Ben Stein

It's been more than a year since I last wrote about Starlink. You might assume that silence means nothing has changed. You'd be wrong. Maybe I've just run out of clichés for how the pace of change never slows with Starlink — but regardless, the changes keep coming, and they're often frustrating for the nomadic subscribers who've come to rely on it for connectivity. Changes include new equipment, price hikes, international roaming tweaks, and new ID requirements.

Restrictions on an old opium-based medicine have deprived chronic pain sufferers of an effective treatment.

Collaboration delivers industry's first Apple CarPlay & Android Auto with on-water navigation straight from the factory.

I sat down to write my initial review and findings of Safiery's 48-volt, solid state lithium ion battery . But, before I get into the meat of the battery's performance, I feel I need to dive into solid state lithium batteries in general as well as the differences among the products available in the marketplace today. So, what follows will be a primer on the technology in general and why we likely all care about the development of solid-state batteries. Following this entry, I'll share my experience with Safiery's battery.

I've been trying to figure out how to write about artificial intelligence's role in home-built marine electronics for the better part of a year, and I still don't have a clean answer. I'm going to write it anyway. Here's what I've learned about what AI can actually do for you, where it falls down, and what happens when it doesn't. The opportunity is real; you can finally build your instrumentation and navigation electronics exactly the way you want it. But so are the potential pitfalls. AI will happily put someone with limited knowledge deep in the bowels of their own navigation electronics. On a boat, that can get dangerous.

Earlier this summer, Starlink changed rate plans and made tweaks to the rules around using their various roaming plans. For boaters who travel across international borders, the most substantive of the rule changes was the move from a limit of 60 days in another country or region down to 30 days. That change generated a lot of frustration for global cruisers who have been using Starlink's services and came to depend on them. But, it looks like there is relief coming with a new rate plan for private boats.

S uper hot. These are the most painful climatic conditions I have encountered since moving to Los Angeles in 1976. Each day this week has been brutally humid and hot. Really, really bad. But because I grew up in Washington, D.C. and Silver Spring, Maryland, I am accustomed to heat and humidity. One of the many small jobs I had on Harvey Road was washing cars, and another was mowing grass. They were brutal in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring summers. So, I am bearing up in the heat.

I t's a perfect, cloudless day here. The temperature is 78. Mild by recent standards. I was awake most of the night with intestinal problems.

Bringing cutting edge technology to boats is not always easy. In this case, I want to give Safiery the credit they deserve for helping pioneer new technology in our boat's DC systems while also being honest about that new technology, what it delivers, and in some cases what room remains for improvement. Safiery is among the first companies offering solid state batteries to the recreational marine market. This new development in lithium ion batteries promises improved safety, performance, temperature tolerance, and longer life. Let's take a look at how many of those promises are realized in these batteries.

OLATHE, Kan./Sept. 1, 2026/PR Newswire – Garmin (NYSE: GRMN), the world's largest and most innovative marine electronics manufacturer, today unveiled