{"video_id":"XxsaQFJoGLk","title":"Laptops Are So Back...","channel":"TechLinked","show":"TechLinked","published_at":"2026-02-03T14:53:29Z","duration_s":641,"segments":[{"start_s":0.16,"end_s":6.16,"text":"The name's news, tech news, and just like Bond's new video game, today's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.24,"end_s":10.08,"text":"stories require hardware that doesn't exist. Let's get into it. In a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.24,"end_s":15.44,"text":"refreshing bout of corporate honesty, Dell showed up to CES 2026 and basically","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":12.8,"end_s":20.32,"text":"said, \"Our bad.\" First, head of product Kevin Turwigle","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.16,"end_s":24.32,"text":"Kevin admitted that people don't actually care about AI PCs, stating that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.56,"end_s":29.599,"text":"it's become clear that consumers are not buying based on AI. After a solid year","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":26.72,"end_s":32.8,"text":"of every tech company screaming AIP PC at us like a pack of seagulls fighting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":31.439,"end_s":37.28,"text":"over French fries in a McDonald's dumpster, Dell just stopped. Their CES","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.16,"end_s":44.64,"text":"briefing was described [music] as the most pleasingly unai presentation in 5","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.36,"end_s":47.039,"text":"years. Imagine that. A hardware company","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":44.64,"end_s":51.52,"text":"talking about actual hardware instead of chat bots. Second, remember when Dell","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":49.68,"end_s":56.079,"text":"killed the XPS brand last year and renamed everything Dell Premium? Well,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":54.079,"end_s":61.199,"text":"everyone hated that. Sales tanked and the COO openly admitted the rebrand was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":58.48,"end_s":68.24,"text":"a mistake. So now XPS is back with a full redesign. The new XPS 14 and 16 are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.96,"end_s":70.64,"text":"Dell's thinnest laptops to date at 14.6","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":68.24,"end_s":75.439,"text":"mm, [music] sporting the Intel Panther Lake chips, and they've gone allin on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":72.96,"end_s":80.96,"text":"Intel Arc integrated [music] graphics. No discrete GPU options at all. The","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":78.479,"end_s":85.439,"text":"displays can drop to 1 hertz during static [music] content, which lets them","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.32,"end_s":88.24,"text":"achieve a reported 27 hours of battery","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.439,"end_s":93.36,"text":"life, and they've shaved almost a full pound off the XPS 16. Prices for these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.72,"end_s":98.32,"text":"new laptops are starting at $2,49 with the XPS 13 returning later this year at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.92,"end_s":104.24,"text":"a lower price point. They also dropped a huge 52-in 6K ultrawide monitor for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":102.32,"end_s":107.6,"text":"$2,900 for when you need to look at every","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.0,"end_s":112.24,"text":"single spreadsheet. all the spreadsheets. Wi-Fi 8 is apparently","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.0,"end_s":116.88,"text":"already here. While it won't technically be fully released until 2028, companies","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":115.119,"end_s":121.36,"text":"are already showing off products using the new standard before everyone has","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.64,"end_s":125.92,"text":"even had the chance to adopt Wi-Fi 7. Leading the charge is ASUS with their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":123.2,"end_s":130.0,"text":"new ROG Neoore router concept. This weird D20-shaped AI router will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.08,"end_s":133.76,"text":"apparently improve range and latency for gamers using Wi-Fi on their battle","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.76,"end_s":137.76,"text":"stations, and it boasts twice the data throughput recorded with Wi-Fi 7. Can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.84,"end_s":142.72,"text":"the AI part help me hit a NAT 20 on a fumble rule? Let's hope. Meanwhile,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.48,"end_s":147.44,"text":"Zixel is already pitching Wi-Fi 8 to carriers and enterprise customers with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.48,"end_s":151.52,"text":"its AI ready connectivity gear with the goal of future proofing clients years","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.44,"end_s":155.76,"text":"ahead of the new rollout. Even the silicon makers are getting on the train","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.28,"end_s":160.72,"text":"early with MediaTek revealing its new Flogic Wi-Fi 8 chips that likely will be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.72,"end_s":164.0,"text":"seen in most of the network equipment that comes out in the next few years.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":162.56,"end_s":168.8,"text":"While the full benchmarks for these new standards haven't been fully released yet, the big thing all these companies","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.12,"end_s":173.2,"text":"seem to be pushing is that the new generation is not going to show a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":170.8,"end_s":177.44,"text":"massive jump in network speeds. Instead, the focus is on the reliability benefits","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":175.44,"end_s":181.12,"text":"of the new spec. And honestly, if you're your family's resident tech expert this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":179.2,"end_s":185.44,"text":"holiday season, you might even trade some speed for increased reliability. At","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.879,"end_s":190.959,"text":"this point, CES Storage News wasted zero time getting weird. Goner, sorry,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":188.4,"end_s":194.159,"text":"Connor, the long-forgotten '9s hard drive manufacturer, showed up with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.48,"end_s":199.36,"text":"products that look nothing like traditional hard drives, including a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":196.56,"end_s":204.4,"text":"phone backup drive and a bizarre hybrid gadget that's part external drive and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.84,"end_s":208.959,"text":"part 65 watt charger. It's kind of like a second computer that plugs into your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":206.56,"end_s":214.0,"text":"computer to make it compute better, but it's a cube and, you know, not a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.36,"end_s":217.92,"text":"computer. Kind of weird. Right next to that, we get a glimpse of where modern","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.0,"end_s":222.4,"text":"SSD design is heading, and it's surprisingly minimal. Micron unveiled","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.92,"end_s":229.36,"text":"the 3610, making the industry's first PCIe 5.0 QLC SSD,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":226.72,"end_s":236.159,"text":"packing up to 4 TB of storage into a tiny single-sided DRAMless M.2 drive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.28,"end_s":240.799,"text":"that can still somehow push about 11 gigabytes per second. It's an OEM only","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":238.879,"end_s":244.48,"text":"model for now, but hey, if it's cheaper, then that's a win-win in my books. That","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":242.56,"end_s":249.439,"text":"announcement pairs nicely with Fizen's new DRAMless Gen 5 storage controllers,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":247.12,"end_s":254.319,"text":"which reportedly offer big savings in power draw along with an 8 terbte","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":252.319,"end_s":258.239,"text":"capacity. And then there's Hoe, the company best known for professional","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":255.92,"end_s":262.56,"text":"camera gimbals. Casually dropping one of the most creator focused drives at the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.239,"end_s":266.88,"text":"show. Their new SSD 1 offers all the regular things a USB drive normally","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.479,"end_s":271.199,"text":"would, but comes with an expandability option that the company says marks the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.96,"end_s":275.919,"text":"first time you can actually upgrade the storage on an external SSD. Another neat","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.24,"end_s":279.919,"text":"feature is the dedicated microphone input, allowing for direct audio","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.08,"end_s":283.6,"text":"recording. Clearly, this thing is designed for people on the go. You know","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":281.759,"end_s":286.88,"text":"what? Kind of like our sponsor. This holiday season, I was stuck in a home","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":285.28,"end_s":290.639,"text":"alone style situation, trying to get home with my kid while juggling flights.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":288.8,"end_s":295.44,"text":"And one thing I didn't need was a disconnected phone, which is why I use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":292.88,"end_s":299.36,"text":"SY. You download the eSIM once. It works in every country you pass through. No","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":297.36,"end_s":303.6,"text":"swapping SIMs. With global and regional plans, you stay connected in tons of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":301.12,"end_s":308.08,"text":"places without racking up roaming fees. It's great for taking irresponsible","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":305.28,"end_s":311.6,"text":"detours to visit CES 2026 in Las Vegas instead of rushing home to your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":309.199,"end_s":317.28,"text":"abandoned child. There's no dealing with SIM sellers who can be as shady as the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":314.0,"end_s":319.52,"text":"wet bandits and no wandering for Wi-Fi,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":317.28,"end_s":323.919,"text":"just reliable connections on iOS or Android. With Kaye, I can focus on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":322.16,"end_s":328.8,"text":"getting home safely instead of worrying about staying online. I should worry","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":326.32,"end_s":333.919,"text":"about booby traps when I get home though to get an exclus micro machines, you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":331.36,"end_s":338.72,"text":"know, to get an exclusive 50% discount on sale eum data plans. Download the SY","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":336.4,"end_s":343.44,"text":"app and use TechLinked. I mean the code TechLinked I check check check check","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":340.4,"end_s":344.96,"text":"LINKED THE CHECKOUT KEVIN THE FIRST RULE","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":343.44,"end_s":349.039,"text":"OF QUICK BITS is that you're not allowed to talk about quick bits the second rule","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.96,"end_s":353.44,"text":"of quick BITS IS DO NOT TALK ABOUT QUICK bits but here's the quick bits new","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":351.68,"end_s":359.28,"text":"rumors suggest NVIDIA is prepping to bring the RTX 3060 back into production","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":356.24,"end_s":361.84,"text":"in Q1 of 2026 as memory shortages and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.28,"end_s":365.039,"text":"sky-high prices refuse to calm down adding credence to earlier board","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":363.52,"end_s":369.52,"text":"channels claims that the company's supply of factory new 3060s were running","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":367.52,"end_s":374.0,"text":"below. Funnily enough, this lines up nicely with what NVIDIA CEO Jensen Wong","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":372.08,"end_s":378.8,"text":"said when asked by analysts about pricing pressure, floating the idea of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":376.0,"end_s":383.199,"text":"resurrecting older GPUs and maybe even backporting newer AI features to them","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":381.52,"end_s":388.639,"text":"instead of waiting on bleeding edge silicon. AMD isn't immune either. During","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":385.44,"end_s":391.039,"text":"a CES Q&A, Ryzen chief David McCaffy was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":388.639,"end_s":396.0,"text":"asked directly about soaring RAM costs and replied that reintroducing products","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":393.36,"end_s":401.12,"text":"back into the AM4 ecosystem is something AMD is very actively working on. So, if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":399.6,"end_s":406.639,"text":"you missed buying those parts during the 2021 chip shortage, now's your chance.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.56,"end_s":411.199,"text":"IO Interactive has unveiled the PC system requirements for their upcoming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.24,"end_s":415.28,"text":"James Bond game 007 First Light. The intro makes sense now. and fans were","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.72,"end_s":420.96,"text":"shaken, not stirred, to discover some of the listed hardware just doesn't exist.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":418.479,"end_s":427.599,"text":"The minimum specs called for an Intel Core i5 9500 K, which Intel just never","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.4,"end_s":429.68,"text":"made. There is an i59500,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":427.599,"end_s":436.96,"text":"sure, but there's no K variant. Meanwhile, the recommended spec demanded","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":431.759,"end_s":439.919,"text":"a RTX 3060Ti with 12 GB of VRAM. Except","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":436.96,"end_s":445.12,"text":"that card only came with 8 gigs. Even setting aside the phantom parts, these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":442.24,"end_s":451.599,"text":"specs are pretty brutal. 32 GB of RAM and 12 GB of VRAM just to hit 1080p","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":448.8,"end_s":455.28,"text":"60fps. But at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you need to get one of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":452.8,"end_s":458.72,"text":"NVIDIA's new Reuben supercomputers with some of those gooods from the Matrix as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":457.199,"end_s":462.96,"text":"a power supply. Luckily, the game doesn't launch until May 27th. And at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":460.72,"end_s":466.8,"text":"the rate that Tesla, Unitary, and NVIDIA are hurdling us towards Matrix dystopia","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":465.12,"end_s":471.919,"text":"territory, we might be getting those pods sooner than you think. Elon Musk's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":469.28,"end_s":476.96,"text":"XAI is having a bit of a week. Governments across the UK, EU, France,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":474.639,"end_s":480.479,"text":"India, Brazil, and Malaysia have all launched investigations after","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":478.319,"end_s":484.8,"text":"researchers found Grock was generating thousands of deep fakes an hour,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":482.479,"end_s":488.96,"text":"including images of minors. These governments stated that it was illegal,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":486.56,"end_s":493.36,"text":"appalling, and disgusting, calling for immediate action with regards to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":490.639,"end_s":497.36,"text":"improving safeguards on the chatbot. X's response, it was to threaten their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":495.36,"end_s":501.68,"text":"users. The company released a statement saying that anyone prompting illegal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":499.28,"end_s":505.36,"text":"content will face consequences without giving any details on how they plan to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":503.68,"end_s":509.52,"text":"improve safeguards. As this rolling train wreck continues, Musk announced","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":507.199,"end_s":512.64,"text":"that Tesla will build its own 2nm chip fab, claiming that [music] wafer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":510.96,"end_s":517.519,"text":"isolation meant traditional clean rooms were unnecessary and promising to eat a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":515.2,"end_s":521.279,"text":"cheeseburger and smoke a cigar inside of their new facility. We here at Techlink","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":519.44,"end_s":526.16,"text":"look forward to witnessing him destroy a $60 billion machine the same way I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":523.519,"end_s":531.04,"text":"destroyed my 1997 Honda Civic back in high school by hotboxing it and dropping","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":528.16,"end_s":534.72,"text":"a Big Mac into the transmission. Samsung is in hot water after a Texas court","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":532.959,"end_s":538.8,"text":"issued a restraining order blocking the company from allegedly using automated","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":536.959,"end_s":543.519,"text":"content recognition to capture screenshots from smart TVs without","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":541.12,"end_s":548.16,"text":"proper consent. The lawsuit claims Samsung TVs could grab screenshots","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":545.76,"end_s":552.08,"text":"multiple times per second and monetize viewing habits through ads. This comes","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":550.0,"end_s":557.279,"text":"after a string of lawsuits towards other major TV brands for spying on Texans.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":555.2,"end_s":561.279,"text":"Although those lawsuits didn't end up with restraining orders, except for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":559.2,"end_s":565.279,"text":"Highense, they got one. Samsung hearing is on the 9th with the actual order","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":563.04,"end_s":569.839,"text":"expiring on the 19th, meaning that the company has only 2 days to get on up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":567.519,"end_s":574.399,"text":"over to Texas and lawyer up to explain why their TVs are seemingly watching","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":572.0,"end_s":580.0,"text":"themselves. It's the year of the keyboard turducken at CES because these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":577.04,"end_s":585.76,"text":"cubes are stuffed. Corsair unveiled the Gallion 100 SD edition, a mechanical","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":582.88,"end_s":591.6,"text":"keyboard with a full 5 in Stream Deck LCD built right in, plus 8K pulling and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":589.2,"end_s":597.839,"text":"dual rotary dials. Keyron also dropped their Q Ultra series with 660 hours of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":594.8,"end_s":599.279,"text":"battery life and also 8K pulling, cuz","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":597.839,"end_s":603.36,"text":"you know, you need a keyboard to be able to play your 9 or 10 consecutive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":601.36,"end_s":608.24,"text":"playthroughs of Balders's Gate 3. HP responded with the Elite board G1A, a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":605.68,"end_s":613.68,"text":"full Windows 11 PC crammed into a keyboard. It's got an AMD Ryzen AI 300","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":611.279,"end_s":618.72,"text":"chip, 50 plus tops of MPU performance, upgradeable RAM and storage, and Wi-Fi","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":615.92,"end_s":624.0,"text":"7. CES gave it an innovation award for finally making computers portable. Let's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":621.76,"end_s":627.12,"text":"ignore the laptops, of course, and mini PCs. And you know what? Ignore the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":625.44,"end_s":631.04,"text":"Raspberry Pies, too. And that's the tech news. If you need me, I'm going to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":628.56,"end_s":634.88,"text":"hunting down an RTX 3060 Ti with 12 gigs of VRAM. Dr. No. and Goldfinger must","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":633.6,"end_s":642.16,"text":"have teamed up to steal the world supply. Money penny, start my 1997 Honda","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":638.32,"end_s":642.16,"text":"Civic and get me my Big Mac.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"The name's news, tech news, and just like Bond's new video game, today's stories require hardware that doesn't exist. Let's get into it. In a refreshing bout of corporate honesty, Dell showed up to CES 2026 and basically said, \"Our bad.\" First, head of product Kevin Turwigle Kevin admitted that people don't actually care about AI PCs, stating that it's become clear that consumers are not buying based on AI. After a solid year of every tech company screaming AIP PC at us like a pack of seagulls fighting over French fries in a McDonald's dumpster, Dell just stopped. Their CES briefing was described [music] as the most pleasingly unai presentation in 5 years. Imagine that. A hardware company talking about actual hardware instead of chat bots. Second, remember when Dell killed the XPS brand last year and renamed everything Dell Premium? Well, everyone hated that. Sales tanked and the COO openly admitted the rebrand was a mistake. So now XPS is back with a full redesign. The new XPS 14 and 16 are Dell's thinnest laptops to date at 14.6 mm, [music] sporting the Intel Panther Lake chips, and they've gone allin on Intel Arc integrated [music] graphics. No discrete GPU options at all. The displays can drop to 1 hertz during static [music] content, which lets them achieve a reported 27 hours of battery life, and they've shaved almost a full pound off the XPS 16. Prices for these new laptops are starting at $2,49 with the XPS 13 returning later this year at a lower price point. They also dropped a huge 52-in 6K ultrawide monitor for $2,900 for when you need to look at every single spreadsheet. all the spreadsheets. Wi-Fi 8 is apparently already here. While it won't technically be fully released until 2028, companies are already showing off products using the new standard before everyone has even had the chance to adopt Wi-Fi 7. Leading the charge is ASUS with their new ROG Neoore router concept. This weird D20-shaped AI router will apparently improve range and latency for gamers using Wi-Fi on their battle stations, and it boasts twice the data throughput recorded with Wi-Fi 7. Can the AI part help me hit a NAT 20 on a fumble rule? Let's hope. Meanwhile, Zixel is already pitching Wi-Fi 8 to carriers and enterprise customers with its AI ready connectivity gear with the goal of future proofing clients years ahead of the new rollout. Even the silicon makers are getting on the train early with MediaTek revealing its new Flogic Wi-Fi 8 chips that likely will be seen in most of the network equipment that comes out in the next few years. While the full benchmarks for these new standards haven't been fully released yet, the big thing all these companies seem to be pushing is that the new generation is not going to show a massive jump in network speeds. Instead, the focus is on the reliability benefits of the new spec. And honestly, if you're your family's resident tech expert this holiday season, you might even trade some speed for increased reliability. At this point, CES Storage News wasted zero time getting weird. Goner, sorry, Connor, the long-forgotten '9s hard drive manufacturer, showed up with products that look nothing like traditional hard drives, including a phone backup drive and a bizarre hybrid gadget that's part external drive and part 65 watt charger. It's kind of like a second computer that plugs into your computer to make it compute better, but it's a cube and, you know, not a computer. Kind of weird. Right next to that, we get a glimpse of where modern SSD design is heading, and it's surprisingly minimal. Micron unveiled the 3610, making the industry's first PCIe 5.0 QLC SSD, packing up to 4 TB of storage into a tiny single-sided DRAMless M.2 drive that can still somehow push about 11 gigabytes per second. It's an OEM only model for now, but hey, if it's cheaper, then that's a win-win in my books. That announcement pairs nicely with Fizen's new DRAMless Gen 5 storage controllers, which reportedly offer big savings in power draw along with an 8 terbte capacity. And then there's Hoe, the company best known for professional camera gimbals. Casually dropping one of the most creator focused drives at the show. Their new SSD 1 offers all the regular things a USB drive normally would, but comes with an expandability option that the company says marks the first time you can actually upgrade the storage on an external SSD. Another neat feature is the dedicated microphone input, allowing for direct audio recording. Clearly, this thing is designed for people on the go. You know what? Kind of like our sponsor. This holiday season, I was stuck in a home alone style situation, trying to get home with my kid while juggling flights. And one thing I didn't need was a disconnected phone, which is why I use SY. You download the eSIM once. It works in every country you pass through. No swapping SIMs. With global and regional plans, you stay connected in tons of places without racking up roaming fees. It's great for taking irresponsible detours to visit CES 2026 in Las Vegas instead of rushing home to your abandoned child. There's no dealing with SIM sellers who can be as shady as the wet bandits and no wandering for Wi-Fi, just reliable connections on iOS or Android. With Kaye, I can focus on getting home safely instead of worrying about staying online. I should worry about booby traps when I get home though to get an exclus micro machines, you know, to get an exclusive 50% discount on sale eum data plans. Download the SY app and use TechLinked. I mean the code TechLinked I check check check check LINKED THE CHECKOUT KEVIN THE FIRST RULE OF QUICK BITS is that you're not allowed to talk about quick bits the second rule of quick BITS IS DO NOT TALK ABOUT QUICK bits but here's the quick bits new rumors suggest NVIDIA is prepping to bring the RTX 3060 back into production in Q1 of 2026 as memory shortages and sky-high prices refuse to calm down adding credence to earlier board channels claims that the company's supply of factory new 3060s were running below. Funnily enough, this lines up nicely with what NVIDIA CEO Jensen Wong said when asked by analysts about pricing pressure, floating the idea of resurrecting older GPUs and maybe even backporting newer AI features to them instead of waiting on bleeding edge silicon. AMD isn't immune either. During a CES Q&A, Ryzen chief David McCaffy was asked directly about soaring RAM costs and replied that reintroducing products back into the AM4 ecosystem is something AMD is very actively working on. So, if you missed buying those parts during the 2021 chip shortage, now's your chance. IO Interactive has unveiled the PC system requirements for their upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light. The intro makes sense now. and fans were shaken, not stirred, to discover some of the listed hardware just doesn't exist. The minimum specs called for an Intel Core i5 9500 K, which Intel just never made. There is an i59500, sure, but there's no K variant. Meanwhile, the recommended spec demanded a RTX 3060Ti with 12 GB of VRAM. Except that card only came with 8 gigs. Even setting aside the phantom parts, these specs are pretty brutal. 32 GB of RAM and 12 GB of VRAM just to hit 1080p 60fps. But at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you need to get one of NVIDIA's new Reuben supercomputers with some of those gooods from the Matrix as a power supply. Luckily, the game doesn't launch until May 27th. And at the rate that Tesla, Unitary, and NVIDIA are hurdling us towards Matrix dystopia territory, we might be getting those pods sooner than you think. Elon Musk's XAI is having a bit of a week. Governments across the UK, EU, France, India, Brazil, and Malaysia have all launched investigations after researchers found Grock was generating thousands of deep fakes an hour, including images of minors. These governments stated that it was illegal, appalling, and disgusting, calling for immediate action with regards to improving safeguards on the chatbot. X's response, it was to threaten their users. The company released a statement saying that anyone prompting illegal content will face consequences without giving any details on how they plan to improve safeguards. As this rolling train wreck continues, Musk announced that Tesla will build its own 2nm chip fab, claiming that [music] wafer isolation meant traditional clean rooms were unnecessary and promising to eat a cheeseburger and smoke a cigar inside of their new facility. We here at Techlink look forward to witnessing him destroy a $60 billion machine the same way I destroyed my 1997 Honda Civic back in high school by hotboxing it and dropping a Big Mac into the transmission. Samsung is in hot water after a Texas court issued a restraining order blocking the company from allegedly using automated content recognition to capture screenshots from smart TVs without proper consent. The lawsuit claims Samsung TVs could grab screenshots multiple times per second and monetize viewing habits through ads. This comes after a string of lawsuits towards other major TV brands for spying on Texans. Although those lawsuits didn't end up with restraining orders, except for Highense, they got one. Samsung hearing is on the 9th with the actual order expiring on the 19th, meaning that the company has only 2 days to get on up over to Texas and lawyer up to explain why their TVs are seemingly watching themselves. It's the year of the keyboard turducken at CES because these cubes are stuffed. Corsair unveiled the Gallion 100 SD edition, a mechanical keyboard with a full 5 in Stream Deck LCD built right in, plus 8K pulling and dual rotary dials. Keyron also dropped their Q Ultra series with 660 hours of battery life and also 8K pulling, cuz you know, you need a keyboard to be able to play your 9 or 10 consecutive playthroughs of Balders's Gate 3. HP responded with the Elite board G1A, a full Windows 11 PC crammed into a keyboard. It's got an AMD Ryzen AI 300 chip, 50 plus tops of MPU performance, upgradeable RAM and storage, and Wi-Fi 7. CES gave it an innovation award for finally making computers portable. Let's ignore the laptops, of course, and mini PCs. And you know what? Ignore the Raspberry Pies, too. And that's the tech news. If you need me, I'm going to be hunting down an RTX 3060 Ti with 12 gigs of VRAM. Dr. No. and Goldfinger must have teamed up to steal the world supply. Money penny, start my 1997 Honda Civic and get me my Big Mac."}