The US may have the edge in semiconductor design, but manufacture is still the crown jewel of places like Taiwan. To counter this, the Biden administration has outlined where it will allocate the $50 billion in investment the CHIPS act has allowed for. Of that, $28 billion is to boost domestic production of cutting-edge logic and memory chips. The money will be distributed as grants, cooperative agreements, loan guarantees or loan subsidies. A further $10 billion is to improve specialty chipmaking for the automotive, medical device and defense industries. And $11 billion is for US research and development facilities, with the intention of creating new chip technologies that’ll be made on American soil. It’s a huge commitment, and one that recognizes the importance of staying at the forefront of the chip world or risk permanently falling behind.
– Daniel Cooper
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And Meta’s virtual Connect event will stream live October 11th
As one technology giant announces its new slate of devices, another two set their dates for their own parties. Google has marked October 6th for its Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch event, with a live broadcast from New York City starting at 10 AM ET. Google spilled plenty of beans about what we could expect from the show at its I/O developer conference this summer. So we can expect the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro and the new Pixel Watch to hog the spotlight. Then, on October 11th, Meta will hold it Connect event to show off all that’s new with augmented and virtual reality. We’re expecting this to be the first official unveiling of Facebook’s Project Cambria, a high-end VR headset likely to be sold under the name Meta Quest Pro. Plus another attempt or two to make Facebook’s vision for our augmented future look a bit less cringe.
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Investing in a good fast charger is vital if you’re always running out of juice.
Sam Rutherford
Sometimes, you just need to get electricity into your device as quickly and efficiently as you can, without causing it to blow up. That’s why there are now so many fantastic fast charging plugs on the market, to help you avoid running out of power when you’re on the go. But with so many to choose from, it’s hard to know which ones are worth your money, and why.
Don’t fret: Your friend and mine Sam Rutherford has tested 14 plugs to see which one is the best. No spoilers, but it looks like the best phone charger will set you back just $30 and give you far better performance than whatever you’re using right now.
Schools were targeted over the Labor Day weekend.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is dealing with the effects of a ransomware attack which struck on September 3rd. Officials have already started working with other federal agencies to tackle the issue and have already locked down its other systems. The attack has affected the district’s business systems, but school operations and classes remain in operation – as does its in-school safety and emergency systems. Hopefully, this latest in a long series of cyberattacks on US institutions will push better security to the top of the agenda to ensure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.
T-Mobile’s penchant for calling out its rivals earns it another lawsuit.
Ooooh, it’s been a while since we’ve had a spicy skirmish between phone carriers, and so here comes AT&T to keep us all amused. The mobile giant has lobbed a lawsuit through T-Mobile’s window, alleging the magenta carrier has engaged in false advertising against its rival. The issue hinges on a senior discount that AT&T is piloting in Florida, giving users over the age of 55 cheaper phone plans. T-Mobile, which already offers a plan called Unlimited 55+, countrywide, has called out AT&T, saying it’s only offering senior discounts to Floridians. Naturally, AT&T thinks T-Mobile isn’t playing fair and will take things to court to get the claims retracted.
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