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Ken in Smyrna, Tennessee asked: "I need to find something to boost the cell signal in a rural area where the signal is very spotty. My friend calls me and we have very difficult communication. Receiving is normally good on my end, but transmitting out to my friend is spotty. Is there anything that will boost the signal so we can communicate better. I am blind and I rely on this friend quite a bit."

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2019/07-12-2019/07-12-2019-H1S1.mp3

Ken, if you don’t have a signal outside there’s not much you can do that will change that.

You can try repeaters, and those may work if they have large and powerful antennas, but typically unless there’s an ok signal somewhere, then there’s nothing to repeat in the first place.

WiFi is a viable solution for calls that happen within your home, most phones and carriers offer WiFi calling these days, so you should be able to just connect your phone to your home network and use it as if it was using a cellular connection.

If you’re on the go, WeBoost makes a repeater for cars but our guess is that doesn’t apply in your case since this is a friend you say you rely on, so it’s likely that he’s helping you with the driving more often than other people.

Unfortunately, your only other option may be switching carriers to one that offers better coverage around you, there’s not going to be much you can do about spotty coverage on your end.

Barry in Jackson, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: "I was wondering what's new in artificial intelligence"

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2019/07-12-2019/07-12-2019-H1S5.mp3

Barry, arguably the most interesting progress in artificial intelligence has probably been made in areas that you wouldn’t necessarily think of when you think of AI.

For example, smart doorbells that can lock a door when they don’t recognize the face of the person approaching it, or cars being able to track the markings on roads on their own, or even Gmail figuring out what you’re likely to want to type next so you don’t have to, or your phone knowing where you’re likely to want to go next given the time and your location.

All relatively down to earth uses, nothing that stands out as much as an IBM computer defying a chess grandmaster, but arguably far more practical applications in your day to day life.

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