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The average car age for U.S. drivers. A new record, thanks to sky-high prices and interest rates. These days, a new car will set you back about $45,000, on average. No wonder folks are holding on to their clunkers.
Tags: car, drivers, interest, interest rates, prices, record
🔥 That’s a big bang: A SpaceX Raptor rocket engine exploded during a test at its Texas facility in late May of 2024, and boy, was it a doozy. (Seriously, check out this video.) Elon Musk planned to use the engine in a test flight of the Starship reusable rocket a few days afterward. I have a feeling they missed that deadline.
I saw an $82,000 Cybertruck driving down the road in Phoenix. I still say slap a gun on the back and it’s Halo in real life. More than 1 million people have ordered the EV truck-slash-tank, but how many have actually been delivered, as of May 26, 2024? Is it … A.) 3,878, B.) 42,184, C.) 122,101 or D.) 201,032?
Ear-replaceable: New AI noise-canceling headphones will let you listen to a single person’s voice in a crowd just by looking at the individual once. The wearer can then walk around as usual while tuning in to the person’s conversation. The headphones are still in development, but I can only imagine how they’ll use them in covert ops. I really just want them for group dinners …
Let the gun times roll: Google’s former CEO, Eric Schmidt, says AI systems eventually will be so smart that we’ll have to guard them with “machine guns on military bases” to keep them out of enemy hands. How far in the future does he think this will happen? About five years. Cool … cool, cool, cool.
🇺🇸 Patriot Mobile’s big breach: The self-proclaimed “Christian conservative wireless provider” exposed its cellphone customers’ info, including full names, email addresses, ZIP codes and account PINs. Hard to ignore the timing on this one … If you’re a subscriber, update your login info ASAP.
Hotel booking scam: If you’re planning a trip, scammers are buying up Google search results with legit-looking hotel and travel sites. They’ll take your info and leave you nothing but a hefty credit card bill. Double-check URLs for typos, and don’t trust a site just because it popped up first in your search results. Chances are, it’s a sponsored ad.
Interview plus-ones? One in four Gen Zers says they’ve brought a parent to their job interview. Another 25% have had their parents submit a job application for them. PSA: If your kid asks you to join their job interview, say no. No matter how badly you want them out of the house, they’ve gotta learn to fly on their own.
⚡️ Not everything can be AI: Microsoft says to advertise as an “AI PC,” computers need three things: Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot (how convenient), a special Copilot button on the keyboard (OK, sure) and an NPU (NP‑who?). The NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, is a processor specially designed for machine learning algorithms. Will that make them work better than a regular PC? TBD.
A 30% pay gap: No, not between men and women (that’s still about 16%) — between engineers. AI software engineers now make a median salary of $300,000, or about $100,000 more than other software engineers. Meanwhile, non-AI computer science grads say the job hunt is tougher than ever. Never thought I’d see the day.
Lipstick on a pig: The feds now consider buy now, pay later (BNPL) apps a type of credit card. Uh, ya think? Now, buyers will get the same refund and fraud protections they do with plastic while they’re putting off those payments. BNPL companies say they’re a totally different model. Nope.
