December 15, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

💻 Intel's Core Ultra

📱 SpaceX to tackle 'dead zones'

🚙 Cruise woes continue

📺 Best AV gear for $1,000

UP FIRST

The best Core Ultra laptops just announced

The laptops support Intel's new Core Ultra chips, which officially launched on Thursday. The processors bring improved graphics performance, AI capabilities, and high core counts to thin and light laptops

Intel has announced its new Meteor Lake processors, which go with the brand name Core Ultra.

At the same time, many laptop manufacturers announced updates and refreshes for laptops supporting Intel's latest chip technology.

The machines include the Acer Swift Go 14, which stands out for the impressive $850 configuration that includes an OLED 2880 x 1800 screen.

There’s also the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, now in its 12th generation. It’s not a surprise to see the Core Ultra with this one, as Lenovo has always kept this premium business laptop very much up to date every year since its launch. Other upgrades with this machine include a 120Hz OLED panel as a display option and new tactile markings across the keyboard to help with accessibility ...

SPACEX STARLINK

SpaceX to launch first Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability

SpaceX plans to launch around 840 direct-to-cell satellites over the next six months

SpaceX has been sending its Starlink internet satellites into orbit since 2019 and currently has more than 5,000 in space. On Friday night, the commercial spaceflight company is aiming to launch another batch that includes the first six Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability.

They’ll enable mobile network operators around the world to provide “seamless global access to texting, calling, and browsing wherever you may be on land, lakes, or coastal waters,” according to SpaceX.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk has described the technology as a “massive game changer” that will eliminate connectivity dead zones in remote parts of the world.

“Even if an entire region or country lost connectivity because of a severe hurricane or floods or fires or tornados, earthquakes… even if all the cell towers were taken out, your phone would still work,” Musk said ...

ROBOTAXIS

Beleaguered robotaxi firm Cruise lays off quarter of workforce

The move follows a recent decision by backer General Motors to slash funding for the startup following a spate of troubling incidents involving Cruise's autonomous vehicles

Autonomous car startup Cruise is laying off 900 workers, equal to about a quarter of its workforce. The news comes a day after nine executives were also dismissed.

The General Motors-backed firm has suffered a series of recent setbacks, including an accident on the streets of San Francisco in October when one of its self-driving cars came to a halt on top of a woman, pinning her to the ground just moments after she’d been hit by a human-driven car.

In an email sent to Cruise staff by Mo Elshenawy on Thursday, the newly installed president and CTO expressed sympathy for those losing their jobs but said the firm is “simplifying and focusing our efforts to return with an exceptional service in one city ... for this first step before we scale” ...

EXPERT ADVICE by Caleb Denison

If I had $1,000 to spend on AV gear, here's what I'd get

Check out these useful tips on how to build the best entertainment system for your needs for under $1,000

Though prices on TVs, soundbars, and other home entertainment gear have come down some over the past few years, let’s face it: AV gear is still pretty expensive.

I regularly receive requests for help building systems that come in at or around a $1,000 budget. While that’s not a lot of money in this space, it’s still a lot of money for most folks. And that being the case, I decided to put together some system options that deliver on some common needs.

We’ll start with what I think are the best TV and audio combos that come in under a grand, and then we’ll play around with the budget a bit to explore other options because there can never be a one-size-fits-all answer to this.

But if it were my money, here’s what I’d do ...

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