Have you wondered how to live and work as a digital nomad in the places you want to be — not have to be? Do you want to be better prepared for the next power outage, lower your energy bills and become more self-sufficient, or stay connected and comfortable even when traveling through remote locations? We’ve got your back.
Here at The Verge, we can help you work from your living room, van, Airbnb, or anywhere that brings you joy. We can help you choose the right laptop, water filter, solar generator, portable A/C and fridge, and everything else that helps restore balance to the finite days we share.
This time last year Musk said that Starlink was losing about $20 million a month. Now he says it’s breakeven, which is good news for a service that keeps people connected in remote locations, in times of disaster and war, or while tooling around in a van or boat. Unimpeded growth could be bad for astronomers trying to see past those roughly 5,000 satellites currently operating in low-Earth orbit, with plans for up to 37,000 more.
We already kinda knew this, didn’t we fellow slobs, but good to hear Unilever confirm it:
Many people didn’t use deodorant as much when they were in lockdown and working from home and some recovery in that is coming through.
The maker of Axe, Dove, and Rexona says deodorant sales have surged 15 percent now that companies have mostly settled on a hybrid approach for remote-capable employees.
A home space that helps keep an eye on work, the cat, and the kids — all at the same time.
The new Solis Pocket 36B comes standard with an EcoFlow PowerKit I reviewed last year. It starts with a 5kWh battery that can be expandable to 15kWh, which is a ton of LFP storage capacity for a van. It’s available to buy in the US and Canada from August.
Or maybe wait for Winnebago’s production version of the all-electric eRV2. Decisions, decisions.
The transformable Ventje interior I reviewed last summer is now available in Europe on Volkswagen’s all-electric ID Buzz that I reviewed a few months ago. The eVentje sleeps four and prices start at €95,000 for the Microbuzz plus interior. Delivery takes about nine months, which is a lot sooner than VW will release an official ID California campervan.
The top telecom provider will be using Elon Musk’s network of over 3,500 low-Earth SpaceX satellites to augment coverage by the end of 2023. The “world’s first offering” bundles voice and fixed broadband service, installation, and tech support.
A Telstra exec says the company is looking for other partners, too, due to Musk’s unpredictability.
[Telstra Exchange]
Google Workspace is adding a new Meet feature that lets workers in conference rooms check in and participate as individuals during meetings. The feature can bridge the gap between office and work from home business environments.
To use the feature, you’ll need to activate “companion mode” on your personal device and then check in to your meeting — kind of like playing a Jackbox party game.
My recent live/work experiment in the all-electric VW ID Buzz wouldn’t have been possible without BioLite’s first portable battery and solar panel. It was needed to provide continuous power to my Starlink internet, laptops, phones, and more because the Microbus can’t when parked. The BaseCharge 1500 has some minor quirks, but if it’s specced and priced right for your needs then it’s worth considering.
Two humans and a beagle named Hank spent two weeks and 2,000 miles in Europe with a Ququq camping box to preview the future of #vanlife.
“Most companies have settled into a hybrid work strategy that shows little sign of fading,” says a new report in the WSJ.
About 58 percent of companies now allow hybrid work schedules, according to Scoop Technologies’ monitoring of 4,500 companies. Just 42 percent of companies require a full-time office presence. Low unemployment gives workers leverage and they choose flexibility, duh.
No actual products were announced, but I can soon imagine an all-electric Winnebago fitted with an EcoFlow Power Kit that can be expanded with EcoFlow solar panels, batteries, AC, heater, fridge, freezer, ice maker, and smart generator as owners venture further off the grid.
I’m currently a lawful neutral, but drifting towards a chaotic neutral later this year.
I have one question about this, though: Where are the superultrawide lunatics (of which I used to be one)?
The self-propelled trailer reduces drag to extend range, comes loaded with solar panels to charge your EV, enough battery capacity to power your home, and sleeps up to six people.
40 percent do so part time. That compares to 16 / 28 percent for the rest of the UK, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics. Only 12.5 percent reportedly worked from home pre-covid.
Older, well-educated professionals earning above £50,000 annually were most likely to work from home, while those aged 16 to 24 and making less than £10,000 were least likely.
A new house led to a total overhaul of the work-from-home environment.
Joshua Spodek writing for Ars about going off-grid in Manhattan:
I allowed myself one cheat: I could plug in my laptop and phone when working at New York University. Otherwise, my only electric power came from the [200W] solar panel and [576Wh] battery. I still used my building’s hot water but not my gas stove.
Context: the average US home consumes 886,000Wh per month.
Until Volkswagen finally turns the ID.Buzz into the electric microbus of our hippie dreams, there’s the Ququq BusBox-4. It adds a cooker, fridge, water supply, and bed for about $3,000.
EcoFlow’s all-in-one Power Kit has proven itself to be a turnkey solution that takes most of the guesswork and complexity out of installing and using a battery-based solar generator inside an RV or off-grid cabin in the woods. It’s not cheap, but owning one could be the first step in starting a whole new life.
A game-changing all-in-one power system for cabins and RVs that can be installed relatively quickly. Just add solar.
I’ll believe the $24,000 Space Camper is real when I see it ship. Nevertheless, I do love the idea of an add-on that transforms Tesla’s Cybertruck into a giant off-grid solar generator, complete with bed, kitchen, and toilet. Someone has to be the next Landrover, so why not Tesla?
InForest’s Swedish cabins are completely off the grid, relying on solar power, battery backup, and a limited amount of water. Living in one for a week required some compromises, but fewer than expected.
How badly do you want to just pack it all up and get away? What if you could unpack everything in just 10 minutes, complete with a full kitchen, double bed, and enough solar power to keep everything running? Better start saving because the BunduTRAIL doesn’t come cheap.
That’s a 131 percent increase from pre-pandemic 2019, according to MBO Partners. Lots of employers not named Elon Musk have made remote work a permanent option. Just make sure you’ve considered the tax and legal implications of taking your career on the road before moving to that shack in Mexico or buying a van.
