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Connecting the Dots - 3-25-2025 · 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. All right, everybody. Welcome back to
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  Connecting the Dots, coming to you from us here
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  at Snarful Solutions Group. It's great to be
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  here. We're excited to jump into today's tech
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  news. Really try to figure out what this all
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  means. Yeah for everyday people like you and
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  me so Today is March 25th 2025 and so much has
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  happened even in the past 24 hours It really
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  has in the tech world that it can feel like you're
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  just getting whiplash trying to keep up with
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  it all absolutely It's hard to stay on top of
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  it. So that's why we are here to kind of take
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  a deep dive to break things down and explain
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  it all. In plain English. Exactly. We try to
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  make it accessible to everyone. So first up,
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  we have this story that just really caught my
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  eye, because it's such a weird pairing, and it's
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  about infinite reality. OK. Which is a company
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  that specializes in 3D tech, and they just bought
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  Napster. Napster. Yes, Napster, for $207 million.
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  Wow. Which I know some of you, especially if
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  you're of a certain generation, you're like,
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  wait, Napster, the music sharing platform? Yeah,
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  that was a blast from the past. Yeah, from like
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  the late 90s, early 2000s. I remember downloading
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  so many songs back then. Yeah. And before, obviously,
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  you know, the legal side of all that kind of
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  caught up with the technology. Right, yeah. They
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  really shook things up. But that's not what this
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  is about. Oh, really? Like, Infinite Reality
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  isn't trying to bring back, like, free music
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  sharing. So what are they planning to do with
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  it? So their plan is actually to use the Napster
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  brand for marketing in the metaverse. Huh, the
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  metaverse, interesting. Yeah, so for those who
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  might not be super familiar with the term, the
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  metaverse is kind of like this, you can think
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  of it as like a more immersive internet. Okay.
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  Like these shared virtual spaces where you can,
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  you know, hang out, play games, shop, attend
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  events. All kinds of things. So it's kind of
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  like stepping into a video game, but it's more
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  than just games, right? Exactly. And it's still
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  evolving. Like no one knows for sure exactly
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  what it's going to look like. But there's a lot
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  of hype around it. Yeah, I've heard a lot about
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  it, but I'm still not quite sure I get it. Yeah,
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  it's definitely a concept that can be hard to
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  wrap your head around. And that's where I think
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  this whole Napster thing comes in. OK, so how
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  does a music platform from, you know, way back
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  when fit into this futuristic metaverse thing?
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  Well, I think infinite reality is banking on
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  the fact that even though Napster had its, you
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  know, legal troubles, a lot of people still remember
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  the name. True. And they associate it with, you
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  know, digital entertainment and kind of like
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  the early days of online communities. I see.
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  So they're using nostalgia to their advantage.
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  Exactly. It's like that warm, fuzzy feeling you
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  get when you see something that reminds you of
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  your younger days. Yeah, like that old video
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  game you used to play, or that band you listened
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  to in high school. And that familiarity can make
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  something that seems really abstract and complicated
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  like the metaverse. Right. A little less intimidating.
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  That makes sense. So imagine instead of walking
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  into a store in the real world, you put on your
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  VR headset. and you step into a virtual Napster
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  store in the Metaverse. Maybe you can browse
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  virtual merchandise for your avatar or attend
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  a virtual concert. A virtual concert so I could
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  see my favorite band perform live in the Metaverse.
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  Potentially, yeah. And because it's Napster,
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  a name you already know, it might make you feel
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  more comfortable exploring this new virtual world.
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  So it's all about making the metaverse feel more
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  accessible to everyday people. Exactly. They're
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  trying to bridge that gap between the familiar
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  and the unknown. Clever? Yeah. I mean, it's a
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  bold move, but it'll be interesting to see if
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  it pays off. Yeah. All right. Well, let's move
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  on from the virtual world and talk about something
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  a little more tangible. OK. Hardware. All right.
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  Hardware. Let's do it. There's been some news
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  about Cerebras, which is a company that makes
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  those super powerful AI chips. Right. Yeah, they're
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  like leading the pack in terms of AI chip technology.
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  Yeah. And it looks like their IPO has been delayed.
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  Really? Why is that? Well, it seems like there
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  are a couple of things going on. First off, we
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  have a new Trump administration, and they're
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  still in the process of getting their key people
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  in place. Make sense. Especially the ones who
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  handle national security reviews. So basically
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  like vetting certain investments in companies.
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  Exactly. Making sure everything is above board.
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  And Cerebras probably falls under that because
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  of the sensitive nature of AI technology. Precisely.
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  I mean, AI is becoming increasingly important
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  in all sorts of areas. Right. From national defense
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  to... Well, everything. Everything, exactly.
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  So they want to be extra careful. I get it. And
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  then there's this other thing, a review by the
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  Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
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  States, or CFIUS. CFIUS. OK, what's that all
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  about? Well, they're specifically looking into
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  a $335 million investment that Cerebras got.
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  Wow, that's a lot of money. Yeah. It is, and
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  it came from this company called G42 based in
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  Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi, okay. So we're talking
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  about a pretty significant foreign investment.
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  Uh -huh, and CFIUS wants to make sure that this
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  investment doesn't pose any risks to national
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  security. Okay, so it's like a double whammy
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  for Cerebras. Yeah, new administration plus this
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  CFIUS review, it's all adding up to some delays.
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  Okay, so that's the inside baseball of what's
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  happening with the IPO. Right. But for someone
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  who's... you know, not following the stock market.
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  Yeah. Why should they care? That's a fair question.
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  I mean, it might seem like just a Wall Street
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  thing. Right. But think about it this way. AI
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  chips are what make all that amazing artificial
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  intelligence stuff possible. You know, your phone's
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  voice assistant getting smarter and smarter,
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  or the recommendations you get on Netflix or
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  Spotify. Right, or even self -driving cars. Exactly.
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  All of that depends on having more powerful AI
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  chips. So Cerebras is kind of at the forefront
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  of making that happen. Exactly. They're pushing
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  the boundaries of what AI can do. So if they're
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  facing these hurdles and getting funding and
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  going public, does that mean that the progress
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  of AI could slow down. It's a possibility. I
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  mean if they can't access the capital they need
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  to continue innovating and developing new chips
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  then yeah it could have a ripple effect. And
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  that could impact all these areas of our lives
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  that are becoming more and more reliant on AI.
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  Absolutely. It's all connected. OK. Well, let's
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  shift gears a bit now. Sure. And talk about the
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  actual physical material that those AI chips
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  are made of. OK. Silicon. And it all starts with
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  these things called semiconductor wafers. All
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  right. And there's some interesting news coming
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  out of TSMC. Oh, yeah. TSMC, they're like the
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  biggest chip maker in the world. Exactly. And
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  they've been building this new manufacturing
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  plant in Arizona. Right. I remember hearing about
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  that. Yeah. And there were a lot of concerns
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  about how much more expensive it would be. Yeah.
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  To build and operate a fab in the US. Right.
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  Like, labor costs are higher here compared to...
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  you know, Taiwan, where TSMC is based. Yeah.
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  And there's that whole thing with Morris Chang,
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  TSMC's founder. He was pretty vocal about how
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  expensive it is to build fabs in the U .S. Right.
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  But here's the surprise, though. The projected
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  cost of producing those 300 millimeter wafers
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  in Arizona. Yeah. It's only about 10 percent
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  higher than in Taiwan. Wow. That's way lower
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  than I expected. Yeah. A lot of people are surprised
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  by that. So what's the deal? Why is it not as
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  expensive as everyone thought? Well, it turns
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  out that when it comes to making these super
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  advanced chips, yeah The biggest cost factor
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  isn't actually labor. It's the equipment the
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  equipment Yeah, these machines that make the
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  chips. They're incredibly complex and sophisticated
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  Okay, and the cost of those machines is pretty
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  much the same whether you're in Arizona or Taiwan
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  So the labor costs are just a drop in the bucket
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  compared to the cost of the equipment Exactly,
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  and that's why the overall cost difference is
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  relatively small. So what does this mean for
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  consumers like me? Oh Will it affect the price
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  of my next smartphone? Potentially. Yeah? I mean,
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  it's good news for consumers because those semiconductor
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  wafers, they're the foundation for pretty much
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  every electronic device we use. Right. Our phones,
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  our laptops, our cars. Everything. Exactly. So
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  if the cost of making those wafers in the U .S.
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  is only slightly higher than overseas, it could
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  mean that prices for electronics might become
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  more stable or even go down a bit. OK, that would
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  be great. Yeah. And it also reduces our reliance
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  on manufacturing that's concentrated in just
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  a few places like Taiwan. Right. So it's good
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  for supply chain resilience, too. Exactly. It's
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  all about diversifying and making sure we have
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  multiple sources for these crucial components.
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  Makes sense. All right. So let's move on to a
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  different part of the world now. OK. Europe.
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  What's happening in Europe? Well, the European
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  Commission has been investigating Apple. Apple
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  again? What have they done now? This time, it's
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  about their browser options on iPhones and iPads.
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  OK, so like Safari and all that. Exactly. They've
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  been looking into whether Apple is giving Safari
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  an unfair advantage by making it difficult for
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  users to choose other browsers. Like Chrome or
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  Firefox. Yeah, you got it. And this investigation
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  has been going on for over a year. Wow. So what's
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  the latest? Well, it looks like it's about to
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  wrap up. Oh, really? Why is that? Because Apple
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  has made some changes to comply with the Digital
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  Markets Act. The DMA. OK, so what is that all
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  about? It's basically a set of rules designed
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  to make the digital market fairer. And one of
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  the things it addresses is giving users more
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  control over their devices. So in this case,
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  it means that iPhone users in the EU should have
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  an easier time choosing their default browser.
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  Exactly. They won't be stuck with Safari if they
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  don't want to be. This is a good thing, right?
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  I think so. It promotes competition. Right. Which
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  is always good for consumers. Because it forces
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  companies to innovate and improve their products.
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  Exactly. No one wants to be left behind. So what
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  will this actually look like for an iPhone user
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  in the EU? Well, imagine you're setting up your
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  new iPhone, and instead of just automatically
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  defaulting to Safari, you get a pop -up that
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  asks you which browser you want to use. So you
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  could pick Chrome or Firefox right then and there.
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  Yeah. And from then on, links would open in your
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  chosen browser. So it's about giving users more
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  freedom and choice. Exactly, and making the playing
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  field a little more level. OK. That's great news
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  for EU iPhone users. Yeah, I think so too. It'll
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  be interesting to see how this all plays out.
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  All right. Well, let's wrap things up with a
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  story about transportation. OK. And the future
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  of getting around. Sounds good. So Waymo, which
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  is Google's self -driving car company. Yeah,
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  I've heard of them. They're planning to launch
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  their ride hailing service, Waymo One, in Washington,
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  DC. Washington, DC. Wow. That's a big deal. It
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  is. And it's set to happen in 2026. So just a
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  few years from now. Exactly. But there's a bit
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  of a catch. What's that? Right now, the law in
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  DC says that autonomous vehicles can't operate
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  on public roads. Oh, so like there has to be
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  a human safety driver behind the wheel. Exactly.
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  So Waymo will have to get that law changed if
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  they want to launch their fully driverless service.
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  Precisely. They need to clear that regulatory
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  hurdle. Hmm. That's interesting. So what would
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  it be like to have robotaxis in DC? Well, I mean,
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  think about it. You could hail a ride and a car
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  shows up with no driver. Yeah, that sounds pretty
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  futuristic. It does. And there are some potential
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  benefits, like it could be more convenient and
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  potentially cheaper than traditional taxis or
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  ride -sharing services. And it could also be
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  really helpful for people who can't drive themselves.
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  Exactly. So there's a lot of potential upside.
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  But of course, there are concerns about safety
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  and how this new technology will integrate into
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  our existing transportation systems. It's definitely
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  a big shift. Yeah, and this whole situation in
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  DC really highlights the challenges that companies
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  like Waymo face in getting these driverless cars
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  on the road. It's not just about the technology
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  itself. It's also about the regulations and public
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  acceptance. Absolutely. It's a complex issue.
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  All right. Well, that's a lot to digest. It is.
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  So let's do a quick recap. We started with Infinite
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  Reality buying Naster and their plans to use
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  it for metaverse marketing. Yeah, that was a
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  weird one. Then we talked about the delay in
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  Cerebra's IPO and how that could potentially
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  slow down AI development. Right, those AI chips
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  are crucial. We learned that making those chips
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  in the US might not be as expensive as everyone
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  thought. Which is good news for all of us. Then
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  we hopped over to Europe to discuss how new regulations
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  are giving iPhone users more browser choices.
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  More options are always good. And finally, we
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  explored Waymo's plans for robo -taxis in DC
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  and the regulatory hurdles they need to overcome.
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  It's fascinating to see how quickly this technology
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  is evolving. It really is. And it's important
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  to stay informed about these developments. Because
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  they're going to have a huge impact on our lives.
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  Absolutely. So keep those questions coming. We
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  love to hear from you. We are here to help here
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  at Snarful. So reach out on our website if you
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  have any more questions. See you next time. Bye,
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  everyone. That's a wrap on today's top stories.
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  Remember, tech doesn't have to be complicated.
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  And we're here to help connect the dots. If you've
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  got questions or want to learn more, visit us
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  at SNARFL .com. Thanks for listening and we'll
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  catch you next time.