Hark! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the tech news and Windows
it breaks. Microsoft's patch Tuesday update is causing certain Windows
machines to stay on forever. The update
was supposed to fix over 100 security vulnerabilities, including one that was
already being actively exploited in the wild. But uh [clears throat] it seems to
be causing some new issues. From the user's perspective, everything will look
normal. The shutdown animation plays, the screen goes dark, and then the PC
just keeps running. Evidently, System Guard secure launch just threw a tantrum
when it was paired with the January patches, causing shutdown commands to be
ignored. Security achieved. Microsoft did ship an emergency outofband fix on
the 17th, just 4 days after breaking everything. So, everything's good. Well,
not so much. The same update also broke remote desktop authentication for Azure
virtual desktop and Windows 365 users with credential prompts that either
failed completely or looped endlessly. Classic Outlook with POP account started
freezing indefinitely. The app would look closed, but Outlook.exe would keep
running in the background, blocking you from reopening it, and some users got
random black screens. Also, File Explorer stopped respecting desktop.ini
customizations. At this point, Windows updates feel less like improvements and
more like watching your uncoordinated uncle try and deep fry a turkey in your
driveway. Dangerously close to the garage. The RAM shortage, like the
numbered Star Wars movies, doesn't just keep going. It somehow gets worse as
time goes on. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, data
centers chasing AI and cloud growth are expected to consume more than 70% of all
memory chips produced in 2026, which leaves consumer PCs, laptops, and I
don't know, every other device competing for a much smaller slice of the supply
pie, keeping prices high and availability tight. Making matters
worse, Bloomberg reports that US commerce secretary Howard Lutnik has
warned overseas memory makers that they could face tariffs as high as 100%
unless they commit to expanding chip production in the US. A move that could
further disrupt supply and raise costs in the near future. And the pain isn't
stopping with RAM. As we seem to be constantly covering, shortages are now
spilling over into GPUs, high-capacity SSDs, and even traditional hard drives,
turning a memory mess into a full-blown component chaos. If this story is
pissing you off and you're feeling a little overwhelmed, don't [music] worry, we've got you covered. When this tech
news is done, go check out LT's recent video appreciating some of the positive
things going on in the tech world. I wish it wasn't the case, but yes, tech
news these days does require
a therapeutic chaser. Google just filed a notice to appeal the landmark
antitrust ruling that declared it an illegal search monopolist. The company
is asking a court to pause implementing the ordered remedies while the appeal
plays out, which could drag on for years if it goes all the way to the US Supreme
Court. Google's defense boils down to three arguments. One, people use Google
because they just gosh darn want to, not because they're forced to. Two, the
judge ignored all of the intense competition from AI startups. And three,
their deals with Apple and Misilla are totally normal business relationships
based on quality. Apple chose Google because it's the best, not because it
owns the entire internet. That would be crazy. You sound [music] crazy right
now. Now, if you guys are thinking, man, has this case ever been dragging out a
long time. You're not wrong. The original suit was filed back in October
of 2020, and then the ruling that they were in fact monopoly came in 2024 with
the remedies phase concluding in late 2025. The remedy stated that Google can
still pay Mozilla and Apple to be the default search engine, but that any new
deals are capped at just one year. They also have to share portions of their
search index data with competitors and offer syndication services to rivals.
Given the appeal, Google is asking for a pause on the data sharing and syndication requirements while the
appeal plays out. But you don't have to make an appeal to me to check out our
sponsor, War Thunder. I've played a few
combat games in my day, which you might call a combat game veteran, but nothing
compares to War Thunder. It's the most comprehensive vehicle combat game ever
made, and it's free on PC, console, and
mobile. There's nothing else quite like it. I feel like a god of war when I
command over 2500 tanks, planes, helicopters, and ships from 10 nations
spanning from 1920s biplanes to modern jets and battle tanks. The vehicles
look, sound, and feel so real, it gives me flashbacks to my old land party days
with the boys. But then I remember those games suck
compared to War Thunder. So join over 70
million players in one of the most comprehensive vehicle combat games ever
made. Play War Thunder for free on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and mobile, and
unlock a massive bonus pack, including vehicles, boosters, and more using our
link down below. [snorts] You smell that? I love the smell of
sweaty gamers in the morning. Shakespeare once wrote, "Therefore,
since brevity is the soul of wit and tediousness, the limbs and outward
flourishes, I will be brief." And the
brief pieces live by that. Spotify just announced another price hike, the third
US bump in about 3 years with its premium subscription going from $1.99 to
$12.99 a month with other plans rising, too. Unfortunately, this is yet another
sign that rising subscription costs are the new normal for streaming fans.
Meanwhile, Shadow Library, Anna's Archive, who previously backed up
Spotify's library [clears throat] without their permission, has been ordered by a US federal judge to delete
its scraped WorldCat data and stop scraping or sharing it. Though, it's
worth noting that the site isn't likely to comply. Y renegades, they do as they
please. They likely even use ad blockers. Elon Musk is claiming that
Tesla will release new AI chips every 9
months, beating NVIDIA and AMD's yearly cadence. He tweeted on Saturday that
their AI5 chip is supposedly almost done. And this comes a mere 6 months
after he announced that it was finished. Musk is saying he expects these will be
the highest volume AI chips in the world, which given that they're shipping
in millions of vehicles could be true, but volume production is delayed until
mid 2027, so the timeline is confusing.
Musk has also announced he's restarting the Dojo supercomputer project that
Tesla shut down just last year. Dojo is Tesla's custom supercomputer for
training full self-driving using videos from Tesla vehicles. Musk killed the
project because he said it didn't make sense to divide resources, but
apparently now it does. XAI is in trouble with the Environmental
Protection Agency, who apparently still exists. Who knew? They ruled that the
company's Memphis data center illegally used natural gas generators that were
not properly permitted. XAI has been relying on a loophole that let certain
turbines operate without standard emissions checks if they are portable
and/or temporary. Well, images show that the site has nearly doubled its
turbines, which raised pollution concerns and drew scrutiny over Elon
Musk's AI operations environmental compliance. The EPA decision could and
sounds like it probably should slow XAI's expansion plans in the area. With
Elon's companies, it's a balancing act. You know, he makes electric cars over
here. He does a little unfettered polluting over there. It's give and take. Everything in moderation, right?
Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have
developed a spray-on powder that can rapidly seal life-threatening wounds.
The chalky spray works in about 1 second by instantly turning into a hydrogel
when it hits blood, stopping bleeding fast, even in deep irregular injuries.
It's highly absorbent, works in harsh conditions, and stay stable for up to 2
years, showing promise for both combat and emergency medicine as a potential
lifesaver. Though, it is still in the research stages. This is all the excuse I needed. I'm getting into carpentry.
Lose a finger at the table saw? No problem. Just powder that bad boy right
back on there. That's how it works, right? Too late. I've already ordered a bunch of dangerous saws. Finally, Tik
Tok quietly launched a standalone drama app called Pine Drama, where every
episode is a bite-sized 1 minute or less serialized story that you scroll through
like on Tik Tok. It's going to be cliffhanger after cliffhanger, like a soap opera, but presented in vertical
video. All your boomerants's favorite stuff is really coming together, isn't
it? The free, currently adree app is live in the US and Brazil on both iOS
and Android. And it has genres from romance to thriller, giving users the
ability to react in real time with other viewers. And it's got classic features
like watch history and favorites. For me, this raises a very important question. A minute isn't long, but is
this actually going to be better for our attention spans than Tik Tok classic? I
guess it couldn't be any worse. At least you don't have to pay any more attention to the tech news until Wednesday when
we'll be back to tell you all about it. Screw it. One more Shakespeare quote. Here we go. If we do not meet again,
why, we shall smile. If not, why then?
This partying was well made. Bye.