Mashable's Miriam Kramer on Falcon Heavy Launch: "Awe Inspiring"
SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday, making history by sending the largest rocket into space since 1975. CEO Elon Musk tweeting in response to President Trump, "An exciting future lies ahead." Mashable's Deputy Science Editor Miriam Kramer explains what the scene was like on the ground at Cape Canaveral, FL.
"It definitely felt like a historic moment," said Kramer. "It was pretty incredible to see this giant thing fly into space."
Aboard the rocket was Musk's original Tesla roadster. On whether this was as PR stunt, Kramer says it added pizzazz. She said just because it was a publicity stunt doesn't mean it's bad. "I think the Tesla is really fun, and space needs to be a little more fun," said Kramer.
Bitcoin received its first update in four years called Taproot. Unlike the previous bitcoin update in 2017, Taproot has widespread support — in part because these changes involve fairly incremental improvements to the code. Christie Harkin, tech managing editor at CoinDesk, explained what the move could mean for the future of cryptocurrencies as a whole.
Snap has announced a licensing deal with Sony Music, giving its social media platform Snapchat access to the label's entire catalog. The deal now gives the company agreements with all of the major industry labels.
Kyndryl isn't wasting any time as an independent company. Just over a week after spinning off from IBM, the IT infrastructure services provider has announced its first global strategic partner in Microsoft. The two tech giants are coming together to form a new kind of power duo, creating multi-billion dollar revenue opportunities between the companies. Stephen Leonard, global alliances & partnerships leader for Kyndryl, told Cheddar more about the partnership and what it aims to achieve.
Bitcoin has successfully activated Taproot, the cryptocurrency's first major upgrade since 2017 and a highly anticipated change to the blockchain. Taproot will introduce what's known as Schnorr signatures, which will help transactions become more private, efficient and perhaps even less expensive. Robert Hackett, a cryptocurrency expert and journalist, breaks down the new upgrade and what it means for bitcoin users.
Jill is joined by Baker Machado to talk all things infrastructure: where will the money go and who’s in charge? Plus, Sesame Street has its first Asian-American muppet. And a trailer for the trailer for Spiderman. Huh?
Virtual reality startup Sandbox VR recently announced it raised $37 million Series B funding round. It is a location-based VR company, a space that was hit hard during the pandemic. Sandbox was eventually forced to file for bankruptcy; however, the company is emerging from the pandemic with a fresh round of funding and plans to open new retail locations around the world. Sandbox VR CEO Steve Zhao joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
