WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.040 Shall I compare thee to the tech news? Or is that not appropriate because you're a person and not an abstract concept? 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:10.720 You're both? Wow, I mean, they're happy for you. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:18.160 Microsoft plans to restart a nuclear power plant to feed its incredibly power-hungry AI data centers. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.080 The plant in question is the Three Mile Island facility in Pennsylvania, 00:00:22.080 --> 00:00:28.480 which is the subject of a Netflix documentary because it underwent a partial meltdown back in 1979 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:32.240 in the worst nuclear power accident in US history. 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:39.760 On the one hand, it seems kind of dangerous. On the other hand, co-pilot keeps saying it's hungry and we still don't know what it eats. 00:00:39.760 --> 00:00:46.240 Okay, it's not actually nearly as bad as it sounds. Firstly, because the meltdown happened in TMI Unit 2, 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:51.280 which has been in the decommissioning process since 1979 and is mostly cleaned up already. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:56.640 TMI Unit 1 is an independent facility that wasn't impacted by the accident 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.000 but was retired for economic reasons in 2019. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.200 That's the facility that will be rebooted by Microsoft's partner Constellation Energy 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:11.600 as the Crane Clean Energy Center because the massive amounts of power required to run AI 00:01:11.600 --> 00:01:15.280 are leading tech giants to seek out clean sources of energy. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.840 The fact is that meltdowns are extremely rare. We've learned a lot about how to stop them. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.840 And the only waste nuclear power plants create is water vapor 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:31.120 and a tiny amount of radioactive material. Because if we're going to screw up society by creating an AI slot-powered dystopia, 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:37.920 we might as well not screw up the planet doing so. I just hope the Three Mile Island plant doesn't need pieces like the control panel 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:45.040 that's being removed for the sake of historical preservation. I hope this new plant on the Three Mile Island doesn't interfere with the salad dressing production. 00:01:46.080 --> 00:01:48.960 Totally different island. Oh. Way more miles involved. 00:01:49.600 --> 00:01:57.760 It's a salad dressing joke, guys. AMD is continuing tech's proud tradition of just being the worst at naming things. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:01.200 AMD plans to take its Hawk Point laptop chips, 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.360 which launched as the Ryzen 8040 series earlier this year, 00:02:05.360 --> 00:02:08.960 and rebadged them as the Ryzen 200 series, 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:14.640 according to a Weibo post from a so-far-reliable leaker named Golden Pig Upgrade. 00:02:14.640 --> 00:02:19.040 This is an especially perplexing move coming after AMD already launched 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:23.440 the Ryzen AI 300 series of laptop chips. 00:02:23.440 --> 00:02:29.840 But I guess having a product to confuse customers with, just before Intel launches their core 200 series processors, 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:33.120 is more important than adhering to traditional values of sequentialism. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:40.320 Speaking of fun branding, Golden Pig Upgrade also posted details about AMD's upcoming high-performance laptop chips, 00:02:40.320 --> 00:02:47.280 codenamed Strix Halo. These will be branded as Ryzen AI Max 300, 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:51.920 so named because they'll require one uranium rod's worth of power each to turn on. 00:02:51.920 --> 00:02:58.160 That's just what it costs. Qualcomm was reportedly considering the idea of acquiring certain parts of Intel a couple weeks 00:02:58.160 --> 00:03:05.040 ago, and according to the Wall Street Journal, Qualcomm actually approached Intel about a possible takeover. 00:03:05.040 --> 00:03:08.720 The balls on these guys! I mean, Intel's been in a rough spot, 00:03:08.720 --> 00:03:12.320 but they've recently laid out very specific plans for recovery, 00:03:12.320 --> 00:03:16.320 and Qualcomm has been gunning for Intel's spot in mainstream laptops. 00:03:16.320 --> 00:03:19.360 It's kind of like having your teenage brother ask you to be his Twitch mod 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:23.760 for a reasonable wage paid in Robux. Can I buy milk with that? 00:03:24.480 --> 00:03:26.880 In game? Roblox milk? 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:32.160 It's also kind of intriguing because the day before the Journal's report, 00:03:32.160 --> 00:03:37.680 Qualcomm announced plans to lay off 226 workers in California in the coming months, 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.960 after laying off 1200 less than a year ago. 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:44.720 Well, how else are you supposed to afford Pat Gelsinger? He takes a modest salary. 00:03:44.720 --> 00:03:47.600 He's a million bajillion dollars. He's a good man. 00:03:48.320 --> 00:03:53.120 He looks like it. Analysts speculate that the company's Snapdragon X series laptops 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:59.200 underperforming may have something to do with this. Meanwhile, early impressions of Intel's Lunar Lake laptops 00:03:59.200 --> 00:04:03.920 indicate they'll match or exceed the performance and battery life of Qualcomm's competitors. 00:04:03.920 --> 00:04:09.040 But Qualcomm wanted to shoot their shot. And hey, game recognized game. 00:04:09.040 --> 00:04:12.720 I probably didn't use that correctly. I don't even know what the game refers to. 00:04:12.720 --> 00:04:19.200 He's a rapper from California. They call me Riley the Kid, and I'm the quickest bit in the West. 00:04:19.200 --> 00:04:22.240 None of that was accurate. They call you Riley the Rizzler. 00:04:23.440 --> 00:04:30.480 Microsoft has launched the Windows app, which is a Windows app that runs Windows and Windows apps. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:36.400 I promise I'm not having a stroke. The Windows app is likewise available for iOS, macOS, and web browsers 00:04:36.400 --> 00:04:40.080 as a replacement for the Microsoft Remote Desktop app. 00:04:40.080 --> 00:04:47.680 Much like its predecessor, the Windows app allows users to connect remotely to another computer, which is using Windows. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:52.560 However, it also includes the option of connecting to a cloud-based Windows OS. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:57.440 The app is currently in preview for Android, and you know what that means, the Windows phone is back. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:06.000 So not really though, you can pretend. Apple has finally launched their Apple Intelligence features to the public, sort of. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.280 The iOS 18.1 public beta is out. 00:05:09.280 --> 00:05:12.720 But anyone can download it if they want and use the features, 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:18.080 or at least the features that are out. Now, many of the features won't be here until 2025. 00:05:18.080 --> 00:05:24.480 But you can use the ones that are out now, as long as you have an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:29.920 But that didn't stop Apple store geniuses from chanting AI at the iPhone launch. 00:05:32.880 --> 00:05:35.920 In case you were wondering, my favorite replies to this tweet were, 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.600 Am I an occult? And just put the phone in the bag, man. 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.880 How excited are we? I just want, I just need a phone. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:49.680 Sony is allegedly making two separate system on chips for the PlayStation 6 generation, 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:56.000 leading to some speculation that there might be a handheld somewhere. 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:01.040 The juice was squeezed by renowned leaker Kepler L2. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:08.720 Kepler isn't sure if there will actually be a handheld, or if it'll be an Xbox Series X slash X2 console tier situation. 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:12.080 But the leaker believes one of them will be affordable. 00:06:12.080 --> 00:06:17.520 Speaking of unaffordable, Sony has announced a highly limited PS5 Pro bundle, 00:06:17.520 --> 00:06:21.440 featuring a PS1 colorway for the console's 30th anniversary. 00:06:21.440 --> 00:06:25.760 And that's actually available for the normal PS5 as well. Unlike the normal PS5 Pro, 00:06:25.760 --> 00:06:31.520 this bundle actually comes with a vertical stand and a matching $200 dual sense edge controller, 00:06:31.520 --> 00:06:35.280 but still no disk drive. Why? Because f**k you. 00:06:35.280 --> 00:06:39.120 Anker has put out a recall for three lithium-ion power banks 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:43.760 due to a manufacturing defect that may result in spontaneous combustion. 00:06:43.760 --> 00:06:46.800 While only a small number of these power banks were affected, 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:51.440 batch manufactured between January 3rd and September 17th of this year, 00:06:51.440 --> 00:07:00.800 Anker also had to recall another power bank, and their A3302 speakerphone back in June for similar fire-related reasons. 00:07:01.760 --> 00:07:06.320 Check our news sources for the specific models, 00:07:06.320 --> 00:07:11.360 and users are advised to put the power banks in a safe, non-flammable location, 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:16.080 and not to throw them away, unless you've got some kind of grudge against the garbage man. 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:26.000 And science is once again messing with forces it doesn't understand, 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:31.680 as researchers discovered that light may be able to leave a cloud of atoms 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:35.440 before it actually entered, said cloud. 00:07:35.440 --> 00:07:39.680 Huh? These alleged scientists made a bunch of atoms really cold, 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:44.560 and then shot them with laser beams to excite them, and I don't like how sexy that sounds. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:48.720 But even worse, they found that when the laser light is at certain frequencies, 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:54.160 atomic excitations can occur before the light enters the atomic cloud. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:57.280 Apparently, this doesn't break any physical laws, 00:07:57.280 --> 00:08:02.400 but that doesn't mean I like thinking about it, and not just because of all those sexed-up atoms. 00:08:02.400 --> 00:08:10.400 Did you write this? I expected a lot more about the time-breaking-to-time space continuum. 00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:15.360 No, sexy jokes. But you know what would be sexiest of all? 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:18.800 If you come back on Monday for more tech news, I won't bring it up again, though. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:22.320 We can just pretend that this whole conversation didn't happen. 00:08:22.320 --> 00:08:25.520 I'll just, okay? Don't make it weird.