in purchasing consumer
electronics as a reflection of self worth.

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marklittlewood
I would like to point out that if it had been taken with a HTC Desire HD it
would have been even better!

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mambodog
I would like to point out that if it had been taken with a Canon 5Dmk2 it
would have been even better!

And so on, and so on, and on...

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juiceandjuice
It's pretty cool that this guy has an autonomous iPhone that films stuff for
him.

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adsr
Wow, lucky guy! Did the plane follow it for a bit? I'm thinking about the
remark on the speaker system at 1:28.

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marklittlewood
I think it travelled about 59 miles in 2 minutes so they would have had a job!

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adsr
Hm, yeah I was referring to horizontally getting closer to the action of the
launch.

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marklittlewood
I think they have a 40 mile no fly zone around the launch site.

Good picture of a launch being guarded by an F-15...
<http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123205663>

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adsr
That definitely makes sense, but on the other hand it doesn't answer the
question if they took a detour. Nice picture by the way, thanks.

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marklittlewood
There is something about those pictures that is making me want to make an
airfix model - just for the benefit of my son of course...

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aw3c2
blogspam

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yread
indeed, link to the original video:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE_USPTmYXM>

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ajays
I am ashamed to admit that I have too much time on my hands today. The same
video, with an alternate soundtrack:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXZrkqKo8NQ>

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softbuilder
Nice. Somehow I expected "The Final Countdown" to be playing.

 _What does this mean?_

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micah_moo
Ya I was watching the launch on tv, then stepped outside and you could see it
from the other side of Florida, I've seen a launch up in close once, to bad I
was really really sick to enjoy it.

~~~
jcurbo
Yeah, I've seen two launches from Tampa (including the last night launch), and
you can see things pretty well. This video blows it away though, I would have
loved to be on that plane.

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CGamesPlay
I don't understand what led the author to believe that this was filmed using
an iPhone 4; nor why that has anything to do with the rest of the video.

