Latest / Connecting the Dots / Connecting the Dots - 4-1-2025

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Connecting the Dots - 4-1-2025 · Connecting the Dots

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  Today's tech news moves fast, but understanding
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  it shouldn't be hard. That's why Snarful Solutions
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  Group brings you Connecting the Dots, where we
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  break down what's happening in tech and why it
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  matters to you. Now, let's dive in with your
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  hosts. Well, hey everyone and welcome back to
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  Connecting the Dots. It's April 1st as we're
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  recording this. Oh, wow. So if anything we talk
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  about sounds a little too good to be true, maybe
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  double check those sources. Yeah, maybe wait
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  till tomorrow. Uh -huh. Exactly. But really,
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  though, we've got some big tech news to break
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  down today. Yeah, for sure. Some stories that
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  really could have a big impact on, well, basically
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  everyone. Yeah. That's kind of the whole point
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  of tech, right? It places like every part of
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  our lives these days. It really does. I'm excited
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  to dive in, and as always, I'm here to kind of
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  set the stage, and then our expert is here to
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  help us connect the dots and really understand
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  what this all means. Exactly, I'm here to add
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  that context and analysis so we can all see the
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  bigger picture. All right, well, let's get to
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  it. Our first big story is about TSMC. That's
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  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. They
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  just announced that they are going to invest
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  $100 A hundred billion in the U .S. Wow, that
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  is a lot of money. That's a huge number. So what's
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  going on here? Why is a company from Taiwan investing
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  so much in the U .S.? Well, you know, I think
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  this is a really interesting story because it
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  kind of shows how important semiconductors have
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  become. Right. You know, they're these tiny little
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  chips that are in everything from smartphones
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  to cards. To refrigerators. Yeah, and toasters,
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  probably even haha. Yeah, pretty much everything.
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  And for a long time, most of these chips were
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  made in Asia. places like Taiwan and China. Right.
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  But in recent years, there's been a growing push
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  to bring more of this manufacturing back to the
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  U .S. Like kind of a made in America push. Exactly.
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  And I think this investment from TSMC is a big
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  part of that. OK, so this 100 billion dollars
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  is going to be used to build new factories. Yes,
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  specifically for making advanced semiconductors.
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  OK, so how does this tie into what TSMC is already
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  doing in the U .S.? They've already got projects
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  going on in Arizona, right? Right. They've already
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  committed about 12 billion dollars to a facility.
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  in Arizona, and then there's another 25 billion
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  planned for a third factory there. So by 2030,
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  they were already set to invest 65 billion just
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  in Arizona. Yeah, that's right. And on top of
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  that, they've also gotten up to $6 .6 billion
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  in grants from the US government. What, through
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  the CTS Act? Yes, through the CTS Act, which
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  was passed last year, to encourage... companies
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  to build these kinds of factories in the US.
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  So it sounds like the government is really trying
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  to incentivize this kind of domestic chip production.
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  Definitely. They're putting a lot of money behind
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  it. I mean, it makes sense, right? Because like
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  you said, these chips are in everything. Yeah,
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  they're essential for so many industries. And
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  if something were to happen and we couldn't get
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  those chips, it would be a big problem. Like
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  a major disruption to the economy. Yeah. So President
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  Trump actually weighed in on this TSMC announcement.
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  Yeah, I saw that. He talked about how these new
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  factories would be making the most powerful AI
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  chips in the world right here in America. And
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  he said it would create thousands of jobs. High
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  paying jobs too. And he put TSMC's total US investment
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  now at like $165 billion. Wow, that is a lot
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  of money. It really is. So he's clearly really
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  pushing this idea of bringing chip manufacturing
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  back to the US. Oh, yeah, for sure. You know,
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  he talked about how it's essential for economic
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  security and national security. Right, because
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  we wouldn't have to rely on other countries for
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  these crucial components. Exactly. TSMC's CEO,
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  C .C. Way, also released a statement about this
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  new investment. Yeah, he talked about how their
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  vision is becoming a reality in Arizona and how
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  they plan to build even more factories here.
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  He said they would be hiring like 3 ,000 people
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  to work at their Arizona facility. That's a lot
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  of new jobs. Yeah, so this is definitely good
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  news for the U .S. economy. Right. But the articles
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  we read also mentioned that there's some uncertainty
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  about whether TSMC will actually move its most
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  advanced chip production to the U .S. Yeah, that's
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  a good point. They've historically kept their
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  most sophisticated chips in Taiwan. Right. So
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  this new investment is great, but it doesn't
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  necessarily mean that the U .S. will be getting
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  the absolute cutting edge technology. So it's
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  kind of a wait and see situation. We'll have
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  to see how it all plays out. Okay, so we've got
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  this massive investment from TSMC. They're building
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  new factories, creating jobs, but there's still
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  some uncertainty about exactly what level of
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  technology they'll be bringing to the U .S. Yeah,
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  that's a good summary. Now the sources we looked
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  at also hinted at why this might be happening
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  now. They pointed to some things that President
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  Trump has said and done in the past. Like what?
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  Well, remember how he threatened to put tariffs
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  on computer chips and other products from China?
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  Oh yeah, I remember that. And he was really pushing
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  hard on this idea of bringing manufacturing back
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  to the U .S. Right. So some people are saying
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  that TSMC's investment is partly a response to
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  that. Like a way to avoid those tariffs. Yeah,
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  or at least to kind of hedge their bets. So it's
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  not just about wanting to invest in the U .S.
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  It's also about trying to navigate this changing
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  political landscape. Yeah, that makes sense.
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  And this isn't just happening with TSMC. Apple
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  recently announced that they're going to invest
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  over $500 billion in the US economy. And create
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  20 ,000 new jobs. And NVIDIA, another big chip
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  company, has said that... they might be affected
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  by these tariffs and export controls. Yeah, they
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  make a lot of the chips that are used in AI and
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  other things. So this is all part of a bigger
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  trend. A really big shift in the global tech
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  landscape. Yeah. So it's interesting that President
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  Trump has been pushing so hard for domestic chip
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  manufacturing. Right. But he has also been critical
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  of the Chips Act, which is the law that's providing
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  those incentives for companies like PSMC. Yeah.
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  It's a bit of a mixed message. So what does all
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  this mean for us regular folks who just want
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  to buy our smartphones and computers and cars?
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  Well, I think the biggest impact is going to
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  be on supply chains. OK. Remember how during
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  the pandemic it was really hard to find certain
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  electronics? Oh, yeah. Like webcams and stuff.
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  That was partly because of supply chain issues.
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  Right. And a lot of those issues stemmed from
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  the fact that so many of these chips were being
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  made in just a few places. OK. So if we have
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  more chip manufacturing happening in the US.
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  Right. it could make those supply chains more
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  resilient. So like less likely to be disrupted.
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  Exactly. And that could mean that it's easier
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  to find the products we want. OK. And maybe even
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  that the prices are a little bit lower. OK. So
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  more stability and maybe even lower prices. Yeah.
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  That's the hope. What about all this stuff we
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  keep hearing about AI? Oh yeah, AI. How does
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  this chip manufacturing stuff tie into that?
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  The chips that are used in AI are some of the
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  most advanced chips out there. Okay. They require
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  a lot of specialized knowledge and equipment
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  to make. So if the US is going to be a leader
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  in AI, it needs to have the capacity to... make
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  those ships. So this investment from TSMC could
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  be a big step in that direction. Yeah, it could
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  really help to accelerate the development of
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  AI in the U .S. And that could have a big impact
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  on all sorts of things like health care and transportation
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  and pretty much every industry. Yeah. OK, so
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  we've talked about TSMC and their big investment.
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  Yeah. Now let's zoom out a little bit and talk
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  about some of the other things that President
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  Trump has been doing related to tech and investment.
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  One of the big things that came out in the news
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  is this new office that he's creating within
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  the Commerce Department. Oh yeah, the United
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  States Investment Accelerator. What a name. It's
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  a mouthful. Yeah, but what is it? What does it
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  do? Basically, it's going to be in charge of
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  overseeing the GPS Act. Oh, interesting. Which
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  is kind of funny because he's been so critical
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  of the GPS Act. Yeah, it is kind of funny. But
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  anyway, the White House says that this new office
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  is going to help speed up corporate investments
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  in the U .S. So they're trying to cut through
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  the red tape. Yeah, they want to make it easier
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  for companies to invest here. And they're specifically
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  focused on attracting large scale investments.
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  Right, they want the big companies to come here
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  and build factories and create jobs. OK, so this
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  investment accelerator is going to be working
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  with companies, helping them to navigate the
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  regulatory process. And helping them to access
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  resources. Like what kind of resources? Well,
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  things like land and water and energy. OK. And
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  they'll also be coordinating with different government
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  agencies. So it's kind of a one stop shop. for
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  companies that are looking to invest in the US.
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  Yeah. That's the idea. Now, this new office isn't
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  the only thing that's happening. Right. There
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  have been some other big announcements in the
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  tech world recently. Like that $500 billion Stargate
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  project. Oh, yeah. That's a crazy amount of money.
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  I know. It's a huge investment in AI infrastructure.
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  With companies like OpenAI and Oracle and SoftBank
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  involved. That's going to be the backbone of
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  the next generation of AI. Yeah. And there's
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  also DMACC properties who are investing $1E billion
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  in AI data centers. So there's a lot of money
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  flowing into this space right now. It's definitely
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  a hot area. And it seems like President Trump
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  is really engaged with all of this. Oh yeah,
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  he's been meeting with a lot of tech leaders.
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  Like Tim Cook from Apple. Right. And after that
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  meeting, Apple announced that they were going
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  to increase their investment in the US. Yeah,
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  and Trump even suggested that it was partly because
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  of those tariffs he's been talking about. So
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  again, it seems like those tariffs are really
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  having an impact. They're definitely a factor
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  in a lot of these decisions. OK, so we've got
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  this new investment accelerator and all this
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  money flowing into AI. and these big tech companies
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  making big investments in the US. And it all
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  seems to be tied to this idea of making the US
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  more competitive in the global tech landscape.
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  Exactly. Now, there is also one other thing that
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  came up in our research that I wanted to touch
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  on. OK. It's not directly related to tech investment.
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  OK. But it's still something that could have
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  a big impact. There is a report that President
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  Trump might be considering an executive order
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  to dissolve the Department of Education. Oh.
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  which was later denied. OK. But he has said that
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  he wants to bring more control over schools back
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  to the states. Right. And he's also mentioned
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  that student loans might be moved to a different
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  department. Like the Treasury or the SBA, or
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  maybe even Commerce. Yeah. So even though this
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  isn't directly related to tech, it shows that
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  there's potential for some really big changes
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  happening across the government. OK, now let's
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  move on to something that I know a lot of you
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  are excited about, the Nintendo Switch 2. Oh
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  yes. It's finally happening. It's been a long
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  time coming. It has. They've been teasing us
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  for years, but they officially announced it and
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  said it's going to be released sometime in 2025.
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  That's exciting. And there's an Nintendo Direct
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  happening tomorrow, April 2nd, where they're
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  going to reveal more details. I can't wait to
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  see what they show. Me too. Yeah. They did release
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  a first look trailer. Oh yeah. And it looks like
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  the Switch 2 is kind of an evolution of the original
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  Switch. Yeah, it still has that hybrid design.
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  So you can play it on your TV. Or take it on
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  the go. But there are some noticeable design
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  changes. Like what? Well, the screen is bigger.
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  OK. It's rumored to be 7 .5 inches. Wow, that's
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  a big difference. And it has thinner bezels.
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  So more screen, less border. Exactly. And the
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  kickstand is different too. Yeah, it runs across
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  the whole back of the console now. And it looks
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  a lot sturdier. That's a good improvement. Yeah,
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  because the kickstand on the original Switch
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  was kind of flimsy. It was. And there's also
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  a new button on the right Joy -Con. Ooh, the
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  mystery button. Yeah, nobody knows what it does
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  yet. But everyone's speculating. And the way
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  that the Joy -Cons attach to the console is different
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  too. Yeah, they're using magnets now instead
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  of that rail system. Which looks a lot smoother.
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  And apparently there's a patent that suggests
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  that the Joy -Cons might have mouse -like functionality.
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  Wait, what? Mouse control on a switch? Yeah.
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  It sounds weird, but think about the possibilities.
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  I mean, it could be really cool for certain types
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  of games. Like strategy games or puzzle games.
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  Yeah! And there were also images of a more traditional
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  -looking controller. Oh yeah, maybe a new pro
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  controller. That would be awesome. Especially
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  for people who like to play more hardcore games.
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  Yeah. There's also a rumor that the Switch 2
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  will have proximity chat. Really? Yeah, where
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  it like detects when your face is near the console.
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  That's kind of cool. And it automatically turns
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  on the microphone. So you don't have to wear
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  a headset. Exactly. That would be great for multiplayer
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  games. Yeah, and some people think that new button
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  might be related to that. Interesting. So we'll
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  have to see. Now one of the big questions that
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  people have is about backward compatibility.
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  Right. Will it play games from the original Stitch?
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  And the answer is yes. Awesome. Nintendo has
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  confirmed that the Switch 2 will be able to play
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  most of the games from the original Switch. That's
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  a huge relief. It is, because a lot of people
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  have built up big libraries of Switch games.
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  Yeah, I know I have. And they don't want to have
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  to start over. Exactly. And Nintendo Switch Online
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  will also be available on the new system. So
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  you can still play online with your friends.
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  Yeah. Okay, so what about the tech specs? What
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  kind of hardware is powering this new console?
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  Well, the rumors are that it's going to be using
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  an Nvidia T239 chip. OK. Which is a pretty powerful
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  chip. And they're aiming for performance that's
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  similar to a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox One. That's
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  a big step up from the original Switch. Yeah.
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  And there are also rumors that it will have 12
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  GBs of RAM. Wow, that's a lot of memory. And
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  256 GBs of storage. That's way more than the
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  original Switch. So it sounds like they're really
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  beefing up the hardware. Definitely. Now what
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  about the resolution? Ah. The big question. Is
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  it going to be 4K? Well, that's what everyone
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  wants to know. And it sounds like the answer
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  is maybe. Maybe? Yeah, it seems like they're
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  focusing more on 4K upscaling. So not necessarily
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  native 4K. Right, but upscaling can still make
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  games look really good on a 4K TV. And some developers
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  who have early access to the hardware haven't
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  seen 4K output enabled yet. So it's possible
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  that it's still in development? Or maybe they're
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  just saving it for a surprise announcement. Who
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  knows? We'll have to wait and see. Now one thing
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  that people are always concerned about with portable
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  consoles is battery life. Yeah, nobody wants
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  a console that dies after an hour of playing.
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  And it sounds like the Switch 2 will have similar
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  battery life to the current Switch. That's good
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  to hear. Yeah, even though the new hardware is
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  more powerful, they're also making it more energy
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  efficient. So hopefully you'll still be able
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  to get a few hours of playtime on a single charge.
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  Okay, so we've talked about the console itself.
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  Now what about the dock? Ah, yes, the dock. The
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  thing that you plug the console into to play
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  on your TV, it sounds like they've redesigned
• 14:42
  the dock for the Switch 2. Yeah, it has softer
• 14:45
  edges now. And it might have better airflow.
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  There was a leak that showed a grid pattern on
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  the back of the dock. Which could be for ventilation?
• 14:54
  Yeah, to help keep the console cool. And there's
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  also info about a more powerful charger. A 60W
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  charger. So your old Switch charger might not
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  work. Yeah, that's something to keep in mind.
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  And there have even been rumors of a wireless
• 15:06
  stock. Wireless? That would be awesome. It would.
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  No more cables. Yeah, but that hasn't been confirmed
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  yet. So we'll have to wait and see. Now the big
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  question that everyone wants to know, how much
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  is it going to cost? Yeah, that's the million
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  dollar question. And nobody knows for sure yet.
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  But the speculation online is all over the place.
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  I've seen numbers from 349 to 499. Yeah, it's
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  hard to say. But Nintendo has said that they're
• 15:29
  thinking about affordability. So hopefully they'll
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  price it competitively. Yeah, because they want
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  to make sure that as many people as possible
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  can buy it. Right. So what does all this mean
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  for you as a gamer? Well, if you're a fan of
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  the Switch, this new console looks like it's
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  going to be a big upgrade. Yeah, more power.
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  Better graphics. A bigger screen. More storage.
• 15:49
  New ways to control the games. And all of your
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  old games will still work. So it's a pretty compelling
• 15:54
  package. Definitely. All right. Let's do a quick
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  recap of everything we've talked about today.
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  OK. We started with... TSMC and their massive
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  investment in the US. A hundred billion dollars.
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  And how that's part of a bigger trend of bringing
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  chip manufacturing back to the US. Then we talked
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  about President Trump's initiatives to attract
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  investment. Like the investment accelerator.
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  And the focus on AI. And the potential for a
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  national Bitcoin reserve. And how all of that
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  could affect the economy and jobs. And then we
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  finished up with the Nintendo Switch 2. The next
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  generation of gaming. So, yeah, a lot to unpack
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  today. It was a busy news day. It was. But I
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  think it's all really interesting and important
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  stuff. Yeah, because it shows how technology
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  is changing the world. And how those changes
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  are going to affect all of us. Yeah, in big ways
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  and small ways. Exactly. It's fascinating how
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  everything is kind of connected. Yeah. You know,
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  you've got these global supply chains and government
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  policies and consumer products, and they're all
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  kind of intertwined. And they're all changing
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  so rapidly. It's hard to keep up. It is. But
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  that's what we're here for. Exactly. To help
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  you connect the dots. All right. Well, that's
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  all the time we have for today. But thanks for
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  joining us. And remember, we are here to help
• 17:08
  here at Snarfel. So reach out on our website
• 17:11
  if you have any more questions. All right. See
• 17:12
  you next time. Remember, tech doesn't have to
• 17:19
  be complicated, and we're here to help connect
• 17:21
  the dots. If you've got questions or want to
• 17:24
  learn more, visit us at snarfle .com. Thanks
• 17:27
  for listening, and we'll catch you next time.