WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.120 What's that boy? The tech news fell down a well? Oh, it's currently still falling 00:00:04.640 --> 00:00:11.840 down a well? It's like a bottomless well situation? So we can't do anything. You 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:16.080 just You just wanted me to know. Good boy. Discord announced today that 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:20.480 it's rolling out global age verification starting next month taking a teen by 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:25.280 default approach meaning that without verification the app will default to an 00:00:22.520 --> 00:00:27.960 experience appropriate for teens. Which would include updated 00:00:26.400 --> 00:00:32.800 communication settings, restricted access to age-gated spaces, and content 00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:36.640 filtering. And will not include hanging out in a Blockbuster video parking lot 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:40.400 firing Roman candles into my friend Kyle's Honda Civic like I initially 00:00:38.645 --> 00:00:44.920 [music] assumed. In order to validate their age, users will need to either 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:49.440 complete a facial age estimation video via selfie or submit a photo of their 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:54.080 government ID to one of Discord's third-party vendor partners. As an added 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:57.760 bonus, this also protects adults from being bullied by teens in age-gated 00:00:56.400 --> 00:01:02.200 servers where they come together to innocently discuss their mutual love of 00:00:59.800 --> 00:01:06.520 the Minions extended cinematic universe. Discord initially tested the system in 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:10.440 the UK and Australia last year, but now it's being rolled out globally. Critics 00:01:08.440 --> 00:01:14.280 are quick to point to the October 2025 data breach in which one of Discord's 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:18.880 third-party vendors was compromised and approximately 70,000 users had their age 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:23.640 verification data exposed including images of their government IDs. 00:01:21.800 --> 00:01:27.160 But it's important to note that that leak was the product of a legacy age 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:30.160 verification system that was introduced in 2020. Some of you weren't even born 00:01:29.160 --> 00:01:36.520 yet. And Discord has terminated its contract with that vendor. According to Savannah 00:01:33.960 --> 00:01:40.480 Batallich, Discord's global head of product policy, the new system uses 00:01:38.520 --> 00:01:44.400 similar face scan and ID-based verification but with a few key 00:01:42.360 --> 00:01:48.720 differences. Facial age estimation is now done entirely on device. Any ID 00:01:46.720 --> 00:01:53.040 documents submitted to vendors are in most cases deleted immediately after age 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:57.520 confirmation. And Batallich says that if the age estimation from the selfie is 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:02.040 incorrect, you just can appeal it or verify with a photo of a government ID 00:01:59.440 --> 00:02:05.600 instead. Discord is also rolling out an age inference model that runs in the 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:09.880 background and analyzes metadata like the types of games a user plays, their 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:13.640 activity on Discord, and behavioral signals to estimate age. So, if Discord 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:17.200 notices that you're listening to S Club 7 and pausing your game every 30 minutes 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:21.480 or so to go pee, it will assume, correctly, you're 45 years old and 00:02:19.880 --> 00:02:25.720 probably also hopefully send a message to your urologist. Or remind you about 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:28.760 what the actual daily recommended intake is for Mountain Dew. 00:02:27.040 --> 00:02:31.080 >> It's zero. Unless it's Code Red. 00:02:30.651 --> 00:02:38.320 >> [laughter] >> Then it's a lot. >> AMD's beastly Strix Halo APU has arrived 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:39.840 in another handheld, the AYANEO NEXT 2. 00:02:38.320 --> 00:02:44.800 But, unlike existing Strix Halo handhelds, this one doesn't need an 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:49.200 external battery or external validation. She knows who she is. And that's a 00:02:46.720 --> 00:02:53.240 handheld with a massive 116 watt-hour internal battery. It's bigger than most 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:56.640 gaming laptop batteries and could even cause you trouble at the airport. So, 00:02:55.200 --> 00:03:00.920 that's how you know it's bad. >> They could never They won't take me. 00:02:58.320 --> 00:03:04.800 >> to have to pat me down. The NEXT 2 has some other impressive specs, too, which 00:03:02.920 --> 00:03:10.200 I guess is partially why AYANEO is okay with pricing the base model at 2,700 US 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:15.000 dollars. Although, the early bird price on Indiegogo is 2,300. And that's 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:17.519 expensive, but like this is a new generation flagship Windows handheld for 00:03:16.519 --> 00:03:21.440 the future masterpiece beyond imagination we're talking about here. 00:03:19.600 --> 00:03:26.440 And sure, you could also say that the other Strix Halo handhelds, the GPD Win 00:03:24.320 --> 00:03:31.519 5 starting at 2,500 bucks and the 1XPlayer 1X Fly Apex for 2,200 bucks are 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:36.040 also handhelds for the future masterpiece beyond imagination, but they 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:39.680 need external battery packs. Regardless, they're all too expensive. So, hopefully 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:44.640 soon we'll see handhelds sporting those two new Strix Halo variants that AMD 00:03:41.920 --> 00:03:50.200 announced at CES 2026 with fewer CPU cores, but the same graphics power as 00:03:46.640 --> 00:03:52.440 the flagship Ryzen AI Max Plus 395, 00:03:50.200 --> 00:03:55.920 which could end up being a bit cheaper. I think I might like one wearing a 00:03:53.720 --> 00:03:59.320 little battery backpack though. I can imagine it's carrying its favorite 00:03:57.160 --> 00:04:01.520 treasures in there. For me, that's our sponsor. 00:04:00.920 --> 00:04:06.680 Ha! Didn't see that one coming. 00:04:03.920 --> 00:04:10.800 Play Tracker. Howdy partners. Out here in the west, you got to keep track of 00:04:08.320 --> 00:04:16.079 your herd. And Play Tracker does exactly that for your gaming library. This app 00:04:13.720 --> 00:04:21.000 rounds up all your games from Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, GOG, and EA. 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All right, we 00:05:01.760 --> 00:05:07.680 got the tech news out of the way. But, What's that? 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:11.000 The quick bits are down there now? God damn it! 00:05:09.400 --> 00:05:16.240 Intel may have canceled the release of its Core Ultra 9 290K Plus Arrow Lake 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:19.840 Refresh desktop processor. And I don't really know whether to mourn 00:05:17.760 --> 00:05:23.640 its death or not because we only just heard about it today. So sad. 00:05:21.880 --> 00:05:27.000 >> Insider sources apparently told videocards.com 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:33.120 of the cancellation, but said other Arrow Lake Refresh parts, a 270K Plus 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:34.560 and a 250K Plus, are still coming. And 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:39.480 there is some weight to the Arrow Lake Refresh rumor since ASUS posted and 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:43.600 deleted tweets about it featuring these images with graceful robot hands holding 00:05:41.919 --> 00:05:46.280 motherboards. They're coming for your hand model jobs. Somewhat reliable 00:05:45.320 --> 00:05:53.280 leaker claimed the embargo Pro claimed the embargo will lift on 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:55.920 March 23rd in a tweet with a saddening lack of robot hands. Or any hands at 00:05:55.520 --> 00:06:00.720 all. >> At least you got a job, pal. Good news, everybody. They don't write these voices 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:04.040 in, I just do those. They've added Copilot to the Windows 11 setup 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:07.800 experience. So, if you need to download a large update when booting your new PC 00:06:06.080 --> 00:06:11.600 for the first time, you can chat with Microsoft's helpful little harbinger of 00:06:09.520 --> 00:06:15.440 humanity's downfall, and even ask it to generate images of yourself doing what 00:06:13.800 --> 00:06:19.280 you're doing. Talking to computer as if it's people. 00:06:17.080 --> 00:06:23.200 Really, if if you could, please, do anything with Copilot. 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:28.200 Microsoft would love to tell their investors you guys did that once or twice. VPN provider 00:06:26.640 --> 00:06:32.800 Windscribe has claimed that Dutch authorities, who are the best authorities, seized one of their 00:06:30.880 --> 00:06:36.640 physical servers, just yanked it right out of the rack without a warrant, 00:06:34.640 --> 00:06:40.880 noting that because they use RAM disk servers, the cops won't find anything on 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:44.849 there unless you count the unredacted EP Stein files. 00:06:42.829 --> 00:06:48.280 >> [laughter] >> They cuz they said that. Unfortunately, 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:53.280 there doesn't appear to be any supporting evidence that this seizure actually happened other than 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:56.760 Windscribe's own tweet, leading some observers to be skeptical of the whole 00:06:55.000 --> 00:07:00.040 thing. The vibe is off. It's like, Dbrand did edgy marketing, so I can do 00:06:58.760 --> 00:07:03.960 it, too. I'm not so sure. OpenAI is allegedly 00:07:01.840 --> 00:07:07.760 scaling back its first consumer hardware product, a pair of AI earbuds developed 00:07:05.919 --> 00:07:12.800 in partnership with Apple's famous designer Jony Ive. According to Twitter 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:16.960 leaker Pikachu, a patent filing in China revealed that the earbuds will go to 00:07:14.080 --> 00:07:20.360 market under the name Dime, or Dime if you're Spanish. And while initially 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:25.160 billed as a device with phone-level computing power, it's now being scaled 00:07:22.200 --> 00:07:29.560 back to something more like regular earbuds. No! Smart Pikachu was 00:07:28.440 --> 00:07:34.840 apparently banned from Twitter for bringing us this information. >> not so smart. According to the post, 00:07:33.280 --> 00:07:38.720 soaring memory costs made the original bill of materials too expensive, so the 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:43.320 enhanced features have been delayed. >> The memory crisis tolls for thee, thou 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:48.040 molten men! Speaking of accent losers, Elon Musk announced on X yesterday that 00:07:45.400 --> 00:07:52.960 SpaceX That's so many X's. Has shifted its near-term focus from settling Mars 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:57.560 to building a self-growing city on the moon. Whatever that means. This is a 00:07:55.480 --> 00:08:02.040 complete 180 from Musk, who just last year called the moon a distraction. Why 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:05.800 the change of heart? In his tweet, Musk cites the moon's proximity as the reason 00:08:03.960 --> 00:08:10.800 for the shift, evidently only now realizing that Mars 00:08:07.760 --> 00:08:13.240 is farther from Earth than the moon. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:17.200 By a lot. Truly a genius of our time. Ars Technica made the point with the 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:21.720 success of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket flights and their team going all 00:08:19.320 --> 00:08:26.120 in on lunar exploration, Musk needs to get there first or risk losing the 00:08:23.520 --> 00:08:29.680 economic high ground. Also, the the dick measuring contest. So, much like 00:08:28.200 --> 00:08:32.800 shifting Tesla factories to robot production or pushing full self-driving 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:37.360 subscriptions to unlock his trillion-dollar pay package. For Elon, 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:41.840 it's less about human advancement and more about getting that cake. Leaving no 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:45.560 crumbs. I mean, what's the point of unleashing hordes of potentially 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:49.640 murderous robots and cars onto the world if you can't even retreat to your own 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:51.680 self-growing moon city if things go sideways. You don't have 8 months to get 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:57.680 to Mars. >> There's no point. You need a self-growing city. And 00:08:55.360 --> 00:09:02.520 Harvard engineers have 3D printed soft robots that bend, twist, and grasp on 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:06.080 command by embedding air channels directly into the material using a 00:09:04.160 --> 00:09:09.160 rotating nozzle. You pump air through the channels and the structure moves in 00:09:07.640 --> 00:09:13.440 whatever direction was programmed during printing. The team demonstrated a 00:09:10.920 --> 00:09:18.280 gripper with articulated fingers that curl around objects and a spiral 00:09:15.839 --> 00:09:21.760 actuator that unfurls like a flower. The team says they intend to use the 00:09:19.920 --> 00:09:26.480 technology for advanced surgical tools and wearable devices and definitely not 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:29.720 for sex. Unlike Moya, Droid Ups' new humanoid robot that the company is 00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:33.400 calling the world's first fully biomimetic robot, and which we're 00:09:31.880 --> 00:09:37.880 calling an obvious attempt to make a real-life anime waifu. Somebody has to. 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:42.840 But she's not Japanese, Riley. Like all the best waifus, Moya walks with 92% 00:09:40.800 --> 00:09:49.320 human-like accuracy. I'm willing to wager that 8% matters. Maintains a body 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:51.200 temperature between 89.6 and 96.8° F, 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:54.480 and has a bunch of promo videos that feature an unusually high number of 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:58.520 shots of its ass. >> I ain't buying any robot with no ass. 00:09:57.160 --> 00:10:04.560 And that's all the news we're pulling out of the well today. Come back Wednesday when the tech news inevitably 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:08.440 falls back in. It is famously uncoordinated. Way too big of an ass. 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:12.920 >> Wagon. Can't walk. >> Absolute 00:10:10.400 --> 00:10:12.920 rump.