Episode 107 - This year at CES 2025

Jeremy Clarkson once said, rather infamously on Top Gear, “New is better…”… Now he was talking about new cars being, at the end of the day, objectively better than the “classics” we love and revere with a healthy (and often rose-colored) dose of nostalgia… they may be beautiful works of art and make a great noise, but so often those same classics are uncomfortable, unreliable, and… well… just not as “good” as we remember them!

Each year at CES, it seems I end up going through the same series of emotions with the pieces of tech (and, these days, the parade of car reveals that show up) at this gadget-palooza in the desert… 

I have several gadgets in my life that I continue to use quite literally every single day, and without fail each of them either have a new version or a new competitor on the scene as of about 72 hours ago… because that’s how tech works! My devices work great, they more than get the job done, and they’re all in better-than-average condition… but the newer ones are better, right? 

Based on specs, this is a pretty simple conversation… The newest laptops, TVs, handhelds, and assorted gizmos are faster, lighter, and more capable across the board… seemingly meaningless AI trickery on the box notwithstanding… so they’re “better”… right?

The funny part is, I also once had an old Porsche 944… it was nothing particularly special… my “daily driver” at the time was more comfortable, wildly more reliable… and I STILL grabbed the 944 keys and drove it every chance I got… 

New might well be better, but is it good? TBD…