The battle in self-driving technology is revving up, and some believe it's now a competition between Silicon Valley and the Motor City of Detroit. Tim Higgins, Tech & Auto Reporter at the Wall Street Journal, and Joel Feder, Interactive Content Manager at Motor Authority, join Cheddar to give their predictions on the future of the auto industry.
Higgins actually moved from Detroit to Silicon Valley because it started becoming home to more and more automakers. German, Japanese, and American companies all have offices in the Golden State fighting for talent. He discusses how partnerships with Volkswagen and Hyundai could catapult tech start-up Aurora into the self-driving winner's lane.
Feder points out that weather has a huge impact on the testing of this self-driving technology. He believes that, since Detroit sees more snow and harsher conditions, it would be a great place for cars to test on the road.
Pernilla Sjöholm, star of the Tinder Swindler on Netflix and founder of IDfier, explains how she went from fraud to co-founder of her own company. Watch!
DJ X, alongside Molly Holder, Senior Director of Product Personalization, takes us inside Spotify's A.I. DJ and how it's the best new way to listen to music.
Skype users are scrambling to find an alternative after Microsoft shut down the pioneering internet phone service which let people make cheap long distance calls and chat with other users. Google Voice lets users make calls from a smartphone or a desktop web browser but it's only available to people in the U.S. Viber users can call phone numbers but can't get a number to receive calls. Zoom offers phone options too. You could get a number from a low cost virtual carrier or try other internet phone services. Microsoft says some Skype features will migrate to Teams, but its Teams Phone feature is only for businesses.
Amid a backdrop of ongoing tariff uncertainty, more and more gamers are facing price hikes. Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week. Its Xbox Series S, for example, now starts at $379.99 in the U.S. — up $80 from the $299.99 price tag that debuted in 2020. And its more powerful Xbox Series X will be $599.99 going forward, a $100 jump from its previous $499.99 listing. The tech giant didn’t mention tariffs specifically, but cited wider “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” Beyond the U.S., Microsoft also laid out Xbox price adjustments for Europe, the U.K. and Australia. The company said all other countries would also receive updates locally.
