CES

Sam joins Leo to talk about CES and GM's keynote. Since everything was virtual, Sam didn't miss anything pertaining to electric vehicles. GM did an hour-long presentation on electric and autonomous vehicles. This included big news that they are created a business electric commercial vehicles unit called Bright Drop. Their first model is a delivery van called the EV600. A direct competitor to Rivian's delivery vans that they are developing for Amazon. 

This year's CES was held online and Scott attended virtually. So he couldn't get in the 20+ miles of walking he would do every year. He didn't miss that. But he missed seeing friends, going to dinner and a show, and learning about technology up close and personal. But he did like that he could get video briefings, click on press releases and information, it was all very efficient. 

Scott joins Leo to talk about CES this year, and he says there's been a ton of news already. Leading the way is micro and mini LEDs, the latest version of LCD TV technology. Instead of hundreds or thousands of LEDs, there are now tens of thousands. And that translates to more accurate color and dynamic range. This year will be the year of mini LEDs with LG announcing the QNLED model of 4K TVs, and Samsung showcasing their NEO LED. 

Scott joins Leo to talk about the new microLED technology which can use Local dimming to increase contrast with greater precision. The smaller LEDs are, the smaller the zones that brighten independently. That translates into a greater dynamic range. 

In other news ... CES is determined to hold the conference in January. Scott says he won't go because he doesn't want to be exposed to the CoVid19 virus.

This week, Dick is back with a gadget he saw at Showstoppers during CES. The Manta5 Hydrofoiler XE-1, world’s first production hydrofoil bike launched in the U.S. at CES. Using the same technology as America’s Cup sailboats, and seven years in development, the Hydrofoiler is the first bike of its kind to replicate the cycling experience on water. The New Zealand-based company sold out the initial pilot production run in six months, after their short video of the hydrofoil prototype went viral, amassing more than 350 million views on Facebook.

Sam is back from CES and joins Leo to talk about what he saw. What surprised Sam was the Sony Vision S Concept Car. A 4 door electric sedan, it looks a lot like a Tesla. The car was built by Magna International, which creates a lot of the parts that come in today's cars. They also build cars in Europe for Toyota, Jaguar, and others. This doesn't mean that Sony is getting into the car manufacturing business, but was meant to showcase all the electronics that they make for the Car industry.  

Dickie D is back from Las Vegas, where he joined Leo on his excellent CES adventure. Dickie D likes to look for the crazy tech at CES. One device is Project NESSA, where women can virtually try on different outfits and warn you if you've worn an outfit before to a specific event. But the find of the day was the Smart Potato. the $34 Smart Potato inserts a blade-like device to use 'potato energy' to power the Bluetooth antenna attached to the inserted electronic card. Then, you can use your potato just like Alexa or Google Home. Just say “Hey Potato” and ask your question.

Johnny Jet is back to talk about CES. Delta has a binge button, where you can binge a TV show without interruption while on a long flight. Website of the week - FlightConnections.com. This website will tell you what connections any flight makes, the hubs they fly into, cheaper airports you can fly into, and more.