RoamingMan might be the easiest way to stay connected anywhere in the world

Smartphones and laptops are essential tools in daily life. Whether you want to read the news, watch a movie, or simply chat with a friend, chances are you do so on your phone. Dependence can breed frustration, however, when you step across a border and find that your smartphone no longer works. Although international travel has never been easier, data plans have yet to catch up. There are few things worse than being in a foreign land, ready to sit for a spell, only to realize you can’t check your Facebook feed or favorite subreddit. Local Wi-Fi may not be up to snuff, and you don’t have an international data plan.

If buying an international data plan or a SIM card for whatever country you visit seems too expensive or annoying, consider renting a mobile hotspot. These devices function as a tether between your devices and the internet, allowing you to connect easily and without sharing the link with nearby users.

The RoamingMan mobile hotspot is an Android-powered Wi-Fi hotspot with “cloud SIM” technology. This means that it gives you data — at 4G, no less — no matter where you are in the world. You’ll have to pay for your data, and the device throttles you after a daily 500MB limit. But at just $10 a day for 4G data wherever you roam, the RoamingMan is useful.

You can rent a device from RoamingMan’s website, telling the company the range of dates you want to use it for, then mail it back to them using a label they include.

First, you should check with your mobile carrier to see if they offer affordable international plans. If not, you should definitely consider a Wi-Fi hotspot.

RoamingMan might be the easiest way to stay connected anywhere in the world

Smartphones and laptops are essential tools in daily life. Whether you want to read the news, watch a movie, or simply chat with a friend, chances are you do so on your phone. Dependence can breed frustration, however, when you step across a border and find that your smartphone no longer works. Although international travel has never been easier, data plans have yet to catch up. There are few things worse than being in a foreign land, ready to sit for a spell, only to realize you can’t check your Facebook feed or favorite subreddit. Local Wi-Fi may not be up to snuff, and you don’t have an international data plan.

If buying an international data plan or a SIM card for whatever country you visit seems too expensive or annoying, consider renting a mobile hotspot. These devices function as a tether between your devices and the internet, allowing you to connect easily and without sharing the link with nearby users.

The RoamingMan mobile hotspot is an Android-powered Wi-Fi hotspot with “cloud SIM” technology. This means that it gives you data — at 4G, no less — no matter where you are in the world. You’ll have to pay for your data, and the device throttles you after a daily 500MB limit. But at just $10 a day for 4G data wherever you roam, the RoamingMan is useful.

You can rent a device from RoamingMan’s website, telling the company the range of dates you want to use it for, then mail it back to them using a label they include.

First, you should check with your mobile carrier to see if they offer affordable international plans. If not, you should definitely consider a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Gene editing could lead to a vaccine for arthritis

Right now, arthritis treatment tends to be an all-or-nothing proposition: the drugs you take affect your entire body, causing havoc with your immune system and leaving you prone to infections. But how do you narrow the treatment to just those areas where you feel pain? Genetics, apparently. Researchers have used CRISPR gene editing to turn stem cells into cartilage that releases a biological anti-inflammatory drug when they encounter inflammation. It not only limits treatment to the affected area, but responds only when there’s a pain flare. You only get relief when you need it.

The team has only just started testing these custom stem cells in mouse models of diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. However, the dream is that they’ll eventually be used to replace arthritic cartilage and, for all intents and purposes, serve as a vaccine against arthritis. That, in turn, could prevent the secondary damage that makes arthritis that much worse. On top of this, the scientists believe their basic approach could apply to any condition where there’s a “feedback loop.” Imagine if you could treat diabetes with cells that trigger insulin production in response to glucose, for instance. This kind of automatic cell-based medicine may be years away, but it is on the horizon.

Via: ScienceDaily

Source: Stem Cell Reports

Tesla ends SolarCity’s door-to-door sales pitches

Tesla is used to selling cars online, but that’s not how the recently acquired SolarCity liked to roll — it preferred door-to-door sales pitches to get panels on your roof. Thankfully, you won’t have anyone interrupting dinner going forward. Tesla has revealed that its solar energy division will stop those door-to-door sales in favor of internet and retail operations. It’s what “most of our prospective customers prefer,” the company says, and the other sales channels should more than make up for the loss. That will shake up jobs, but the roughly 1,000 people affected will either be moved to other sales methods or get a chance to interview for other positions at Tesla.

These in-person sales were sometimes effective, but it’s not hard to see why Tesla would shake up its strategy. It’s indicative of a maturing home solar energy market, particularly in Tesla’s home turf of California. Why chase after fewer and fewer customers through sales reps, especially when you’re effectively asking homeowners for an on-the-spot commitment to a solar panel installation? Tesla has already said it would focus more on saving money with its solar business than boosting its sales, and there’s no question that face-to-face sales are expensive when success is far from guaranteed.

As it is, SolarCity’s methods aren’t exactly in sync with Tesla’s upscale, relatively low-pressure sales approach. While the electric car and solar panel groups sometimes aim at very different audiences (one is eager to splurge, the other is trying to scrimp and save), the end to door-to-door sales should create more of a united front when Tesla pitches its eco-friendly vision of the future.

Source: Reuters