Hardware Podcasts

All Heat, No Useful Work

The Amp Hour · 25 May 2026 · 1h 05m · Episode 724

What this episode covers

Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the massive energy demands and infrastructure challenges of AI data centers, noting that 100% of input power becomes heat and requiring extensive cooling and diesel backup. They cover supply chain constraints, including a three-year backlog for transformers and a 40% surge in bareboard PCB prices driven by AI server demand. The conversation shifts to practical electronics work, where Chris details building a power-injecting Tag-Connect debug board and using Claude to implement SMP firmware updates over web serial, while Dave shares his frustration with a solar monitoring service's price hike and his son's struggles with Linux at school.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Cloudflare, IBM, Tesla, Optus, Telstra, JLC, PCB Way, Inspectus, No Starch Press, Canonical
Products
Unitree, Mantis, Tigano, Manfrotto
Also
NBN, AliExpress, Claude, Zephyr, Ubuntu, Debian, Veritasium

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