Facebook’s desire to spread internet access into developing countries took another step forward this week. OpenCellular is Facebook’s open-source system to boost cell coverage in the rural villages and towns of developing nations. It centers on this inexpensive and rugged base station. It’s built to withstand extreme weather conditions and temperatures, and can be affixed to practically any tall structure, a tree, or even from a pole just a few feet off the ground. The base stations handle signals from 2G and LTE to Wi-Fi and can be powered from a wide variety of sources.
The MicroSD is indispensable if you’re using a GoPro or want a smartphone with removable storage. Now Samsung just fit 256 gigabytes of flash storage in a card just as small — that’s basically the hard drive of an entry-level MacBook packed into a device about as big as your thumbnail. It’s called Universal Flash Storage, and Samsung says they boast performance that’s five times faster than the best MicroSD card. These cards are going to make recording and accessing large files like 4K and 360 degree video lightning quick. The only problem is, there aren’t any devices out there yet that can actually use them right now. But don’t worry, we’re guessing the next generation of GoPros and the like will get this all figured out in time for Christmas.
