1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,560
tech tech tech. How to take it out. What, what's that all about?

2
00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:08,200
Well, I'm gonna tell you. NVIDIA GPUs could be getting

3
00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:13,000
some imminent price hikes with one report citing claims from industry insiders

4
00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:19,440
that some variants of the RTX 5090 could end up retailing for nearly $5,000

5
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,400
as soon as January 2026, a month in which many of you

6
00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:29,040
are currently already living. Comment below with how your 2026 is going so far.

7
00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:32,440
This alleged cost increase is almost certainly thanks

8
00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:38,240
to skyrocketing DRAM costs. RAM makes up a huge chunk of a graphics card's price.

9
00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,400
Now, I don't know if the 5,000 number is accurate,

10
00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:46,000
but the RTX 5090 launched at a $2,000 MSRP,

11
00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,160
and it's already hard to find anywhere under 3,000,

12
00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:53,800
which is so, so sad for the people just trying to scrape enough together

13
00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,960
to buy the most powerful gaming GPU on the planet. But it's becoming pretty clear

14
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:03,880
that price hikes on PC components outside of just RAM and SSDs are inbound.

15
00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:08,760
For example, in a leaked letter to their partners, ASUS is saying they'll raise prices

16
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:13,640
on at least some products, starting on January 5th, 2026.

17
00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:19,640
The letter indicates that memory and storage components are so expensive and scarce, scarce, scarce,

18
00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,840
that ASUS can no longer absorb the cost.

19
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,920
They'd like to absorb some more of your money instead.

20
00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,220
Wait a minute, January 5th, that's the first day of the Consumer Electronics Show

21
00:01:30,220 --> 00:01:34,180
in Las Vegas, where this year, all the keynotes are just gonna be guys

22
00:01:34,180 --> 00:01:35,820
walking on stage to be like,

23
00:01:37,900 --> 00:01:43,740
welcome. Same shit, but more expensive. Woo, come on, please clap.

24
00:01:43,740 --> 00:01:46,740
AI, but actually I take it back

25
00:01:46,740 --> 00:01:49,740
because some companies are starting to pre-announce

26
00:01:49,740 --> 00:01:53,180
some of the fun and wacky tech they'll show off at CES,

27
00:01:53,180 --> 00:01:58,420
as is tradition. GameSir is teasing a wireless Swift Drive controller

28
00:01:58,420 --> 00:02:01,740
with a tiny steering wheel built right into the pad

29
00:02:01,740 --> 00:02:07,820
that provides force feedback effects for racing games, like the Namco JogCon PlayStation controller

30
00:02:07,820 --> 00:02:13,020
from back in 1998. Finally, I can drive virtual cars in modern games,

31
00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:18,460
just like I do real cars, with both my thumbs in the middle of the wheel.

32
00:02:18,460 --> 00:02:22,460
Wait, whoa, watch out, you mess with the nerd, you get the horns.

33
00:02:22,460 --> 00:02:25,740
GameSir also showed off a full-on wireless wheel

34
00:02:25,740 --> 00:02:31,300
and pedal set with its own Turbine fan to simulate airflow and haptic effects

35
00:02:31,300 --> 00:02:38,140
for total and complete immersion. Meanwhile, one netbook teased the new 1X Sugar Wallet,

36
00:02:38,140 --> 00:02:41,840
an eight-inch gaming handheld with a folding OLED screen

37
00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,140
powered by a Qualcomm Gaming Platform flagship processor,

38
00:02:46,140 --> 00:02:49,220
my favorite type of Qualcomm Gaming Platform processor.

39
00:02:49,220 --> 00:02:53,300
Price and launch details are still up in the air, but I'm into that thing.

40
00:02:53,300 --> 00:02:58,300
It's like the handheld that could've been if Sony and Nintendo ended up working together after all

41
00:02:58,300 --> 00:03:01,460
in the good timeline. Utopia.

42
00:03:01,460 --> 00:03:05,420
Speaking of Nintendo, Epilogue has shown off the SN operator,

43
00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:09,460
a USB connected dock that lets you plug your old Super Nintendo cartridges

44
00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:12,740
straight into a PC, Mac, or Steam Deck,

45
00:03:12,740 --> 00:03:19,060
and then play or archive them digitally with saved backups and emulator support built in.

46
00:03:19,060 --> 00:03:23,820
It's 60 bucks US and supposedly ships in April, which is great news for cartridge owners

47
00:03:23,820 --> 00:03:27,420
who don't wanna fiddle with the DIY archiving kits

48
00:03:27,420 --> 00:03:32,940
out there. The not so great news, Nintendo may still find a way to sue your ass.

49
00:03:32,940 --> 00:03:36,540
They are just not as cool as our sponsor. You might know the quick bits

50
00:03:36,540 --> 00:03:41,040
for their contributions to tech news, but they're also amazing battle wrappers.

51
00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,280
Hey, they have a show tonight. You should, oh, it's already over.

52
00:03:45,180 --> 00:03:49,820
Cause they're so quick. Another RX 9070 XT has suffered a burn injury

53
00:03:49,820 --> 00:03:56,140
on its 12 volt two by six power connector with Redditor Divine Threshold claiming it lasted a year

54
00:03:56,140 --> 00:03:59,220
before joining the extremely exclusive

55
00:03:59,220 --> 00:04:03,140
melted 12 volt connectors club. I'm jealous.

56
00:04:03,140 --> 00:04:08,700
But at least he got a year of gaming out of it, unlike the guy who ordered a GPU and got rocks instead.

57
00:04:08,700 --> 00:04:12,980
Some good news for him though. He finally got his RTX 5080 from Best Buy

58
00:04:12,980 --> 00:04:19,220
after he figured out the shipping weight somehow mysteriously increased during transit.

59
00:04:19,220 --> 00:04:22,900
To celebrate, he got a tattoo of the ASUS Tough logo

60
00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:27,340
on a pile of rocks. Not sure why you'd want to commemorate a shipping snafu

61
00:04:27,340 --> 00:04:31,380
in which someone stole an expensive item from you, but whatever sinks your boat.

62
00:04:31,380 --> 00:04:34,820
Game Store GOG is officially breaking out on its own.

63
00:04:34,820 --> 00:04:38,220
If that's what you call parent company CD Project Redd

64
00:04:38,220 --> 00:04:41,620
selling GOG to Michael Kacinski,

65
00:04:41,660 --> 00:04:46,260
the original co-founder of both GOG and CD Project Redd

66
00:04:46,260 --> 00:04:50,500
who is now an independent entrepreneur despite still holding many CD Project Redd shares.

67
00:04:50,500 --> 00:04:54,620
Anyway, the DRM free storefront says nothing is changing for users.

68
00:04:54,620 --> 00:04:58,820
That's the important part. Your library is safe, but big changes are coming.

69
00:04:58,820 --> 00:05:04,580
GOG is teasing more ambitious plans to revive classic PC games starting next year.

70
00:05:04,580 --> 00:05:09,580
Basically, it's the same good old GOG old games

71
00:05:09,740 --> 00:05:13,820
just readopted by its biological father who was only partially absent,

72
00:05:13,820 --> 00:05:18,100
but is now giving this whole full-time parenting thing a shot, I call that character growth.

73
00:05:18,100 --> 00:05:24,140
The US is giving Samsung and SK Hynex temporary permission to keep shipping chip making tools

74
00:05:24,140 --> 00:05:27,260
into their Chinese factories through 2026

75
00:05:27,260 --> 00:05:31,140
easing pressure after earlier export waivers were revoked.

76
00:05:31,140 --> 00:05:34,840
The goal is to reportedly keep memory production running in the short term,

77
00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:38,140
especially as AI demand pushes prices even higher.

78
00:05:38,140 --> 00:05:41,600
But at the same time, China is pulling in the opposite direction.

79
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:47,060
Beijing is now requiring chip makers to use at least 50% domestically made equipment

80
00:05:47,060 --> 00:05:52,300
when expanding their manufacturing capacity, forcing fabs to choose local tools

81
00:05:52,300 --> 00:05:55,460
even when foreign options could offer a cheaper solution.

82
00:05:55,460 --> 00:05:59,680
But are the chips still domestic if they're made by foreign machines?

83
00:06:01,420 --> 00:06:06,520
Hey, remember solar freaking roadways? No, that's okay.

84
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,640
Because now we have charging freaking roadways.

85
00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:14,720
Florida is building a highway that can wirelessly charge EVs while you drive.

86
00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,840
Yes, charging freaking roadways. A stretch of state road 516

87
00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:23,720
will have inductive charging coils underneath the asphalt

88
00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,840
delivering up to 200 kilowatts to compatible cars

89
00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:31,240
as they roll along. It's meant to extend range, not fully charged vehicles,

90
00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,120
but it could definitely be a step in the right direction. Will it work?

91
00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,680
Maybe. Will it be wildly expensive and only support a handful of cars at first?

92
00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,800
I have so fricking lulely. Charging freaking roadways, man!

93
00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:48,640
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a tiny flexible under scalp implant

94
00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:52,920
that could help restore lost senses by shining patterned light

95
00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:57,520
directly through the skull into the brain, which is something you can do, apparently.

96
00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,560
The wireless device avoids drilling into the brain and has already helped mice

97
00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:06,120
relearn how to interpret sensory signals. It sounds fantastic,

98
00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,560
as long as there's some sort of fail-safe to prevent a pickle-rick situation.

99
00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,680
And Atlas Data Storage announced what it called

100
00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,920
the world's first scalable DNA data storage offering

101
00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,920
earlier this month. The system can pack up to 60 petabytes per liter

102
00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:27,200
of gene-carrying juice and could last for thousands of years.

103
00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,240
Sounds like something ChatGBD just came up with, but okay.

104
00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,320
Unfortunately, encoding and decoding data using the four chemical bases in DNA

105
00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:40,160
isn't really cheap or fast. Sequencing currently costs around $30

106
00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,320
per roughly 250 gigabytes and takes significant time.

107
00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:48,200
So it won't be replacing tape at scale for years.

108
00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,600
Still, it's pretty cool. Soon we'll be living in less of a cyberpunk dystopia

109
00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:57,600
and more of a bio-sci-fi, genetically engineered dystopia.

110
00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,160
That's exciting. You know what else is exciting? That there's gonna be more tech news on Friday.

111
00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:06,540
So you should come back then. Happy New Year, everyone. We'll see you in 2026.

112
00:08:06,540 --> 00:08:10,520
Heck, depending on where you live, we might already be seeing you in 2026.

113
00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,640
Have they solved the RAM crisis yet over there?

114
00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:14,480
Let me know.