Latest / Connecting the Dots / Meta Connect 2025, Smart Glasses Stumbles, and Nothing Ear 3 Launch

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Meta Connect 2025, Smart Glasses Stumbles, and Nothing Ear 3 Launch · 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. Welcome to Connecting the Dots. I'm Alex.
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  And I'm Morgan. Great to be with you today. It
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  is Thursday, September 18th, 2025. And yeah,
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  we've got quite a bit to talk about today. Some
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  really interesting tech developments that connect
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  directly to, well, how we live our digital lives.
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  Absolutely. And just a quick look outside here
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  in Sacramento. It's shaping up to be a nice day.
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  We've got increasing clouds high around 89 degrees.
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  Sounds pretty good. What about nationally? Well,
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  nationally, there's some tropical moisture causing
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  a bit of a headache in the southwest, a slight
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  risk of excessive rainfall through Friday. So
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  flood watches are up there. OK, good heads up
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  for anyone listening out that way. Yeah. And
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  also some strong, maybe even severe thunderstorms
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  possible today across. parts of the plains. Plus,
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  a tropical wave is bringing heavy rain to Puerto
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  Rico and the Virgin Islands, potential for some
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  flooding and landslides. So, yeah, stay safe
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  out there, folks. Definitely. All right. Let's
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  peek at the markets real quick. The Dow Jones
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  closed yesterday down just a tiny bit point one
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  three percent. Still up for the week, though.
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  OK. Holding steady mostly. Yeah. And the S &P
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  500 barely moved up point zero two percent daily.
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  Yeah. Also positive for the week. Good. Good.
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  And Bitcoin. Well, Bitcoin being Bitcoin up.
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  0 .85 % yesterday. Still climbing. Still climbing,
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  yeah. Up over one and three -quarter percent
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  for the week. It's always interesting to watch,
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  isn't it? It really is. Never a dull moment there.
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  But you know what was exciting yesterday? Our
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  San Francisco Giants. They absolutely crushed
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  the Diamondbacks five to one. Yes. A fantastic
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  win. Oh, it was great. Joel Peguero got the win.
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  Just solid baseball all around. You just love
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  to see the Giants pull one out like that. Definitely
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  a good day for Giants fans. A very good day.
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  And speaking of good things, we want to give
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  out. Alright, let's switch gears. From the green
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  to, well, this... sometimes glitchy world of
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  tech. Yeah, today we're kind of diving into how
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  close we really are to this seamless tech integration
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  we keep hearing about. And maybe more importantly,
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  where are those unexpected bumps in the road
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  popping up? Right, like Meta for instance. They
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  had their big connective van, showed off some
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  cool stuff, but also... had some very public
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  stumbles. Then we'll look at their push to build
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  this VR entertainment universe. Finally, earbuds
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  getting kind of a radical upgrade. It all ties
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  into how we communicate and consume media. Exactly.
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  So let's start with MetaConnect 2025. They unveiled
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  new wearables, the Ray -Ban display glasses,
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  Oakley Vanguard, looked promising. Yeah, but
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  the live demos, oh boy, some pretty noticeable
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  technical glitches kind of stole the spotlight
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  during the livestream. Right, and these aren't
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  just, you know, minor hiccups. They really show
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  the gap between tech that works perfectly in
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  a lab and tech that has to work in the messy
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  real world. Like that cooking catastrophe. Oh,
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  yeah. Food creator Jack Mancuso was trying to
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  make a Korean -inspired steak sauce, right? Using
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  the new meta ray -band display glasses AI to
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  guide him sounds cool in theory in theory But
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  the AI apparently got muddled it started skipping
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  steps like telling him you've already combined
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  the base ingredients So now great the pair oops
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  not quite there yet not quite he blamed the Wi
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  -Fi which okay fair enough Maybe and Zuckerberg
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  even joked about it saying something like The
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  irony, you spend years making technology and
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  then the Wi -Fi catches you. Which is funny,
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  but also kind of highlights a real problem, doesn't
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  it? Is the infrastructure, like basic Wi -Fi,
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  actually ready for these super advanced AI and
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  AR experiences Meta's pushing? That's the million
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  dollar question, isn't it? Are we building tech
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  that relies on perfect conditions that just don't
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  exist most of the time? And it wasn't just the
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  cooking demo. No, it wasn't. Zuckerberg tried
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  to do a live video call with the CTO Andrew Bosworth
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  using those Ray -Ban display glasses paired with
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  the new Metaneural band. Okay, so there's a core
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  function demo. Right, and the glasses just wouldn't
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  connect, even with the hand gestures supposed
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  to control it. Nothing. Ouch. Live demos are
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  brutal. They really are. Bosworth quicked, this
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  Wi -Fi is brutal, and then added You practice
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  these things like a hundred times and then you
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  never know what's going to happen. So true. It
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  just underscores the challenge, right? Taking
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  this cutting edge AI, this augmented reality
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  and making it reliable enough for everyday use,
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  not just a controlled demo. Exactly. How's it
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  going to perform when you're actually walking
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  down the street or in a noisy cafe, not on a
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  stage with optimized conditions? It's that real
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  world reliability gap. Yeah, makes you think.
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  But. Okay, despite the glitches, they did launch
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  some interesting products. Oh, for sure. The
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  tech itself is pretty ambitious. Let's talk about
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  the Meta Ray -Ban display glasses. They're priced
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  at $799, and that includes the neural band. So
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  what exactly are they? A mix of things? Yeah,
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  think of them as blending the existing Ray -Ban
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  AI smart glasses tech with Meta's more advanced
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  Project Orion AR concepts. And that neural band
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  is key. It uses electromyography, EMG. EMG? Mm
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  -hmm. That measures muscle signals, right. For
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  control. Exactly. It measures the electrical
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  activity in your muscles allowing for really
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  subtle, precise control, maybe even eventually
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  through just thinking about a command that we're
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  not quite there yet. Okay, so what do you actually
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  see with these glasses? There's a small display
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  in the bottom right lens. It's 600 by 600 resolution,
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  20 degree field of view, not fully immersive
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  like VR, but enough for info overlays. And bright
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  enough for outside? That's always been a problem.
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  Supposedly, yes. 5 ,000 nits brightness, which
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  is seriously bright, should be visible even in
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  direct sunlight. And it can show visual meta
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  AI responses, texts, handle video calls on WhatsApp
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  or Messenger, do navigation, translation, captions,
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  even act as a live viewfinder for the camera.
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  OK, that's a lot packed in. What are the Oakley
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  ones? Right, the Oakley Vanguard Smart Glasses.
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  These are $499, developed with Essler Lexotica,
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  obviously leveraging Oakley's sports design expertise.
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  So aimed at athletes. Definitely. Center -mounted
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  12 megapixel camera, records 3K video, uses Oakley
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  Sphera curved lens and their three -point fit
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  system for stability. They're IP67 rated, so
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  dust and water resistant. Good for sweating and
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  maybe some rain. Yep. Plus powerful open -ear
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  speakers, a five -mic array designed to cut down
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  wind noise crucial for cycling or running and
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  up to nine hours of battery. And they integrate
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  with Garmin and Strava for sharing activity data.
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  Makes sense. And there was a refresh of the regular
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  Ray -Ban AI glasses too. Yeah, Ray -Ban AI glasses
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  version two. More affordable at $379. They bumped
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  the battery life up to eight hours, improved
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  video to 3K Ultra HD with HDR up to 60 frames
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  per second, fast charging too. New software features.
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  Yep. Live translation, which is huge. conversation
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  -focused, that feature sounds neat, it boosts
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  the volume of the person you're talking to in
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  a loud place. And live AI, letting you talk to
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  the AI in real time for information, comes in
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  some new frame styles too. Wayfair, Skyler, Headliner.
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  Okay, so despite the demo drama, Meta is definitely
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  pushing hard on wearables. Ambitious stuff. No
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  doubt. They're swinging for the fences, even
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  if the Wi -Fi sometimes throws them a curveball.
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  Huh. Well put. Yeah. Okay, so from wearables
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  trying to augment our reality, let's shift to
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  Meta's efforts in virtual reality. They're launching
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  something called the Horizon TV Hub for Quest
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  headsets. Right. This is Meta basically trying
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  to make the Quest headset your go -to entertainment
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  device, not just for gaming or social VR. So
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  like a central place for movies and TV within
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  VR. Exactly, it's an all -in -one streaming hub.
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  The idea is to bring together all the compatible
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  streaming apps you might use into one interface
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  inside the Quest. Which apps are we talking about?
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  Well, right now you get access to Prime Video,
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  Peacock, Twitch, YouTube, and significantly Disney
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  Plus is coming soon, and that includes Hulu and
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  ESPN content too. Okay, that's a pretty solid
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  lineup, so no more jumping between separate VR
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  apps for each service. That's the goal. Reduce
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  the friction make it feel more like well like
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  changing channels or browsing a unified library
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  It'll have recommendations tabs for movies TV
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  immersive stuff sports music your watch list
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  all integrated Why does this matter for you know
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  regular people is watching TV in VR really that
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  much better? Well Meta's betting it can be. It
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  definitely enhances the entertainment potential
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  of Quest headsets, makes them potentially more
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  appealing as a media device for the whole family
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  or just for you escaping the family. Yeah, I
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  can see that appeal. And strategically, it's
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  a direct shot at competitors like Apple Vision
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  Pro, which is also pushing immersive media, though
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  at a much, much higher price point. Meta's trying
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  to own that mainstream VR entertainment space.
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  It also helps consolidate things, right? Instead
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  of just having a bunch of apps floating around
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  your VR library. Precisely. It makes the Quest
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  feel more like a coherent media platform. Plus,
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  they're leaning into the unique aspects of VR.
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  They've partnered with Universal Pictures and
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  Blumhouse to bring 3D movies. Like horror movies
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  in 3D VR. Yeah, imagine watching something like
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  the Black Phone or M3GN in 3D, completely immersed
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  in your own virtual cinema. That's different
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  experience than watching on your couch with distractions.
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  Okay, yeah, that does sound pretty intense. Especially
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  for horror. Maybe not for me, but I see the appeal.
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  And they're backing it up with good audio tech,
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  too. It supports Dolby Atmos surround sound already,
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  and Dolby Vision HDR support is coming later
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  this year. So, high quality picture and sound
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  in your personal VR theater. It's like creating
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  your own little escape pod for movies. Pretty
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  much total immersion, blocking out the real world.
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  For a lot of people, that's a big draw for media
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  consumption. Are there other updates happening
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  in the Horizon ecosystem that support this? Yeah,
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  a few things. They're updating the underlying
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  Horizon engine for better visuals, faster performance,
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  and the ability to build more complex and larger
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  virtual worlds. So making the whole platform
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  better. Right. And for creators, Horizon Studio
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  is getting an upgrade with an agentic AI assistant,
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  basically, an AI helper that can proactively
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  assist you in building virtual spaces. Think
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  of it like an AI co -designer. And there's also
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  Hyperscape Beta for the newer Quest 3 and 3S
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  headsets. It lets you map your actual room, your
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  physical environment, into a virtual space for
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  mixed reality experiences. So blending virtual
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  elements with your real surroundings. OK. So
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  Meta is really trying to build out a comprehensive
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  VR ecosystem with entertainment as a major pillar
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  now. Definitely looks that way. Positioning Quest
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  not just for games, but as a serious media consumption
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  device. All right. So we've got Meta tackling
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  site and immersive experiences. Let's talk. about
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  sound, specifically communication. Our third
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  story is about Nothing and their new Ear 3 earbuds.
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  Yeah, and this one is different. Nothing is known
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  for its unique design, but the Ear 3 introduces
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  a feature focused squarely on function, maybe
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  even at the expense of looking cool. Intriguing.
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  What is it? It's called the SuperMic system.
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  The earbuds themselves are, you know, earbuds,
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  but the charging case has two extra microphones
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  built into it, activated by a big button labeled
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  Talk. Wait, microphone's on the case, how does
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  that work? The idea is, if you're in a really
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  noisy place and need to make a call or record
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  a voice note, you take the charging case, hold
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  it up close to your mouth, like a, well, like
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  a tiny microphone or walkie talkie. Hold on,
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  you hold the case to your mouth. Yep. You hold
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  the case up to your mouth while the earbuds are
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  in your ears. The case mics then take over, providing
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  much clearer audio pickup with up to 95 decibels
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  of noise cancellation focused just on your voice.
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  Wow. Okay. That is... Definitely a unique approach.
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  I'm picturing myself doing that on a busy street.
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  Might get some weird looks. Right. It's kind
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  of hilariously practical. It directly tackles
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  the common complaint that earbuds sound terrible
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  for calls in loud environments. But yeah, the
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  ergonomics are unconventional. It's like they
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  prioritized pure audio clarity over the sleek,
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  discreet look we usually expect from earbuds.
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  Is it awkward or genius? Maybe a bit of both.
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  For someone who makes a lot of important calls
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  on the go, or maybe a creator who needs quick,
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  clean audio without carrying a separate mic,
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  it could be amazing. For others, maybe less so.
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  And compatibility. Does the SuperMic work with
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  everything? There's the catch. It works for regular
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  phone calls and nothing says most major apps
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  like Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, WhatsApp, WeChat.
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  Also some specific apps like Blackmagic Camera
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  for video recording and iOS voice memos. Buck.
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  But it doesn't work with the default camera apps
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  on iOS or Android or many other third -party
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  recording app. So you get this potentially great
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  feature, but you have to remember which apps
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  actually support it. That sounds like a potential
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  headache. A bit fragmented. It is. Classic hardware
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  innovation bumping up against software integration
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  challenges. Still, the core concept solving bad
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  call quality is smart. Okay, so beyond the super
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  mic gimmick. Yeah. or feature. What else is new
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  with the year three? Are the earbuds themselves
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  upgraded? Yes, definitely. They stick with the
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  semi -transparent, nothing design, black or white
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  options, but they've added metal parts to the
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  buds and case for better durability and maybe
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  antenna performance. The bottom half of the case
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  uses recycled aluminum now. Nice touch. How's
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  sound quality? They've upgraded the drivers to
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  12mm from 11mm in the Ear 2. They support spatial
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  audio and L -DIC for high -res wireless audio,
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  which is great for music quality. There's also
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  a personalized EQ feature based on an in -app
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  hearing test. They apparently tweaked the sound
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  profile a bit, more emphasis on the low end this
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  time. Bass boost. Okay, what about battery and
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  noise cancelling on the buds themselves? Battery
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  life is slightly improved, 5 .5 hours with ANC
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  on up from 5 .2. Total with the case is around
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  22 hours of playback from the buds themselves,
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  but the case holds about 36 hours of additional
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  charge. It has a 500 mAh battery, supports wireless
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  charging, and fast -wired charging 10 minutes
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  gets you 10 hours of playback. That fast charging
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  is handy. And the ANC? Also improved. It's adaptive
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  ANC, now up to 45 dB of noise reduction compared
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  to 40 dB on the Ear 2. So they should block out
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  more background noise when you're listening.
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  Connectivity. Bluetooth 5 .4. You'll need Android
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  6 .0 or iOS 13 or newer. And the price. You mentioned
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  it earlier, I think. $179, which is the $30 increase
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  from the Ear 2. OK, so a decent set of upgrades
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  overall, plus this very unique super mic feature.
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  but with a price bump and some compatibility
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  quirks. It's certainly a conversation starter.
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  For sure. It shows companies are still trying
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  creative, even slightly weird, solutions to fundamental
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  problems like clear communication. Makes you
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  think about what you actually prioritize in your
• 15:18
  tech. Absolutely. OK, before we wrap things up,
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• 15:44
  Alright, so let's quickly recap what we covered
• 15:46
  today. We kicked off with Meta Connect 2025,
• 15:49
  saw some really ambitious smart glasses like
• 15:51
  the Ray -Ban display and Oakley Vanguard, but
• 15:54
  also saw those memorable live demo glitches.
• 15:57
  Right. A good reminder that cutting -edge tech
• 15:59
  still needs real -world reliability, especially
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  solid connectivity. Then we talked about Meta
• 16:04
  doubling down on VR entertainment with the Horizon
• 16:07
  TV Hub request, trying to create that all -in
• 16:10
  -one streaming experience. complete with 3D movies.
• 16:14
  Making VR potentially more of a mainstream media
• 16:16
  device, a personal entertainment bubble. And
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  finally, Nothing's Ear 3 earbuds taking a very
• 16:21
  unique swing at solving poor call quality with
• 16:24
  that super mic system built into the charging
• 16:27
  case. Yeah, a really novel, if slightly awkward
• 16:30
  looking approach. to a common frustration. So
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  these stories really highlight that constant
• 16:35
  push -pull, don't they? Innovation, pushing boundaries,
• 16:38
  and how we see, hear, and interact. The bumping
• 16:40
  up against the practical realities of implementation,
• 16:44
  connectivity, and maybe even social norms, like
• 16:46
  holding a case to your face. Exactly. It leaves
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  you wondering, as this tech gets woven deeper
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  into our lives, are we going to become more tolerant
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  of its little quirks? Or will the pressure be
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  on the tech to become absolutely seamless and
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  invisible? That is a great question to chew on.
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  Something to think about until we connect again
• 17:04
  next time. We're here to help at Snarful, so
• 17:05
  reach out on our website if you have any more
• 17:07
  questions. That's a wrap on today's top stories.
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  Remember, tech doesn't have to be complicated,
• 17:17
  and we're here to help connect the dots. If you've
• 17:20
  got questions or want to learn more, visit us
• 17:22
  at snarful .com. Thanks for listening, and we'll
• 17:25
  catch you next time.