SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 134
* Perseverance's Uphill Struggle in Jezero Crater
NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover faces challenges as it attempts to climb the steep and slippery ridgeline of Jezero Crater. Despite its previous experience with steep inclines, this mission marks the first time the rover has tackled such a challenging combination of slope and surface. Engineers are exploring new strategies, including driving backwards and zigzagging, to improve traction. The goal is to reach the crater's rim for valuable scientific exploration, with plans to study potential microbial life signs preserved in ancient rock layers.
* ESA's Ramses Mission to Apophis
The European Space Agency is preparing for its Ramses mission to study the asteroid Apophis as it makes a close flyby of Earth in 2029. This rare event offers a unique opportunity to understand Apophis's composition and reaction to gravitational forces, crucial for future planetary defence strategies. The mission is modelled on the HERA spacecraft, and aims to launch by 2028 to reach Apophis in time.
* Shenzhou 19 Docks with China's Space Station
China's Shenzhou 19 spacecraft has successfully docked with the Tiangong Space Station. The crew will conduct experiments, including tests on manufacturing lunar bricks, as part of China's goal to land taikonauts on the Moon by 2030. The mission highlights China's expanding space ambitions and technological advancements.
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/23904875?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 this is spacetime series 27 episode 134
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 for broadcast on the 6th of November
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 2024 coming up on SpaceTime perseverance
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 struggles as it tries to climb up the
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 jezzro crater ridgel line Asus Ramsey's
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 mission to study a doomsday asteroid and
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 Beijing shenzu 19 arrives at China space
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 station all that and more coming up on
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 SpaceTime welcome to SpaceTime with
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 Stuart Gary
00:00:30 --> 00:00:37 [Music]
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 n's Mar perseverance Rover has been
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 struggling to negotiate a steeply
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 sloping route up jro crater's Western
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 Wall with the aim of trying to Crest the
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 ring by early next month during the
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 climb the Rovers imaged a sweeping view
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 of jezzro creators in interior and the
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 tracks it's left behind as it struggles
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 to ascend the slippery 20° slope along
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 the way the Rover captured its latest
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 panoramic view near a location called
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 farway Rock about halfway along the
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 climb up the crater wall while
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 perseverance has climbed 20° inclines
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 before and both NASA's curiosity and
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 opportunity Rovers have crested Hills at
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 least 10° steeper this is the first time
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 it's traveled up such a steep crate on
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 such a slippery surface see during much
00:01:28 --> 00:01:29 of the climb the roover has being dry
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 driving over Loosely packed dust and
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 sand with only a thin brittle crust on
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 several days perseverance only covered
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 about 50% of the distance it would have
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 on less slippery surfaces and on one
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 occasion it only covered about 20% of
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 the planned route Camden Miller from
00:01:46 --> 00:01:47 Nas's jet propulsion laboratory in
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 Pasadena California says Mars Rover have
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 driven over steeper terrain and they've
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 driven over more slippery terrain as
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 well but this is the first time one's
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 needed to handle both at the same time
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 and on such a scale he says for every
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 two steps forward perseverance has been
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 taking at least one step back when the
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 Rover's Mission manager saw this was
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 trending towards a long hard SLO they
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 looked at new ways of climbing the Ridge
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 one idea involved driving backwards up
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 the slope that's because testing on
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 Earth showed that under certain
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 conditions the Rover's rocker Bergie
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 suspension system maintained better
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 traction during reverse driving they
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 also looked at the idea of cross slope
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 driving zigzagging backwards and
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 forwards a third option involved driving
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 closer to the northern edge of the
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 Summerland Trail that's the name Mission
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 managers had given to the Rover's path
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 up the Crater Rim now data from these
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 efforts showed that while all three
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 approaches enhanced traction sticking
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 close to the slope's northern Edge
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 proved to be the most beneficial The
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 Rovers planners believe the presence of
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 larger rocks closer to the surface there
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 made the difference the science team
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 wants to get to the top of the craters
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 room as soon as possible because of the
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 scientific opportunities available up
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 there in a few weeks person perseverance
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 is expected to Crest the Crater Rim at a
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 location the science team are calling
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 Lookout Hill from there it'll drive
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 about another 450 M to witch hazel Hill
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 orbital data shows that witch hazel Hill
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 contains likely toned layered bedrock
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 and scientists want to compare this new
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 site to Bright Angel that's the area
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 where perseverance recently discovered
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 and sampled the unusual sh of Falls Rock
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 Ken Fairley is NASA's M perseverance
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 Rover project scientist
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 [Music]
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 perseverance is exploring jzo Crater
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 where an ancient lake and river system
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 once existed if microbes ever lived here
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 signs of them could be preserved in
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 these rocks about 3 and A2 billion years
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 ago a river carved a canyon through the
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 Crater Rim filling the crater with water
00:03:46 --> 00:03:47 and depositing sand and rocks that
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 formed a Delta on Earth the record of
00:03:50 --> 00:03:51 such an ancient river and Lake would
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 have been erased long ago that's why
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 sending a robotic Explorer like
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 perseverance is so valuable Mars is a
00:03:58 --> 00:03:59 special place that preserves a unique
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 record of things that happened in the
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 first billion years of the solar
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 system in this area different Rock
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 layers record different parts of the
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 crater's history flat light colored
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 rocks were deposited on the banks of a
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 river flowing slowly across the
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 landscape boulders were deposited later
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 in what was likely a raging
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 torrent lab equipment on Earth can
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 accurately measure when a volcanic rock
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 was formed so if you can return a sample
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 this lava to Earth in the future we may
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 know when and for how long water flowed
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 into jezero
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 [Music]
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 from here perseverance will continue
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 West we're lucky to have a route the
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 Rover can safely drive up the rim right
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 where we need it exploring rocks far
00:04:39 --> 00:04:40 older than those in jezzro and produced
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 in an entirely different way since
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 finishing its study of the crater floor
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 perseverance has been climbing the Delta
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 and piecing together the history of this
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 once watery environment that's Ken
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 Fairley NASA's Mass perseverance Rover
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 project scientist and this is spacetime
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 still to come Aces Ramsay mission to
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 study doomsday asteroid and the shenzu
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 19 spacecraft arrives at China space
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 station all that and more still to come
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 on space
00:05:10 --> 00:05:23 [Music]
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 time the European space agency has
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 signed a 63 million euro deal to begin
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 Preparatory work for its proposed Ramsay
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 mission to study the asteroid apus on
00:05:33 --> 00:05:38 April the 13th 2029 the 375 meter wide
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 asteroid will pass just 32 km above
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 the Earth's surface that's closer than
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 the orbit of many satellites this rare
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 event will offer a critical chance for
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 scientific research and advancements in
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 planetary defense the asteroids close en
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 counter will likely expose subsurface
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 material presenting a valuable
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 opportunity to study apothesis
00:05:59 --> 00:06:00 composition and
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 structure understanding how Apes reacts
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 to gravitational tidal forces during the
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 flyby could be key to Future efforts to
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 divert hazardous asteroids ramsy will be
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 modeled on the Hera spacecraft which
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 launched last month on a mission to
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 study the effects of the dart asteroid
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 impact mission on the near Earth
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 asteroid diddos and its Tiny Moon
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 dimorphus the dart impactor smashed a
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 huge crater IND dorus spraying out a
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 massive debris Cloud it also changed d
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 officers orbit around Diddy Moss
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 shortening it by more than 32 minutes
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 ramsy will need to launch by early 2028
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 in order to reach apus in time for its
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 near Earth flyby so what do we know
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 about this near Earth asteroid 1999 42
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 apus well it first triggered alarm bells
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 in the astronomical Community back in
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 2004 when initial observations suggested
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 there was a possibility that it could
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 crash into the Earth on April the 13th
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 2029 now such an impact would have had
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 Global consequences well beyond the
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 destruction it would have created at
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 Ground Zero apus would have impacted
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 Earth with kinetic energy equivalent to
00:07:09 --> 00:07:13 1200 megatons of TNT Now by comparison
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 the impacts that created meteor crater
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 in Arizona about 50 years ago and
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 the tangus event in Siberia in 1908 are
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 estimated to have been between 3 and 10
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 megatons the biggest hydrogen bomb ever
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 exploded the Soviet Union's bomber was
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 around 57 me gons while the 1883
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 eruption of kraat TOA at the time the
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 loudest noise ever heard by humans on
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 planet Earth was the equivalent of
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 roughly 200 megatons the exact effects
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 of any impact would have varied based on
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 the asteroid's composition and the
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 location and angle of impact but any
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 impact would have decimated an area of
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 thousands of square kilometers creating
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 an impact crater more than 5 km wide and
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 triggering major tsunamis seismic
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 activity volcanic eruptions and climate
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 change in debris clouds planet Earth
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 would have entered an impact
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 winter luckily as more detailed
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 follow-up observations came in the
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 possibility of a 2029 impact was
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 eliminated but at a 32 km flyby it
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 still would have been a very close
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 approach with the closest part of the
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 flyby being clearly visible in the Skies
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 over Europe Africa and Asia astronomers
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 say this will be the closest asteroid of
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 its size in recorded history visible
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 with the uned eye from all Rural and
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 darker Suburban locations and clearly
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 visible with binoculars from most
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 locations and the story of apus doesn't
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 end there after the initial calculations
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 cleared aesus 2029 close encounter there
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 were still concerns about a possible
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 gravitational Keyhole just 800 M wide
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 which if the asteroid passed through it
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 at the right angle would have resulted
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 in an impacting trajectory exactly 7
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 years later on April the 13th
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 2036 luckily as continued observations
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 came in further refining the space rocks
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 orbit the likelihood of an impact
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 continued to decline turns out there was
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 the risk of another Earth impacting
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 trajectory by apus in
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 2068 so once again further orbital
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 calculations were made and this two was
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 eventually ruled out astronomers are now
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 fairly confident that apus poses no
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 threat to planet Earth for at least the
00:09:23 --> 00:09:27 next 100 years this is spacetime still
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 to come China's shenzu spacecraft safely
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 arrives and docks with the nation's Tong
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 gong space station and later in the
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 science report a new study claims more
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 than 12% of Australian teens now claim
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 to identify as being gay by pan or
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 asexual all that and more still to come
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 on SpaceTime
00:09:48 --> 00:09:54 [Music]
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 China's shenzu 19 spacecraft is safely
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 arrived and docked with the nation's
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 tiangong space station the shinzu 19 was
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 launched aboard a long march 2f rocket
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 from the jukan satellite launch Center
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 in Northwestern China its crew of three
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 tanut will spend the next 6 months on
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 station carrying out a range of
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 experiments including some involving the
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 manufacturing of bricks made from
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 compounds imitating Luna soil that's
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 part of China's ambitious Space Program
00:10:29 --> 00:10:33 to get tyen on the Luna Surface by 2030
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 the material for the Luna brick test
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 will be delivered to the tiangong space
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 station by the chanu 8 cargo ship which
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 will launch later this month the lunar
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 brick test will see how this material
00:10:43 --> 00:10:47 fares in extreme radiation micro gravity
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 and temperature conditions the shenzu 19
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 crew members will replace three tanut
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 currently on station who return to Earth
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 later this week this is spacetime
00:10:57 --> 00:11:13 [Music]
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 and time that to take another brief look
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 at some of the other stories making news
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 in science this week with the science
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 report a new study claims more than 12%
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 of Australian teens now identify as
00:11:23 --> 00:11:27 being either gay bisexual pansexual or
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 asexual the findings reported in the
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 Journal of the American Medical
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 Association based on a study of
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 6 students the study also shows that
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 an additional 3.3% of school kids
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 consider themselves gender diverse
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 researchers base their study on
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 14-year-old teens between 2019 and 2021
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 the authors say their study shows that
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 sexuality and gender diversity are
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 associated with each other and both were
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 associated with younger age and a
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 diagnosis of poor mental health and
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 disability
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 ability the scourge of microplastics
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 isn't just contaminating humans it's
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 affecting all other animals on the
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 planet as well a new study reported in
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 the journal plus one has found that
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 bottlenose dolphins are breathing in
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 microplastic
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 contamination researchers reached their
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 conclusions after collecting air
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 breathed out through the blo holes of 11
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 Dolphins at two sites in the Gulf of
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 Mexico and they found that they all
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 exhaled microplastics totaling some 54
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 pieces although the number of
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 microplastic particles being exhaled
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 were split almost evenly between two
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 sites in Florida and Louisiana there
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 were differences in the Plastics at the
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 sides particles from dolphins in Florida
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 were mostly fibers or those in Louisiana
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 all breathed out microplastic films we
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 already know through human studies that
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 microplastic inhalation can cause lung
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 damage the study's authors say the
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 Dolphins inhalation of microplastics was
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 especially concerning in the Louisiana
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 site where they already have lung
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 disease es linked to the BP deep water
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 Horizon oil spill
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 disaster a new study has shown that
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 animal life is thriving in deep sea
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 nooks and crannies deep below the seaf
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 Flor the discovery reported in the
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 journal Nature Communications was made
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 during an exploration of the Eastern
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 Pacific Rise the Eastern Pacific Rise is
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 a volcanically active Ridge on the floor
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 of the Pacific Ocean it's a mid ocean
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 rise at a Divergent tectonic plate
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 boundary located along the floor between
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 the Pacific ific plate to the west from
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 the north to south North American Plate
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 the Rivera plate the ccus plate the
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 nasar plate and the Antarctic plate it
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 runs south from the Gulf of California
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 in the sultan sea Basin in Southern
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 California to the Pacific Antarctic
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 Ridge near New Zealand it contains a
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 series of events where the seaf Flor
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 opens up and seawater meets magma from
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 beneath the earth's crust the authors
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 were able to send a remotely operated
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 vehicle named sub Artisan down to the
00:13:55 --> 00:13:59 Sea Flor the SUV used its robotic arm to
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 expose sections of the seafloor crust
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 revealing little cavities full of worms
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 and snails the scientists say it's
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 likely lava from creatures living on the
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 seaf floor drop into these cavities
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 allowing life to develop
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 there Google's just released two new
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 Chromebooks packed with new AI features
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 however the cancer of work politics in
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 programming remains a problem with the
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 details we're joined by technology
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 editor Alex saharov Roy from Tech advice
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 start life yeah well the these are
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 called Chrome plus so you've got two
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 distinct types of Chromebook one is the
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 standard Chromebook which is available
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 at cheaper prices and then you have the
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 Chromebook plus so these have higher
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 specs you either have an Intel core I3
00:14:40 --> 00:14:44 or an AMD ryzen 7000 series CPU inside 8
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 gig or more of memory 128 gig or more of
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 storage and 1080p full HD or better
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 displays obviously if you get a higher
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 specs it will cost more but in Australia
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 we're looking at about $800 or so do for
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 one of the new assus models and this is
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 a Chromebook Plus so inside there you
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 have uh the ability to get the AI to
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 read you a web page and you can then ask
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 various questions about that particular
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 page and you got live translate so if
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 you're watching a video on YouTube that
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 is in a different language it can
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 instantly translate it with AI to
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 whatever other language you want for
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 regular Chromebooks uh which includes
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 Chromebook plus you have the recorder
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 app which not only records and and
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 transcribes what it's hearing it can
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 give you summaries as well what you
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 expect from AI these days crumble Plus
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 also have the appearance effects and
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 Studio style mics for better calls in
00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 Zoom or teams and right on the taskbar
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 at the bottom of the screen is the
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 Gemini AI button which brings up a chat
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 GPT style text based interface that
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 allows you to ask any questions and and
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 speak with the computer so there's
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 there's plenty more but the Chromebook
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 and Chromebook plus are an alternative
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 to Windows devices which are often
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 blighted by viruses and then Mac devices
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 which are personally I think are
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 brilliant but they usually tend to cost
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 more uh but you do get a total cost of
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 ownership where you don't have to buy
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 generally speaking any internet security
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 software I mean viruses are pretty rare
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 on Mac they do exist but you have to you
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 have to willfully type in your password
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 to you know when being competent to
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 install something and often that is from
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 Pirate sites so you get three months of
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 Gemini advance for free with a regular
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 Chromebook and with a Chromebook plus
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 you get a full year of it which is again
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 their most advanced AI so I have seen
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 out and about plenty of Macs plenty of
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 PCS but I'm seeing more and more
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 Chromebook as well it's become a viable
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 third alternative which is great for
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 competition speaking of which we also
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 have news from Apple yes they have
00:16:36 --> 00:16:40 launched their M4 chip as well as the M4
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 Pro and the M4 Max which are for more
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 professional users needing even more
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 performance we're talking about 1.8
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 times faster speeds than the original M1
00:16:48 --> 00:16:51 Mac from 2020 and look there's lots of
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 other improvements inside with the newal
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 engines but what we have is a new Apple
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 Mac Mini which is only a little bit
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 taller than the Apple TV so they managed
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 to shrink that down in size now there
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 has been controversy where Apple has put
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 the power button for the Mac Mini on the
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 bottom of the unit but it's not right on
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 the bottom in the middle there is a
00:17:10 --> 00:17:14 cooling grill with fan inside and you
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 can actually put your finger underneath
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 to power off the Mac but most people
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 leave their Macs on and if you got to
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 shut it down you click on the Apple menu
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 in the top left hand corner and then
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 click on shut down I mean the holding
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 the power button is often something you
00:17:26 --> 00:17:30 do to uh Force to
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 yeah in case loading something that you
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 shouldn't be yeah after a few seconds I
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 mean normally it's not off straight away
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 I if you push it it'll just go to sleep
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 but uh yeah that little new Mac Mini is
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 going to turn heads and then of course
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 we have the new the regular iMac which
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 just comes with this Bas level M4 and
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 then we have the new Macbook Pros which
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 have the ability to go to these faster
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 chips and we also have Thunderbolt 5
00:17:51 --> 00:17:54 that's going to deliver 80 gbits per
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 second and with bandwidth boost it'll
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 provide up to 120 gbits now normally
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 you're talking 20 gbits or even 40 I
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 think with the Thunderbolt 4 so this is
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 a doubling and it just makes the
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 transfer of data with ably equipped
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 Thunderbolt 5 enclosure for your drive
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 super fast the M4 Max also give you the
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 fastest version of Apple intelligence
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 now Apple intelligence has only just
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 launched last week on iOS
00:18:19 --> 00:18:23 18.1 iPad OS 18.1 and Mac OS 15.1
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 there'll be many more updates throughout
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 the rest of 2025 one coming in December
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 2025 but this peacemeal approach has
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 annoyed some people they saying that
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 Apple intelligence isn't as impressive
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 as chat gut but Apple normally isn't
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 first to these things they're last they
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 like to see what everyone else does look
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 at all the mistakes they've made and
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 then launch something so the initial
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 launch of Apple intelligence is a bit
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 underwhelming but these new computers
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 will give you the fastest performance my
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 question however isn't so much which is
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 the fastest but uh which is providing
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 the most accurate information yeah well
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 that is obviously a question all of the
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 AI providers are talking about how
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 they're working as hard as they can to
00:18:58 --> 00:19:01 minimize hallucinations it's not just
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 hallucinations it's garbage being
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 programmed into the systems yeah well
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 that's right if if the uh if you try and
00:19:06 --> 00:19:09 do a a search on chat TPT and ask it
00:19:09 --> 00:19:12 about uh Trump's assassination I saw
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 various AI systems trying to deny it
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 happened at all so yeah woke AI garbage
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 in garbage out I mean the other side of
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 that coin is privacy and apple is
00:19:21 --> 00:19:24 promising the most private AI experience
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 so there's a big battle that has been
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 raging over the years about how much
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 information these companies can slurp up
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 from you and that battle is not going to
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 stop anytime soon and it's only going to
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 intensify as people try to ensure that
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 their AI systems are not infiltrated by
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 the workm rers that's Alex Zahara Roy
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 from Tech advice start life
00:19:45 --> 00:19:59 [Music]
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