What’s New in Technology Headlines
Now that the traditional Thanksgiving season and the turkey dinner is behind us, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. We were all good, and put our devices away in order to experience a holiday gathering, communicating face to face with our friends and family. Now its time to look forward to technology in the news. Here’s a compilation of what made news while we were all preoccupied with airport congestion, winter blizzards and turkey leftovers.
Tesla Truck Leads Technology
This week Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk introduced it’s first all electric pick up truck, also known as the Cybertruck . This is a serious truck that seats six adults, and has a body built or as Tesla calls it an exoskeleton with 30X cold-rolled stainless steel. This steel chassis promises to be dent and scratch resistant, and we are told will be able to resist the pounding of a sledge hammer. Tesla claims the windshield which they call “armor glass “, will protect the driver and passengers. It looks nothing like a typical Texas pickup truck and looks more like a futuristic moon rover. Yet it retains the required truck specifications; all wheel drive and 14,000 pounds of towing and hauling abilities.
The truck remains a real Tesla electric vehicle going up to 500 miles on a single charge. What’s interesting is that Tesla has turned the advertising industry on its head. Without spending any money on advertising to promote the Cybertruck, it has already accumulated $10.5 billion in preorders by accepting a refundable $100 deposit from thousands of prospective buyers. That translates to an interest free “loan” to Tesla of about $20 million dollars. Tesla has no dealerships, no advertisements and they sell every car they produce and even have a waiting list of customers.
In addition to spending zero dollars to market the vehicle, it enviously has only one serious competitor; the upstart Amazon backed “Rivian” electric pickup. The iconic 100 year old Ford Motor Company still has a trick or two up it’s sleeve. Ford has introduced a Mustang inspired all electric SUV, the Mustang Mach-E. Like Tesla it also is accepting refundable $500 deposits for customers of this electric Ford vehicle. Pickups, crossovers and SUVs are the hottest selling vehicle style today, and Ford is leading the way in this segment with their decision to stop manufacturing cars (except the Mustang).
Actors Technology Craft
In other stories, James Dean the one time popular actor and cultural icon is in the news this week. He only appeared in three Hollywood productions, “Rebel Without A Cause”, “East of Eden”, and “Giant”. He has just been cast as a co-star in the new motion picture, “Finding Jack”. What is newsworthy about his return to the silver screen is that he died at age 24 in 1955 in a car crash while driving his Porsche Spyder 550 on a California highway. He was a rebel in his day almost 65 years ago and prophetically was quoted as saying, “If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live after he’s died, then maybe he was a great man.” Immortality is the only true success.
Digital Dean will be brought back to life utilizing computer-generated imagery (CGI) using his old scenes and imagery to play his character alongside live actors in a Vietnam Era movie. A living actor will need to dub in his voice. Magic City Films has acquired the rights from Dean’s family and has also accessed the intellectual property rights of numerous other celebrities. We may be seeing other old movie stars in upcoming productions. Paul Walker died while filming “Furious 7”, and in order to finish the film visual effects techies digitally superimposed his face on his brothers’ body. Oliver Reed passed away while filming “Gladiator”, and the same technique was utilized to finish that movie.
Young Again Technology
The new Martin Scorsese film “The Irishman” which has already been released on Netflix also tricks the audience with CGI processes. Robert De Niro ages and de-ages digitally from a 20 year old to an old man and everything in between. Watch it tonight in the comfort of your home.
About the Author: Jake Tewel holds a Masters Degree from YU, a wine seller, caterer and a million miler for the past 15 years. Jake is a best friend, great neighbor, your go to travel person, father, grandfather and loving husband. He is now focusing his efforts on heart healthy nutrition, exercise and travel.