What the House Speaker’s Deal With Ultraconservatives Means for Climate
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This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.
House Republicans, as early as this week, could have a powerful new panel at their disposal to grill Big Tech companies over long-alleged, but largely unproven accusations of conservative censorship and government collusion. Though Democrats and tech industry experts refute the committee’s premise, the panel could…
There are few things that piss me off more than having a spotty Wi-Fi connection at home, and it seems MSI agrees because the company brought a rather clever router to CES 2023 featuring antennas that dynamically follow specific devices as you walk around your house.
Dubbed the RadiX BE22000 Turbo, MSI’s top-spec Wi-Fi router is packed with pretty much every feature you can think of (and probably some you haven’t) to ensure you get the fastest wireless speeds possible. That’s because while the standard is still being finalized, not only is the RadiX designed to support Wi-Fi 7 it also includes MSI’s AI QoS tech which can reduce your ping while gaming or prioritize different types of content like streaming video at the touch of a button. And with channel bandwidths of 320MHz, MSI claims the BE22000 delivers 4x faster throughput when compared to a typical Wi-Fi 6 router.
But clearly, the RadiX’s standout party trick is its antennas, which unlike pretty much every other router out there (aside from TP-Link’s Archer AXE200 Omni), have the ability to automatically adjust their position to follow a specific device as it moves around your home to deliver optimal wireless coverage at all times. And I can tell you, after seeing the router in person, it’s kind of mesmerizing.
Unfortunately, before anyone gets too excited, it’s important to note that even MSI doesn’t expect the BE22000 Turbo to go on sale until sometime in 2024. That’s because there are a couple important hurdles like waiting for the Wi-Fi spec to be finalized, along with other challenges like ensuring the motors for the router’s antennas can handle months and years of constant operation. Even during the short time the RadiX was on display at CES, I noticed the speed at which its antennas moved became a bit sluggish due to increased heat.
On top of that, I still have other questions like how does the router know which device (or devices) to prioritize in a home filled with multiple gadgets. And what’s the repair process like if one of its antenna motors dies? After all, under ideal conditions, routers should be something you can set and forget. And at this point, I’m sure some of you are wondering what kind of person this robo router is really for?
Is the BE22000 Turbo over-designed? Sure. And while MSI hasn’t announced pricing for it either, you can bet this thing won’t be cheap. But you can’t say MSI isn’t trying, and when compared to rival products, a router with automatically adjustable antennas is exactly the type of thing I like to see at CES.
Congress is a mess. But at least the memes are good.
If you’re not up on your political news, Republicans have thrown business in the House of Representatives to a halt with their inability to elect a Speaker. The GOP holds a slim majority in the House, which usually means the vote for a Speaker is a predetermined formality. But amid infighting, there have been six votes, and we’re no closer to a consensus. A handful of rightwing holdouts don’t want nominee Kevin McCarthy, which has thrown a wrench in Republicans’ plans. He’s nowhere near the required 218 votes to win a majority.
Heading into Thursday there wasn’t any clear indication a resolution was any closer. Democrats, obviously, don’t have the votes to elect their nominee, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. McCarthy doesn’t appear to have the votes and isn’t budging. Congress is one big shrug emoji right now.
But the jokes about it are pretty great. There’s a fair bit of schadenfreude from Democrats, especially considering McCarthy has courted the very folks now blocking his leadership. And the memes didn’t disappoint.
There were jokes about it being like the NFL playoffs.
Honestly, a simple screenshot of the gridlock is funny.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi probably does feel pretty good right now, if we’re being honest.
It is true, while sad, the our government basically does function off drama.
Chief Twit Elon Musk even threw his two cents in, which, shocker, resulted in jokes.
Seriously, the memes went on and on.
There has been absolutely no news of any kind of breakthrough on Thursday. So…look forward to even more memes of this mess.