Ethereum finally merges, semiconductors stay scarce

When we recorded this podcast episode, we heard rumblings that the Ethereum merge was coming. Now it’s here, and we’re in watch-and-wait mode to see its impact. Meanwhile, it seems to be the best and worst of times in the world of chip manufacturing. NVIDIA and AMD are releasing a new line of GPUs while automobile manufacturers have no choice but to cut back on features. Now that mining crypto is dead, maybe we can finally upgrade our video card. Today’s podcast brings up a lot of questions about humanity and its devices. Ben and Matt reflect on the challenges of hybrid work for hardware developers, Apple Watch’s health features, and Ethereum’s promise for energy efficiency.