1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:08,080 T TECH T CHECK IT OUT. WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT? THEN, WELL, I'm 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:12,160 going to tell you. NVIDIA GPUs could be getting some imminent price hikes with 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:18,000 one report citing claims from industry insiders that some variants of the RTX 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:24,320 5090 could end up retailing for nearly $5,000 as soon as January 2026, a month 5 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:29,920 in which many of you are currently already living. Comment below with how 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:32,480 your 2026 is going so far. This alleged 7 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:38,239 cost increase is almost certainly thanks to skyrocketing DRAM costs. RAM makes up 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:43,520 a huge chunk of a graphics card's price. Now, I don't know if the $5,000 number 9 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:50,239 is accurate, but the RTX 5090 launched at a $2,000 MSRP, and it's already hard 10 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:52,800 to find anywhere under 3,000, which is 11 00:00:50,239 --> 00:00:56,879 so so sad for the people just trying to scrape enough together to buy the most 12 00:00:54,640 --> 00:01:01,520 powerful gaming GPU on the planet. But it's becoming pretty clear that price 13 00:00:58,559 --> 00:01:06,720 hikes on PC components outside of just RAM and SSDs are inbound. For example, 14 00:01:04,479 --> 00:01:11,439 in a leaked letter to their partners, ASUS is saying they'll raise prices on 15 00:01:09,119 --> 00:01:16,400 at least some products starting on January 5th, 2026. The letter indicates 16 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:22,799 that memory and storage components are so expensive and scarce scarce scarce 17 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:25,119 that ASUS can no longer absorb the cost. 18 00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:28,960 They'd like to absorb some more of your money instead. Wait a minute. January 19 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:33,520 5th, that's the first day of the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas 20 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:37,840 where this year all the keynotes are just going to be guys walking on stage 21 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:42,880 to be like, "Welcome." Same but more 22 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:47,840 expensive. Woo! Come [laughter] on, please clap. AI. Uh, but actually, I 23 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:53,200 take it back because some companies are starting to pre-announce some of the fun 24 00:01:50,479 --> 00:01:58,960 and wacky tech they'll show off at CES. As is tradition, Games is teasing a 25 00:01:56,079 --> 00:02:03,520 wireless swift drive controller with a tiny steering wheel built right into the 26 00:02:01,119 --> 00:02:08,399 pad that provides force feedback effects for racing games like the Namco Jogcon 27 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:15,200 PlayStation controller from back in 1998. Finally, I can drive virtual cars 28 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:17,200 in modern games just like I do real cars 29 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:23,200 with both my thumbs in the middle of the wheel. Wait, whoa, watch out. You mess 30 00:02:20,319 --> 00:02:28,560 with the nerd, you get the horns. Game also showed off a full-on wireless wheel 31 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:33,760 and pedal set with its own turbine fan to simulate air flow and haptic effects 32 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:39,760 for total and complete immersion. Meanwhile, OneBebook teased the new 1x 33 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:45,280 sugar wallet, an 8-in gaming handheld with a folding OLED screen powered by a 34 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:48,000 Qualcomm gaming platform flagship processor. [music] 35 00:02:46,239 --> 00:02:52,160 My favorite type of Qualcomm gaming platform processor. Price and launch 36 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:55,680 details are still up in the air, but I'm into that thing. It's like the handheld 37 00:02:54,319 --> 00:03:00,560 that could have been if Sony and Nintendo ended up working together after 38 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:06,080 all. In the good timeline, utopia. Speaking of Nintendo, Epilog has 39 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:09,920 shown off the SN Operator, a USB connected dock that lets you plug your 40 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:16,080 old Super Nintendo cartridges straight into a PC, Mac, or Steam Deck, and then 41 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:21,440 play or archive them digitally with save backups and emulator support built in. 42 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:26,000 It's 60 bucks US and supposedly ships in April, which is great news for cartridge 43 00:03:23,519 --> 00:03:31,040 owners who don't want to fiddle with the DIY archiving kits out there. The not so 44 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:36,480 great news, Nintendo may still find a way to sue your ass. They are just not 45 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:39,920 as cool as our sponsor, UG, Green, and their Magflow magnetic power bank. The 46 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:44,080 ultimate treasure for modern adventurers. With ultraast 25 watt 47 00:03:42,319 --> 00:03:49,440 wireless charging, it can revive my iPhone 17 Pro Max from 0 to 50% in just 48 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:53,599 38 minutes. Fast enough to outrun rolling boulders. Its powerful magnetic 49 00:03:51,519 --> 00:03:58,480 hold keeps my phone secure even when I'm clinging to crumbling ledges, while the 50 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:02,879 realtime LED display shows exactly how much power remains. Two USBC ports and a 51 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:07,040 wireless charging pad let me charge three devices at once. And 30 watt 52 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:12,080 two-way fast charging with a built-in USBC carry strap means I can recharge my 53 00:04:09,439 --> 00:04:16,959 gear. my sherpa's gear or the power bank itself mid expedition compact, flight 54 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:22,800 safe and tough enough for booby trap tombs or you know just going to work or 55 00:04:19,919 --> 00:04:26,960 school or whatever. UG Green's Magflow magnetic power bank keeps adventurers 56 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:30,400 moving. Check it out in the link below. You might know the Quick Bits for their 57 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:34,880 contributions to tech news, but they're also amazing battle rappers. Hey, they 58 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:40,880 have a show tonight. You should Oh, it's already over because they're so quick. 59 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:44,000 Another RX970 XT has suffered a burn 60 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:46,240 injury on its 12volt 2x6 power connector 61 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:52,160 with Redditor Divine Threshold claiming it lasted a year before joining the 62 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:54,800 extremely exclusive melted 12vt 63 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:58,880 connectors club. Ah, I'm jealous. But at least he got a year of gaming out of it, 64 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:03,520 unlike the guy who ordered a GPU and got rocks instead. Some good news for him 65 00:05:01,199 --> 00:05:08,320 though. But he finally got his RTX 5080 from Best Buy after he figured out the 66 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:14,800 shipping weight somehow mysteriously increased during transit. To celebrate, 67 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:17,120 he got a tattoo of the ASUS TU logo on a 68 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:20,960 pile of rocks. Not sure why you'd want to commemorate a shipping snafu in which 69 00:05:19,199 --> 00:05:25,759 someone stole an expensive item from you, but whatever sinks your boat. Game 70 00:05:23,199 --> 00:05:31,759 store GOG is officially breaking out on its own. if that's what you call parent 71 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:34,080 company CD Project Red, selling GOG to 72 00:05:31,759 --> 00:05:38,960 Michael Kasinski, the original co-founder of both GOG and CD Project 73 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:43,440 Red, who is now an independent entrepreneur despite still holding many 74 00:05:40,479 --> 00:05:47,199 CD Project Red shares. Anyway, the DRM free storefront says nothing is changing 75 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:51,520 for users. That's the important part. Your library is safe, but big changes 76 00:05:49,759 --> 00:05:56,800 are coming. GOG is teasing more ambitious plans to revive classic PC 77 00:05:54,479 --> 00:06:03,759 games starting next year. Basically, it's the same good old GOG old games, 78 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:07,039 just readopted by its biological father, who was only partially absent, but is 79 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:10,560 now giving this whole full-time parenting thing a shot. I call that 80 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:16,000 character growth. The US is giving Samsung and SKH temporary permission to 81 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:21,199 keep shipping chipmaking tools into their Chinese factories through 2026, 82 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:25,120 easing pressure after earlier export waiverss were revoked. The goal is to 83 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:29,759 reportedly keep memory production running in the short term, especially as 84 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:33,919 AI demand pushes prices even higher. But at the same time, China is pulling in 85 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:38,880 the opposite direction. Beijing is now requiring chipmakers to use at least 50% 86 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:44,080 domesticallymade equipment when expanding their manufacturing capacity, 87 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:47,919 forcing fabs to choose local tools even when foreign options could offer a 88 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:52,880 cheaper solution. But are the chips still domestic if they're made by 89 00:06:49,759 --> 00:06:55,919 foreign machines? 90 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:59,120 Hey, remember solar freaking roadways? 91 00:06:55,919 --> 00:07:01,919 No. That's okay, cuz now we have 92 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:07,120 charging freaking roadways. Florida is building a highway that can wirelessly 93 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:09,599 charge EVs while you drive. Yes, 94 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:15,199 charging freaking roadways. A stretch of State Road 516 will have inductive 95 00:07:12,639 --> 00:07:20,080 charging coils underneath the asphalt, delivering up to 200 kW to compatible 96 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:24,160 cars as they roll along. It's meant to extend range, not fully charged 97 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,360 vehicles, but it could definitely be a step in the right direction. Will it 98 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:31,680 work? Maybe. [music] Will it be wildly expensive and only 99 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:35,199 support a handful of cars at first? Abso freaking lutul. CHARGING FREAKING 100 00:07:33,039 --> 00:07:40,319 ROADWAYS, MAN. Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a 101 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:43,199 tiny flexible under scalp implant that 102 00:07:40,319 --> 00:07:47,520 could help restore lost senses by shining patterned light directly through 103 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:51,280 the skull into the brain, which is something you can do. Apparently, the 104 00:07:49,199 --> 00:07:55,039 wireless device avoids drilling into the brain and has already helped mice 105 00:07:53,199 --> 00:08:00,240 relearn how to interpret sensory signals. It sounds fantastic as long as 106 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:05,440 there's some sort of failsafe to prevent a pickle Rick situation. And Atlas Data 107 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:10,879 Storage announced what it called the world's first scalable DNA data storage 108 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:17,360 offering earlier this month. The system can pack up to 60 pabytes per liter of 109 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:20,960 gene carrying juice and could last for thousands of years. Sounds like 110 00:08:19,199 --> 00:08:25,440 something Chad GBD just came up with, but okay. Unfortunately, encoding and 111 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:31,599 decoding data using the four chemical bases in DNA isn't really cheap or fast. 112 00:08:29,039 --> 00:08:38,320 Sequencing currently costs around $30 per roughly 250 GB and takes significant 113 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:42,719 time. So, it won't be replacing tape at scale for years. Still, it's pretty 114 00:08:40,719 --> 00:08:49,600 cool. Soon, we'll be living in less of a cyberpunk dystopia and more of a bioci 115 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:52,560 genetically engineered dystopia. That's exciting. You know what else is 116 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:56,480 exciting? That there's going to be more tech news on Friday. So, you should come 117 00:08:54,320 --> 00:09:00,240 back then. Happy New Year, everyone. We'll see you in 2026. Heck, depending 118 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:04,480 on where you live, we might already be seeing you in 2026. Have they solved the 119 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:07,519 RAM crisis yet over there? [laughter] Haha. Let me know.