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Thomas Ricker

Thomas Ricker

Deputy Editor

Deputy Editor

    More From Thomas Ricker

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Everyone loves Paul Rudd who hates phones.

    Remarkably kind and perpetually youthful, the internet’s favorite dancer has stopped bringing his smartphone to work:

    “They’re horrible things. I’m addicted to it like everybody else. They’re facilitating our own destruction. […] The world has changed since cell phones have existed. We don’t look at each other or talk to each other quite the same way.”

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    California is the tenth state to legalize plug-in solar.

    Residents can now easily install up to 1200W of solar panels without utility pre-approval. The DIY kits popular in Europe start at around $300 and feed the sun’s energy back into the home through standard wall outlets. More expensive kits with battery storage can help save even more money and provide backup power during a blackout. Either way, they should pay for themselves quickly in the state with the highest residential electricity rates.

    EcoFlow’s high-end, weatherproof, plug-in solar kit has an integrated battery.
    EcoFlow’s high-end, weatherproof, plug-in solar kit has an integrated battery.
    Image: EcoFlow
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    The struggle to make things in America.

    The WSJ chronicles WS Game trying to build a bespoke version of the Monopoly board game using only American manufacturers. It mostly succeeded, but the result was far more expensive, of worse quality, took too long, and the dice still had to be sourced from China.

    In China, WS Game tells factories what it wants, and asks them to make the idea a reality. The U.S. process was reversed. “We figured out what the factories’ capabilities were, then backed into the design.”

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Watch SpaceX’s most ambitious launch in years.

    The Starship 14 mission includes two firsts for its next generation rocket: send the Starship spacecraft into Earth orbit, and insert a few dozen of SpaceX’s larger and more capable V3 satellites into the Starlink constellation for the first time. The 26 satellites will each add 1Tbps of capacity to the constellation, boosting total network capacity by about 3 percent on just this one flight.

    The Starship Super Heavy booster is scheduled to ignite at 8:48AM ET. You can watch it live right here.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Sony quits CES.

    Sony’s keynotes were once a highlight of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But the company’s presence has shrunk in proportion to its slow exit from consumer electronics. And with Bravia now a TCL brand, and the Afeela EV joint venture with Honda scrubbed, there’s little reason to attend.

    Can ‘eSUV’ e-bikes really go from trail to town?

    8

    Verge Score

    Yes, if it’s Amflow’s TL Carbon — but expect compromises.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Zuck wants everyone to know, he doesn’t need everyone to know he’s jacked.

    The NYT takes a look at Mark Zuckerberg’s style metamorphosis from “robotic coder in a gray hoodie to fashion-conscious bro next door.” Unlike, say, the newly buff Jeff Bezos who loves a tight tee, Zuck is trying to find 20 polo-collared shirts with boxier ’fits favored by MMA fighters.

    “That’s like a fun thing to go do, right? […] Everyone knows I’m in really good shape, so I don’t need to show my muscles.”

    He’s also experimenting with “fun shorts.”
    He’s also experimenting with “fun shorts.”
    Bloomberg via Getty Images
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Silicon Valley’s power ranking.

    If you want to know where the power in tech currently lies, you only need to look at this photo of the head table at Donald Trump’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping. I see Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, AMD’s Lisa Su, Apple’s Tim Cook, and SpaceXaiTesla’s Elon Musk seated by the leaders of the world’s two superpowers. The CEOs and / or founders of Alphabet (Google), OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon, Qualcomm, Micron, Dell, and… Zoom, were also in attendance.

    Xi Jinping, China’s president, speaks during the state dinner.
    Xi Jinping, China’s president, speaks during the state dinner.
    Bloomberg via Getty Images
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    The US backs Elon Musk in fight to overturn €120M EU fine.

    Trump officials filed a motion to support X’s appeal, arguing the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) enforcement overreached when levying the fine last December, and unfairly targets American tech platforms while threatening digital free speech and global market operations.

    “The European Commission inappropriately attempted to expand its regulatory authority to reach American companies not present or operating within its jurisdiction.”