Popzara Podcast

CES 2025 Wrap-Up: Rebranding, AI Dominance, Robot Companions, Solar Future, Salty Spoons, Stretchy Screens, Gaming Handhelds, and More

The Consumer Electronics Show for 2025 is behind us, yet the memories of tomorrow’s tech remain. On deck for this CES recap are Popzara’s Senior Tech Editor Herman Exum and techie noob Nate Evans to take listeners through this year’s bits and bytes of what the future possibly holds for us. Sadly, while our favorite tech guest, Computer America’s Ben Crossman may have been absent physically, but he was ever-present in spirit.

While this year’s extravaganza may have been more iterative than innovative, there was still plenty to see and chat about now that the (digital) dust has settled. AI may have dominated the showroom floor (and headlines), but that’s not all! Crazy laptops, VR/AR headsets, faster monitors, stretchable screens, robot companions, cuddle bots, e-car updates, gaming handhelds, next-gen GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, cat accessories, salty spoons, and enough solar powered-goodness for everyone.

Article: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered

Remakes and remasters are interesting and quirky things. Many hope to capitalize on the desire for nostalgia.

Article: Wicked (2024)

Whenever analyzing a musical film, I stop to think if the movie would be good — though not necessarily as good — without the music at all. Musical numbers should certainly enhance the filmgoing experience but they should never be the only reason why we enjoy it.

Article: Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop

Got a spaceship in need of a quick fix? Just drop by Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop! It's the premier* repair station that'll help your ship get back to being literally ship-shape. You'll play the role of Wilbur, a new employee of Uncle Chop's doing his best to fix up ships and make R.

Article: SPARKLE Intel Arc B580 TITAN OC Graphic Card

The market for desktop GPUs has changed considerably over the last few years, though not always in the best interests for consumers. In a market dominated by two companies, AMD and Nvidia, Intel has been called a much-needed alternative to the entrenched duopoly with the introduction of their Arc graphics cards.

Article: Nosferatu (2024)

Remaking a beloved classic is always risky, but remaking a cornerstone of horror like Nosferatu is especially challenging. Horror remakes often fail to honor the source material while offering little new.

Article: Oba Electroplating Factory (2024)

Oba Electroplating Factory is the fourth collection of Yoshiharu Tsuge’s manga to be handsomely collected (and painstakingly researched and translated by Ryan Holmberg) by Drawn & Quarterly, but it’s more than just another anthology of comics from one of the most consequential pioneers of Japan’s post-war underground comics scene. Few artists from Tsuge’s era are responsible for bodies of work that have remained as compelling, or as vital, as his.

Article: Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

I’m probably one of the biggest fans of the original 1994 The Lion King, as I knew it was going to be one of the best films Disney ever made after seeing the trailer. Like most fans, I wasn’t too thrilled or impressed with the 2019 live-action version, nor was I looking forward to the unnecessary prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King.

Article: Siren Blink Foam Dart Blaster

I’ll admit that I’ll always be a kid at heart, and so it goes without saying that anytime I get a chance to review toys and the like, I’m always down to do so. One of the latest and coolest items to come my way is NSI’s Siren Blink Foam Dart Blaster, which outpowers and out shoots any rapid fire dart blaster you’ve played with by a string of long shots.

Article: Siren Maulr Foam Dart Blaster

I’ll admit that I’ll always be a kid at heart, and so it goes without saying that anytime I get a chance to review toys and the like, I’m always down to do so. One of the latest and coolest items to come my way is NSI’s Siren Maulr Foam Dart Blaster, which outpowers and out shoots any dart blaster gun you’ve played with by a long shot (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Article: Invisible Helix (2024)

Once again, the release of a newly translated book from Keigo Higashino, perhaps the most popular living writer in Japan, is released within the same window as the most celebrated Japanese writer outside of Japan, Haruki Murakami. I’m not implying a rivalry between the two, but Invisible Helix, the latest in Higashino’s Detective Galileo series, arrives just weeks after Murakami’s The City and Its Uncertain Walls.

Article: A Different Man (2024)

What happens when the way we see ourselves doesn’t align with how others see us? Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man explores this, questioning whether dramatically changing your appearance could ever truly change your perception of yourself. In a world obsessed with outward appearances, the film probes whether becoming the version of yourself you imagine would bring happiness or if it’s simply an illusion.

Article: Saturn Return (2024)

Indie soft rock is a genre I'm not afraid to admit I’ve had little experience or knowledge in, especially regarding Grenada’s indie rock scene during the 90s. However, that makes it all the more intriguing that a story about the trials and tribulations of an indie rock band on the cusp of stardom so accurately ensconced me away into this cigarette and hard drug-fueled scene.

Article: The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 3 (2024)

We now come to The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 3, practically the halfway point of seven planned sets from Andrews McMeel aiming to reprint the entire run of Bill Watterson’s iconic comic strip, albeit in miniature form. Once again, I’d recommend going back in time and reading (or re-reading?) my review of the first set, if only because the history of Watterson’s battles with his syndicate helps put both his beloved strip - and these new editions - in some context.

Article: Taito Milestones 3

It’s taken a little longer than expected, but fans of Japanese developer Taito’s legacy of classic games have reason to celebrate with Taito Milestones 3, a third helping of emulated arcade blasts from the past. I hope you like big, sweaty muscles and gameplay dripping with machismo and doused in testosterone, because that’s exactly what you’ll be getting with this collection.