The Weekly Tech Rant with Jay and Karl
By Jay
The Weekly Tech Rant with Jay and KarlJan 05, 2024
Episode 168: It's Time for AI Chip Alliances, Emotional AI Chatbots, GTA VI's Arrival, and Apple's Thinner Vision
This week we covered:
- News
- MediaTek and Nvidia are gearing up to tackle the AI PC market hand-in-hand, with an all-new chip
- UK watchdog looking into Microsoft AI taking screenshots
- Major ChatGPT-4o update allows audio-video talks with an “emotional” AI chatbot
- Blink and you missed it: Google has a new pair of prototype AR glasses
- Twitter is officially X.com now
- BreachForums, an online bazaar for stolen data, seized by FBI
- Gaming
- Grand Theft Auto VI is launching in fall 2025
- Microsoft to add next Call of Duty to Xbox Game Pass, WSJ reports
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 167: It's Time for Nintendo's Emulator Crackdown, Apple's Let Loose Event Unveilings, and Foldable Future Teasers
Episode 166: It's Time for Investigatory Powers Law, Tarkov Tumult, Razer's Mask Misstep, Fallout's Return, and iPad Pro's AI Leap
This week we covered:
- News
- UK's Investigatory Powers Bill to become law despite tech world opposition
- Escape From Tarkov studio boss says he "did not foresee" players would get mad about charging extra for PvE
- Apple’s iPadOS will have to comply with EU’s Digital Markets Act too
- Razer made a million dollars selling a mask with RGB, and the FTC is not pleased
- Film/TV
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 165: It's Time for AI in the Skies, Robotic Revelations, Embracer's Odd Split, Meta's Horizon OS, and Snapdragon's Laptop Challenge
This week we covered:
- News
- US Air Force confirms first successful AI dogfight
- Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas robot is a swiveling, shape-shifting nightmare
- After Embracer Group's acquisitions and subsequent troubles, the company is splitting into three oddly-named entities
- Meta Rebranding Quest Software Horizon OS, Will Run On New Headsets From ASUS, Lenovo, More
- The full Snapdragon X CPU line-up has now been unveiled, and according to Qualcomm's numbers it should put the fear of ARM into AMD and Intel's laptop divisions
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 164: It's Time for Bankman-Fried's Sentence, Microsoft's Strategic Hires, Twitter's Paid Posting Plans, and Google's Big Merger
This week we covered:
- News
- FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
- Microsoft hiring Inflection team triggers interest from EU's antitrust chief
- D-Link issues rip and replace order for besieged NAS drives
- Elon Musk returns to his ultimate galaxy brain plan for Twitter: charging people to post
- Google merges the Android, Chrome, and hardware divisions
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 163: It's Time for Next-Gen Water Warfare, Apple's AI Ambitions and Legal Battles, SpaceX's Secret Satellite Mission, and iPhone 17's Display Innovations
This week we covered:
- News
- Super Soaker spiritual successor Spyra just shrank its USB-C water blaster
- SpaceX is reportedly building a network of spy satellites for US intelligence
- Apple acquires fundamental AI smarts by buying DarwinAI
- Apple might use Google Gemini to power some AI features on the iPhone
- US sues Apple for illegal monopoly over smartphones
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 162: It's Time for the TikTok Ultimatum, Digital Security Breaches, Epic's Apple Reconciliation, and Starship's Next Leap
This week we covered:
- News
- House passes bill that bans TikTok unless ByteDance sells
- Roku hackers breach 15,000 accounts and are selling them online
- Epic Games just got unbanned by Apple — again
- Microsoft confirms Russian spies stole source code, accessed internal systems
- Microsoft’s AI Copilot for Security launches next month with pay-as-you-go pricing
- SpaceX is cleared to attempt its third Starship test flight
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 161: It's Time for the M3-Powered MacBook Air, Seasonal iPhone colours, Epic Scam Alert, VMware's New Chapter, and Apple's EU Challenge
This week we covered:
- News
- The MacBook Air gets an M3 upgrade.
- Here are the new iPhone case and Apple Watch band colors for spring
- That 189GB Epic Games "hack" may have been a scam aimed at other hackers
- VMware EUC by Broadcom to be Acquired by KKR
- Apple hit with first-ever EU fine following Spotify complaint
- Bambu Lab Mini A1
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 160: It's Time for Samsung's Galaxy Ring Vision, MWC 2024 Highlights, Nvidia's AI Triumph, and the Apple Controversy Unfolds
This week we covered:
- News
- Samsung has big ambitions for the Galaxy Ring
- MWC 2024: all the phones, wearables, and gadgets announced in Barcelona
- Nvidia’s role in the AI wave has made it a $2 trillion company
- As $500m EU fine looms, Apple accuses Spotify of wanting ‘limitless access’ to its tools for free
- Killing the Apple car is depressing and sad
- Meta and Microsoft ask EU to reject Apple’s new app store terms
- Sony are officially working on PC game support for the PS VR2 headset
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 159: It's Time for iMessage's Legal Clearance, Nvidia's Local AI Leap, and VMware's Shift, Plus Xbox's Bold Updates and Quest 3's Zuckerberg Endorsement
This week we covered:
- News
- iMessage antitrust threat removed, as EU says it’s not a dominant service
- Nvidia’s Chat with RTX is a promising AI chatbot that runs locally on your PC
- Broadcom-owned VMware kills the free version of ESXi virtualization software
- After trying the Vision Pro, Mark Zuckerberg says Quest 3 ‘is the better product, period’
- Xbox Updates
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 158: It's Time for Microsoft's Major Layoffs and Meta's AR Ambitions, Plus Apple's European App Revolution
This week we covered:
- News
- Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees
- Meta ‘optimistic’ about Vision Pro as it hopes to be the ‘Android’ of the AR/VR world
- Apple… Hell has frozen over
- Apple announces reduced commission structure for apps in Europe
- Apple announces support for third-party iPhone app stores in the EU, coming with iOS 17.4
- Apple says third-party app marketplace creators must have €1,000,000 ‘letter of credit’
- Apple will prompt users to set default browsers and allow third-party web engines on iPhone in the EU
- Apple lets apps feature streaming games, chatbots and other built-in experiences
- iPad users will miss out on third-party app stores, browser engines, and more
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 157: It's Time for Apple's Vision Pro Unveiling and Prescription Lens Revelation, iPhone's High-Altitude Survival, Intel's GPU Innovations, and iPhone 16 Rumours
This week we covered:
- News
- The Apple Vision Pro will launch in February
- Prescription lenses for Vision Pro to cost $149 – far less than predicted
- iPhone from onboard Alaska Airlines incident found; survives 16,000-foot drop
- Intel's next gen Battlemage GPUs are up and running in its labs, and work on its next-next generation Celestial architecture is well underway
- Xreal Air 2 Ultra ‘Vision Pro competitor’ has been announced – at $699
- Apple CEO meets with EU competition chief to talk sideloading iPhone apps
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 156: It's Time for CES 2024 Tech Extravaganza and SEC's Social Media Shockwave
This week we covered:
- CES
- The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is the funkiest gadget mashup at CES 2024
- The Wi-Fi 7 era officially begins with the introduction of certified devices
- Intel reveals its full 14th-gen CPU family at CES, including a powerful 24-core laptop chip
- AMD Unveils Ryzen 8000G Series Processors: Zen 4 APUs For Desktop with Ryzen AI
- AMD releases even more Ryzen 5000 CPUs, keeps its last-gen AM4 platform alive
- TCL came to CES 2024 with a 115-inch MiniLED Quantum Dot TV
- The $2,000 ASUS ZenScreen Fold solves the biggest issue with portable monitors
- Asus unveils its ROG NUC, packing up to a Core 9 Ultra and RTX 4070 graphics into a compact 2.5-liter chassis
- The first Steam Deck competitor with SteamOS is almost here
- News
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Episode 155: It's Time for AI Revolution, Legal Battles, and CES 2024 Sneak Peeks
This week we covered:
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 154: It's time for the end of the year show 2023
This week we covered:
Our picks of the best gadgets, games, films and TV of 2023!
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 153: It's time for Epic win, Ad-free Cloud Gaming, No more WindowsVR, Apple Vision Pro in Feb, UniFi cloud issues, M3 iPads, Apple Watch X
This week we covered:
- News
- Epic decision sees jury find Google's Play store is illegal monopoly
- Microsoft exec hints at free ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming
- Microsoft is killing its Windows VR platform — announces deprecation of 'Windows Mixed Reality'
- Apple Has Reportedly Been Aiming To Launch Vision Pro In January
- UniFi devices broadcasted private video to other users’ accounts
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments.
Episode 152: It's time for Nvidia to rake in the cash, MSFT joins OpenAI board, iMessage EU Ruling, Amazon rides on SpaceX, Bye bye WS1 and CB, Yorkshire TeaXMSFT, Plus GTAVI reveal
This week we covered:
- News
- Nvidia sells half a million AI chips and bags $14.5 billion in just three months
- Microsoft joins OpenAI’s board with Sam Altman officially back as CEO
- EU’s iMessage antitrust investigation looks set to rule in Apple’s favor
- A bitter pill: Amazon calls on rival SpaceX to launch Internet satellites
- Broadcom to divest VMware's end-user computing and Carbon Black units
- Games
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Episode 151: It's time for Meta ad-free subs, Ikea new home sensors, CMA says no to Adobe, AWS unveils super AI CPUs, Google Drive loses files, and MSFT app store? Plus new GTA trailer
This week we covered:
- News
- Meta's controversial ad-free subscription is facing scrutiny from EU privacy campaigners
- IKEA's new smart home sensors focus on safety and avoiding water damage
- UK watchdog slams the brakes on Adobe’s $20 billion bid for Figma
- AWS unveils core-packed Graviton4 and beefier Trainium accelerators for AI
- Google Drive users say Google lost their files; Google is investigating
- Microsoft could offer one of the first third-party app stores on iPhones
- Games
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 150: It's time for OpenAI is Sam in or out saga, SpaceX Starship launch 2, Embracer layoffs, Bye Bye VMware, Godzilla, and The Creator plus iPhone SE4
This week we covered:
- Sam Altman fired as CEO of OpenAI
- OpenAI reportedly considering reinstating just-ousted CEO Sam Altman
- Microsoft hires former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
- Breaking: Sam Altman to return as CEO of OpenAI
- SpaceX’s second Starship flight test ends in an explosion minutes after launch
- Gearbox and Crystal Dynamics owner Embracer report 900 layoffs during "one of our strongest quarters for new releases ever
- Broadcom closes its $61 billion megadeal with VMware
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 149: It's time for Apple says no to 27" iMac but YES to RCS, CMA slaps Meta/Amazon, Musk unveils GROK, GTA 6 trailer incoming, OLED iPads on the way
This week we covered:
- News
- Apple says it is not making a new 27-inch iMac
- Apple says iPhones will support RCS in 2024
- Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals
- xAI’s ‘Grok’ chatbot will be available to X Premium+ subscribers only
- Qualcomm and Iridium's satellite link-up loses signal
- The first GTA 6 trailer will launch in early December 2023, Rockstar confirm
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 148: It's time for SBF convicted, Apple launches M3, New X subscriptions, Smart Meter worries, Snapdragon X Elite, Apple BNPL, Forza Motorsport
This week we covered:
- News
- Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of fraud
- All the news from Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ Mac event
- X launches two new subscriptions to boost your replies
- Millions of smart meters will brick it when 2G and 3G turns off
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite looks like the Windows world’s answer to Apple Silicon
- Apple decides to launch Apple Pay Later now, no longer ‘early access’
- Games
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 147: It's time for Meta and Google Hardware updates
This week we covered:
- Meta
- Meta’s $499.99 Quest 3 headset is all about mixed reality and video games
- Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to Meta Quest 3 in December
- The Google Pixel 8 is official with 7 years of updates
- The Pixel Watch 2 is official with a Snapdragon W5 chip
- Google's Tensor G3 chip is focused on speeding up AI for the Pixel 8 phones
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 146: It's time for MSFT + Blizzard deal go/no-go, Mr PS Jim Ryan hangs up his controller, Cisco splunks $28bn, NASA brings back space dust, Epic layoffs and new MS Console
This week we covered:
- News
- Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal gets preliminary approval from UK regulator
- Game on: FTC tries again to block Microsoft Activision merger
- Another console dad hangs up his spurs as PlayStation boss Jim Ryan announces he's retiring from Sony next year
- Cisco to acquire Splunk in $28B mega deal
- Online Safety Bill passes in the UK w/o iMessage impact, but government not giving up
- NASA collected a sample from an asteroid for the first time — here’s why it matters
- Epic Games is laying off more than 800 people: 'We've been spending way more money than we earn'
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 145: It's time for UK voter hack, FSR3, Intel Super CPU and ULTRARAM, Thunderbolt5, Razzlekhan and Apple Watch X rumours, XBOX redesign
This week we covered:
- News
- Hackers had access to UK voter data for over a year before anyone noticed
- AMD’s FPS-doubling FSR 3 is coming soon, and not just to Radeon graphics cards
- Intel shows off 8-core, 528-thread processor with 1TB/s of co-packaged optics
- Intel confirms Thunderbolt 5 name, 120Gbps tech arrives in 2024
- Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder
- ULTRARAM may be a silly name but it's the holy grail for memory tech and means your PC could hibernate for over 1,000 years
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 144: It's time for the annual Apple iPhone event roundup
Episode 143: It's time for what we are looking forward to Games/Films/TV/Tech update
What we’re looking forward to
- TV/Movies
- Foundation S2
- Lower Decks S4
- The Continental
- Gen V
- Dune 2 - March 2024
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - May 2024
- Beetlejuice 2!! - September 2024
- Games
- Tech
- Apple Watch Ultra 2
- Meta Quest 3
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 142: It's time for WorldCoin, Elon legal fund, Telsa jailbreak, Amazon loves ARM, DPRK hacks Russia and M3 Max all the cores
This week we covered:
- News
- Hundreds sign up to ponder OpenAI founder's eye-scanning crypto orb despite data concerns
- Elon Musk’s ‘fund your legal bill’ tweet is a brand new level of bullshit
- 'Unpatchable' vulnerability in Tesla's AMD chips allows free access to the cars' paywalled features
- Amazon has more than half of all Arm server CPUs in the world
- $5 billion Google lawsuit over ‘incognito mode’ tracking moves a step closer to trial
- North Korean hackers had access to Russian missile maker for months, say researchers
- iPhone 15 Pro’s 3 nm A17 chip will blow away competition thanks to TSMC sweetheart deal
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 141: It's time for Apple slams UKGOV, Meta says no to ad choice, We remember Kevin Mitnick, Tesla silence to NHSTA, Musk asks Apple for a deal, FBI uses NSO spyware and new Apple Watch colours
This week we covered:
- News
- Apple slams UK surveillance-bill proposals
- UK privacy watchdog warns Meta over plan to keep denying Brits a choice over its ad tracking
- Kevin Mitnick, Once the ‘Most Wanted Computer Outlaw,’ Dies at 59
- Fed’s deadline comes and goes without Tesla’s reply to Autopilot questions
- Elon Musk says he’ll ask Tim Cook to lower App Store fees for X subscriptions
- FBI found out who illegally used NSO spyware: It was the FBI
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 140: It's time for X sues its law firm, Meta blocks VPNs and gets big Nordic fine, No more Netflix Basic, Li-Fi or Wi-Fi you choose, Sony gets COD deal and Russia iDevice ban
This week we covered:
- News
- Musk sues law firm for overcharging Twitter when Twitter was suing Musk
- Meta blocking VPN access to Threads in EU
- Meta facing a $100,000 daily fine if it doesn't fix privacy issues in Norway
- Netflix Basic gone in the US and UK, doubling price of dumping ads
- Infrared may no longer be a punchline, as IEEE approves 9.6Gbps wireless light
- Sony agrees to 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft
- Russian security service bans all Apple devices, repeats nonsensical spying claims
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 139: It's time for EU probes MS, Twitter doesn't pay up, Telsa autopilot woes, Razer breach, Meta Threads launches (except in the EU) and iPhone15 batt boost
This week we covered:
- News
- EU antitrust team closer to full-blown Microsoft probe, say sources
- Twitter refuses to pay for arbitration it forced on 891 ex-employees, suit says
- Tesla ordered to cough up data for Autopilot probe or face heavy fines
- Razer is investigating a ‘potential breach’ after hacker tries to sell ‘encryption keys, database, backend access logins’ and more for $100,000
- Threads
- Meta's Threads races to 100 million users in under a week
- Threads profiles can’t be deleted without removing your entire Instagram account
- Here’s why Threads is delayed in Europe
- Twitter threatens to sue Meta over the new Threads app
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 138: It's time for Sony didn't care about COD, Plex layoffs, MacOS gaming, Meta App store, Twitter rate limit and Crimson iPhone
This week we covered:
- News
- Private email shows PlayStation chief unworried about Xbox-exclusive Call of Duty
- Plex lays off more than 20 percent of its staff
- Here’s why Apple’s latest effort to bring games to macOS is a big deal
- The Mac Pro’s biggest problem is the MacBook
- Meta wants to turn Facebook into an App Store replacement, at least in the EU
- Musk annoys Twitter users by capping number of tweets they can view each day
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 137: It's time for more Apple VR, Giphy sold, DMCA notices, Sonos layoffs, Meta Quest 3, Neuralink get FDA ok, Intel drops "i"
This week we covered:
- News
- Apple has bought an AR headset startup called Mira
- Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock at a loss following UK order
- Nintendo sends Valve DMCA notice to block Steam release of Wii emulator Dolphin
- Sonos announces it needs to layoff 7% of employees and reduce real estate
- Neuralink receives FDA clearance to begin human trials of its brain-computer interface
- Meta Quest 3 Ships This Fall, Starting At $500
- AMD's Ryzen 8000 CPU with Navi 3.5 graphics could kill low-end GPUs
- Intel is officially killing off the ‘i’ in Core i7 — as it goes Ultra
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
A quick announcement on latest Episode
A quick announcement on the delays with the latest Episode.
Thanks
Episode 136: It's time for the annual WWDC roundup
This week we covered:
- Hardware
- Software:
- AR/VR
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 135: It's time for Crypto crackdown, Meta mega fine, GTA6 coming, Musk vs MSFT, Bezos to the Moon, Sony shows us the Q and Pixel temp sensor
his week we covered:
- News
- EU passes world's first regulatory framework for cryptocurrency
- Meta hit with record-breaking $1.3 billion fine over Facebook data transfers to the US
- There's good reason to believe that GTA 6 will release next year
- Elon Musk's lawyer just accused Microsoft of violating the Twitter developer agreement
- NASA picks Blue Origin to make a second human-crewed lunar lander
- Sony’s new Q handheld is official: 8-inch screen, streams PS5 games
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 134: It's time for MSFT goes Nuclear, EU green lights merger, Intel iGPU rockets, Google I/O Hardware and AI updates and M3 news
This week we covered:
- News
- Microsoft just made a huge, far-from-certain bet on nuclear fusion
- Microsoft's Activision takeover approved by EU after UK veto
- Intel's Meteor Lake iGPU is set to shake up the entry level GPU market
- Google IO
- Google Pixel Fold: The thinnest foldable (with the biggest battery) in the US
- Pixel Tablet hands-on: Basically a $500 smart display with a detachable screen
- Google announces Pixel 7A with 90Hz display and wireless charging
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 133: It's time for the DAME tax, Apple + Google get serious on tracking, Twitter purges and new CEO, Nvidias fix for less vRAM and Watch S9 to get chip boost and iPhone 16 screen goes big
This week we covered:
- News
- Biden proposes 30 percent tax on cryptominers' power bills
- Apple and Google team up to bring AirTag-like unwanted tracking alerts to all item trackers on iPhone and Android
- Twitter is going to purge and archive inactive accounts
- Nvidia's Neural Texture Compression technology should alleviate VRAM concerns
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 132: It's time for CMA says no to MSFT, Apple wins appeal, UKGOV goes in all AI, Lookout sells up, ARM floats, Musk legal woes and Action buttons
This week we covered:
- News
- UK regulators block Microsoft's Activision acquisition in potentially fatal surprise blow
- Apple’s App Store can stay closed but developers can link to outside payments, says appeals court
- That's cute. UK.gov gathers up £100M for AI super-models
- Lookout sells its consumer cybersecurity business to F-Secure for $223M and goes all-in on the enterprise
- UK chip giant Arm files for blockbuster US share listing
- Judge knocks back Elon Musk's ridiculous claim in fatal Tesla crash lawsuit: His statements about auto-driving safety could have been deepfaked
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 131: It's time for Flawed Online Safety Bill, MSFT says no to API costs, ChatGPT costs a lot, IBM gets sued, Red Cross upset at MP games and ARM Surface and new Pixel
This week we covered:
- News
- WhatsApp, Signal, and other encrypted messaging apps urge UK to rethink ‘flawed’ legislation
- Microsoft rejects $42k+ Twitter API subscription, pulls it from ads platform
- ChatGPT costs $700,000 per day to run, which is why Microsoft wants to make its own AI chips
- GlobalFoundries sues IBM for flogging chip secrets to Intel, Rapidus
- Please stop doing war crimes in multiplayer games, it's upsetting the Red Cross
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 130: It's time for more FTX chaos, Musk AI fears and AI spending, Sega Sammy gets the Birds, Section 31 is a go, Apple ARV Glasses in 2026 and Sideloading in iOS17
This week we covered:
News
- Inside FTX: Jokes about misplaced funds, diabolical IT, poor oversight, and worse
- Calling for a pause on AI experimentation then spending millions on GPUs for a new AI project has real Musk energy
- Sega Sammy launches $772 million offer for Angry Birds-maker Rovio
Films/TV/Games
Rumours
- Apple AR glasses might not launch before 2026
- iOS 17 will reportedly set the stage for sideloading apps on iPhone
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 129: It's time for no more E3, Amazon opens up Sidewalk, Is it the end for Google Assistant, More Twitter Chaos, 4G on the Moon, Steve Jobs book and a new iPod?
This week we covered:
- News
- E3 2023 has been cancelled
- Amazon just opened up its Sidewalk network for anyone to build connected gadgets on
- Google Assistant might be doomed: Division “reorganizes” to focus on Bard
- More Google Assistant shutdowns: Third-party smart displays are dead
- Twitter’s $1,000 checkmark will be free for the 10,000 most-followed companies
- 4G internet is set to arrive on the moon later this year
- New Steve Jobs Archive ebook now available as a free download
- Rumours
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 128: It's time for your own ChatGPT, Coinbase in hot water, Linus gets hacked, Frameworks does gaming, Twitter chaos, NCA DDoS fakes and iPhone 15 action button
This week we covered:
- News
Nvidia DGX Cloud: train your own ChatGPT in a web browser for $37K a month
The SEC has put Coinbase on notice for allegedly breaking securities laws
How hackers took over Linus Tech Tips
Framework’s first gaming laptop features upgradeable GPUs, swappable keyboards
Twitter to un-verify people who don’t pay $8/month starting on April Fools’ Day
Twitter will soon only recommend paid users in its For You feed
UK Sets Up Fake Booter Sites To Muddy DDoS Market
- Rumours
iPhone 15 Action button in testing; new super-low energy mode
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 127: It's time for Bluesky beta, Musk and Anti-woke AI, Quantum crypto woes, CMA publishes update, Xbox Mobile gaming, FTX heist and Quest 3 leaks
This week we covered:
- News
- Jack Dorsey’s Twitter alternative Bluesky is now available in closed beta
- Elon Musk yearns for AI devs to build 'anti-woke' rival ChatGPT bot
- NIST's Quantum-Proof Algorithm Has a Bug, Analysts Say
- The UK published 7 responses to the Microsoft-Activision Xbox deal — only one company opposes
- Microsoft’s new Xbox mobile gaming store may launch in 2024
- FTX inner circle helped itself to $3.2B, liquidators say
- Rumours
- Quest 3 Reportedly Much Thinner And Twice As Powerful, But More Than $400
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 126: It's time for the one from Vegas! ChatGPT updates, Twitter staffing issues, MSFT charms the EU and a 7" Homepod!
This week we covered:
A special live recording of the Weekly Tech Rant from Las Vegas, USA!
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 125: It's time for Meta verified, Dresden Fab, FBI cyber incident, Go-Daddy Hacked, MS nerfs Bing, $64k iPhone and iMessage voice msg
This week we covered:
- News
Following Twitter’s lead, Meta launches its own blue checkmark subscription for Facebook and Instagram, costs $14.99/mo on iOS
Infineon given the green light for €5B Dresden chip fab
FBI says it has 'contained' a cybersecurity incident on its network
GoDaddy says a multi-year breach hijacked customer websites and accounts
VMware, Broadcom, extend deadline for acquisition to be signed, sealed, and delivered
Microsoft is reportedly already planning to bring ads to Bing's AI chatbot
Microsoft “lobotomized” AI-powered Bing Chat, and its fans aren’t happy
- Gadgets/Media/Games
Original iPhone from 2007 auctioned for $63,356, topping prior sales
- Rumours
iMessage to voice note: Apple patent to play messages in your voice
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Quick Episode Update February 2023!
A quick update on this weeks episode (or lack of!).
Feb 2023
Episode 124: It's time for No deleting Twitter DMs, Why Stadia died, Bing gets ChapGPT'd, iPhone 15s odd USB port, Lockbit update and back to Egypt and a 15'5" MB Air
This week we covered:
- News
Want to Delete Your Twitter DMs? Good Luck With That
Well, now we know why Google closed Stadia
Microsoft announces new Bing and Edge browser powered by upgraded ChatGPT AI
iPhone 15 USB-C port may have some features limited to Apple certified cables and accessories
Royal Mail refused to pay ‘absurd’ LockBit ransom, chat logs say
- Games
- Rumours
15.5-inch MacBook Air could arrive in April
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Episode 123: It's time for Meta hypocrisy, Twitter kills API but charges $1000 P/M for Gold, Voodoo GFX, Its the AI Chat wars, Lockbit bites Royal Mail and really Britcoin
This week we covered:
- News
Meta, which pays for web scraping, sues to stop web scraping
Twitter to end free access to its API in Elon Musk’s latest monetization push
Twitter will let businesses keep their gold checkmarks — for $1,000 per month
For a small fortune you too can buy a piece of PC gaming graphics history
Google takes first shot in AI search engine wars, announces Bard competitor to ChatGPT
LockBit ransomware group threatens to publish stolen Royal Mail data
Bank of England won't call it Britcoin but says digital pound 'likely to be needed in future’
- Rumours
The iPhone Ultra Is Real and on Its Way, per report
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRan
Episode 122: It's time for FF7 Day, Sony isn't truthful, Apple vs NLRB, PSVR2 sales, Jony Ive's Red Nose and a folding iPad - maybe
This week we covered:
- News
Japan officially designates today Final Fantasy 7 Day
Microsoft says Sony isn't telling the truth to EU regulators about Call of Duty
Apple’s leaked email about stopping leaks violated labor laws, officials rule
Sony's expecting a severe drop in PSVR 2 sales from a projected 2 million
Jony Ive designed a 'perfect' Red Nose for the Comic Relief charity
- Gadgets/Media/Games
GoldenEye 007 is now available on Nintendo Switch and Xbox
Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are reportedly all skipping E3 2023
- Rumours
Foldable iPad Coming in 2024, per report
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant
Episode 121: It's time for War Thunder again, T-Mobile breached again, Royals vs Musk, Apple debates Shall, Trump could be back, India brews an OS and Snow Crash, iPhone 15 rumours
This week we covered:
- News
Wait, again? War Thunder fans just can't help themselves when it comes to posting sensitive military documents
T-Mobile Breached Again, This Time Exposing 37M Customers' Data
British monarchy goes after Twitter, alleges rent not paid for UK base
Apple antitrust appeal comes down to the legal meaning of the word ‘shall’
Well that escalated quickly: India demos homebrew mobile OS
Meta allows Trump back on Facebook and Instagram
- Gadgets/Media
Snow Crash
M1 iPad Pro 11” 2021 (Gen 3)
- Rumours
New iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak Reports CURVED BEZELS
Apple ‘Reality Pro’ headset will toggle between AR/VR, serve as Mac display, 2-hour external battery packs, more
As always, we'd love to hear your comments
Find us on Twitter @WeeklyTechRant