WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.720 Apple has just spectacularly had its ass handed to it in a way I didn't think I would see 00:00:06.720 --> 00:00:12.560 in Tim Sweeney's lifetime. On Wednesday, the judge in Epic Games' lawsuit against Apple 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:18.960 ordered Apple to immediately allow iOS app developers to include buttons and external links 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:25.840 to alternative payment options in a fiery ruling, excoriating the tech giant for repeatedly 00:00:25.840 --> 00:00:31.920 defying court orders, lying under oath, and consistently making bad choices. A copy of 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:37.600 the ruling was also sent to every Apple executive's mother. I'm just kidding, but that would be great. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:43.760 Because Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers did not hold back, she accuses Apple VP of finance, 00:00:43.760 --> 00:00:50.000 Alex Roman, of lying under oath and referred the incident to federal prosecutors for possible 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:56.640 criminal contempt of court. She says CEO Tim Cook chose to listen to his CFO's advice to ignore 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:04.640 the court's injunction, and in doing so, Cook chose poorly. She sounds like a Viking shaman 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:15.040 telling a cautionary tale. Is that offensive, Bjorn? Other highlights include the judge calling 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:21.280 out Apple for internally calling it a good thing if external link pop-ups are scary, 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:28.240 and then defending that by arguing that scary is a term of art, an industry-specific term that 00:01:28.240 --> 00:01:36.480 means raising awareness and caution, which A is BS, and B, that still means scary. Now because Apple 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:42.560 has been acting a fool, Gonzalez Rogers ended with some bangers, writing that she will not 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:49.760 be entertaining a request for a stay because this is an injunction, not a negotiation. For this court, 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:55.920 there is no second bite at the Apple. Ooh, you know when she finished writing this at 3am, 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:01.280 she's hitting those keys hard. Now Apple is actually complying with the order. They updated 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:06.720 their App Store guidelines to remove restrictions on buttons, external links, and calls to action in 00:02:06.720 --> 00:02:13.520 the US. And some companies have already started to car-pay this DM, including Spotify, Stripe, 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:19.760 and Patreon, as announced by CEO Jack Conti in another of his signature video updates filled 00:02:19.760 --> 00:02:25.040 with what I like to call parasocial manic boyfriend energy. Okay, I know you're worried, 00:02:25.040 --> 00:02:28.320 and I promise I'll sleep soon, but this is important. Been doing a lot of research. 00:02:29.040 --> 00:02:34.240 Meanwhile, Epic Games is taking a victory lap, announcing web shops, a feature that will make 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:39.280 it easier for app developers to avoid Apple's in-app purchasing by linking to payment options 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:44.400 elsewhere. And Epic is so happy, they also announced the Epic Games Store will take 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:50.160 zero revenue from the first $1 million a game makes every year, which is like their previous 00:02:50.160 --> 00:02:56.960 policy announced in 2020, but with a yearly reset. Now CEO Tim Sweeney apparently thinks this ruling 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:04.400 will make it so that Fortnite can return to iOS next week. But Apple kicked them out for breach 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:10.160 of contract. So Sparky might be getting a little excited. Also, though they're complying with 00:03:10.160 --> 00:03:17.600 the ruling for now, Apple said they're still planning to appeal. And Mr. Apple? I wouldn't have it any 00:03:17.600 --> 00:03:23.280 other way. That's a joke. Please stop. Believe it or not, other stuff happened this week. Like, 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:29.360 for example, the Trump administration officially ended the de minimis rule that exempted inexpensive 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:35.680 goods from import tariffs. And this rule was basically the only reason that Timu and Xi'en 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:41.840 got so popular in the US as the go-to destination for finding cheap things to ship directly from 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:46.720 China so you can fill up your house and hopefully the hole in your heart. I think you can still see 00:03:46.720 --> 00:03:52.560 some of the floor over there. Better fire up the app. Well, not anymore. Timu says they've stopped 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:58.720 shipping goods from China directly to US customers and will now focus on shipping items from US-based 00:03:58.720 --> 00:04:05.120 warehouses. Meanwhile, tariffs have driven Xbox to raise the prices of its consoles, accessories, 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:12.640 and games worldwide. The base model Series X will now cost 600 USD up from 500 while the two 00:04:12.640 --> 00:04:20.800 terabyte version is now $730, making it more expensive than a PS5 Pro, which Xbox is probably 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.680 fine with because they are making it very clear they do not care if you buy an Xbox. Because 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:31.600 of this rate, the PS5 Pro and your grandma will be an Xbox. Everybody's an Xbox. Also, wait, 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:38.000 why are game prices going up? Those don't have to be imported. Um, just because? Ah, yeah, sounds 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:44.320 right. And now it sounds like it's time for the quick bits. What do you mean you can't hear that? 00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:50.480 References to a higher-tier Intel Battlemage GPU, codenamed BGM31, have been spotted in 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:56.240 manifests for shipments traveling between Intel Vietnam and its other Labs, according to Twitter 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:03.360 posts from the leaker known as haze. Other Twitter leaker, OneWriteU, also suggested Intel hasn't 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:10.320 given up on a more powerful sibling to the Arc B570 and B580, despite rumors to the contrary. 00:05:10.320 --> 00:05:14.960 But there are also rumors of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger being fired, but he's still there. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:24.000 He's still, he's still in, in, in here. Pat! A company called Aurora has become the first to 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:30.160 commercially deploy self-driving Class 8 trucks, which will be driving themselves all over the 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:36.640 great highways and byways of Texas, completely without a driver inside, which is, unbeknownst 00:05:36.640 --> 00:05:42.320 to many Tesla owners, what self-driving is actually supposed to mean. Although it definitely helps 00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:47.760 that Aurora trucks use LiDAR. I hear it's better than regular cameras. Two storied gaming outlets 00:05:47.760 --> 00:05:54.160 were hit by sudden layoffs this week. Giant Bombs owner Fandom laid off a number of prominent staff, 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:59.680 including Jeff Grubb, who we have cited on the show many times. Many staff at Polygon were also 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:05.280 let go, as the site was sold by Vox Media to Valnet, the company that owns a ton of brands, 00:06:05.280 --> 00:06:10.240 including Game Rant, Dual Shockers, XDA Developers, Android Police, and How To Geek. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:15.520 I would say, well at least some staff survived the purge, but they're now working for a holding 00:06:15.520 --> 00:06:22.320 company that sued the rap over that outlets report on sweatshop-like conditions at Valnet's companies. 00:06:22.320 --> 00:06:26.480 So, uh, guess who'll be wearing shorts to work now. 00:06:27.280 --> 00:06:33.200 And Japanese researchers have proven you can get cicadas to play the Baroque classic 00:06:33.200 --> 00:06:39.120 Pachelbel's Canon by jabbing electrodes into their specialized sound producing organs called 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:47.200 Timbles. Okay. Why? The researchers say, hey, it doesn't harm them and one day, 00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:50.880 they could be used in emergency situations, such as earthquakes. 00:06:52.320 --> 00:06:59.840 To do what? Give grandma's a heart attack? Earthquake! I mean, she's already been turned 00:06:59.840 --> 00:07:04.960 into an Xbox. Give her a break! And it's time for us all to take a break from tech news, 00:07:04.960 --> 00:07:11.200 but only until Monday when we'll all come back here and check on our Xbox mutation progress. 00:07:11.200 --> 00:07:14.720 I'm already starting to see my buttons come in.