You know, tech news is kind of like Magic the Gathering. There's near constant new releases to keep up with.
Lord knows it can get expensive. Both have forecasting and scrying mechanics
and people online are almost always pissed off about it. So NVIDIA's N1X ARM-based laptop class CPU
was recently spotted in a shipping manifest for an unreleased Dell laptop,
reigniting hype for the world's most valuable company
to enter a new market. Wait, why do we want this again?
The leak lined up perfectly with a new report from Digitimes placing NVIDIA's big ARM laptop debut
on an internal roadmap for Q1, 2026.
That's now, according to supply change sources,
followed by three additional variants in Q2,
likely aimed at enterprise buyers. Meanwhile, the next generation and two series
is apparently already penciled in for Q3, 2027.
Okay, settle down. The first one's already been out yet.
I'm gonna call you Sparky. Which would make sense? Considering what Jensen Wong confirmed late last year,
N1 silicon is the same GB10 super chip
used in the DGX Spark. NVIDIA's Mac mini looking pro workstation
for AI developers and researchers with a 20 core ARM CPU, integrated Blackwell GPU
and a holier than thou attitude. But even if you're not stoked
for an ARM powered Windows laptop chip from the four and a half trillion dollar company,
you have to admit it's interesting. NVIDIA's Tegra CPUs powered the much hated
Microsoft Surface 2 Windows RT tablet
and the much loved Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. But this would be the first time NVIDIA goes toe to toe
with Intel, AMD and Qualcomm CPUs
in the Windows laptop market. Who are we cheering for?
And I don't, it's very confusing.
When in doubt, go Linux. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaking
at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
has warned that the AI boom could falter
or even wiggle and wobble like some kind of bubble.
If AI doesn't move beyond flashy demos into real everyday productivity gains,
otherwise he says companies could lose the social permission
to keep pouring electricity, chips and money into these systems.
These AI companies are just like Francis Ford Coppola
and his movie, Megalopolis. They don't care if the product makes any money,
they must perform an exercise in excess, it's art.
What did you say? Investment in these businesses is what's keeping the US economy afloat?
Oh, I guess that's why everyone's scrambling
to figure out how to actually monetize this stuff. OpenAI is reportedly preparing to introduce ads
into chat GBT while Gemini will definitely not introduce ads.
Insists Google, the web ads monopoly company.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA's Jensen Wong is pushing back hard
on bubble fears, arguing that AI isn't overhyped
so much as it's underbuilt and that large investments are still required
before AI can truly transform industries.
Pretty much Satya is saying AI still needs to prove it's worth.
Jensen is saying these jackets don't pay for themselves.
You like my jacket? Sony has announced it's basically handing over control
of its TV and home audio business, including the iconic Bravia line to TCL
or at least to a new joint venture that TCL will own 51% of with Sony keeping 49%.
The deal still keeps the Sony and Bravia branding on future TVs, but TCL will take the lead
on product development, manufacturing, sales, logistics and customer support while Sony contributes
its picture processing, audio tech and brand value.
I mean Sony, that's Walkman, PlayStation, Pro cameras, TCL.
What do they make, a tape? The goal is to battle thin margins
by marrying Sony's premium image with TCL's scale,
cost efficiency and supply chain muscle. Still, it feels a little weird.
It's as if Costco's in-house brand Kirkland
bought Versace to get the fashionistas inside them big, beautiful bulk shopping warehouses.
These are Okadur mass produced consumer electronics.
Mwah, try the hot dogs. Regulatory approvals are still needed
and the new company isn't expected to start up until around April, 2027
once binding agreements are finalized. Now, if you're a total Bravia head, don't worry.
Bravia products, much like the NFL's Buffalo Bills
are not going anywhere, but someone new is going to be calling the plays.
The Bills, they fired their coach. It's a football reference.
I need a break. I'm going to have a seat on our sponsor.
Now, classically, the QuickBits play mono red
because they're aggro. But Sonic the Hedgehog is their favorite commander
because they love flash and haste. I don't know what I just said.
AMD might be hitting pause on major new gaming GPU launches
until around 2027, at least according to rumors coming out
of the Anantek forums, which are still alive and well, apparently.
Awesome. The chatter is driven by a well-known leaker,
Kepler underscore L2, who claims AMD's next-gen RDNA5
could arrive after NVIDIA's RTX 60 series,
also rumored to launch next year. If true, that would make 2026 a pretty quiet year
for new Radeon GPUs and GPUs in general, really,
as AMD focuses on timing, process nodes, and competitive positioning,
rather than rushing out new cards. I know patience is a virtue,
but I wouldn't be mad if you all rushed out a new card. I said it.
The tech news guy thinks new GPUs are cool. So sue me, I'll see you in court.
Twitter has open sourced its recommendation algorithm,
which decides what shows up in user's feeds right as the platform faces a looming EU transparency fine
and renewed controversy around their AI companion, Grock.
Is that what we're calling him? Sure. The move follows long-standing promises from Elon
to make the platform more transparent, although it only took him like what,
three years from when he made the poll about it? I've been recommended things constantly on Twitter
since then, and I had no idea why. How does it know I like things?
A French court has ruled that Apple can keep app tracking transparency turned on,
rejecting advertiser demands to weaken and remove the feature.
ATT, first introduced in 2021, forces apps to ask permission
before tracking users across other apps and websites.
And most users say no to that.
No thank you for obvious reasons. French ad groups argue that the feature
cuts targeting effectiveness by nearly 50%,
but the court found no abuse of power on Apple's side,
which is a little ironic, given that blocking everyone else from harvesting
your user data and serving you personalized ads just allows Apple to do it by themselves.
Honestly, I'm okay with that if it means that the only thing being advertised to me
is a $300 phone satchel. Hey, remember that Swiss assisted death pod
that led to several arrests, and later the assisted death of the doctor
who helped oversee its first use because of the psychological damage that was caused
from being involved in that whole situation? Yeah, well it's back.
Now with AI, the sarcopod developed by Exit International
is being updated with an AI-driven mental fitness screening,
meant to assess the user before they use it,
including a new model called the double Dutch for couples.
Apparently having a psychologist is too expensive,
so the new plan is to have an AI agent assess both partners
to see if they should be allowed to die and then give them 24 hours in the pods to think it over.
I feel like this is probably the one thing, the absolute one thing
that AI should definitely not be used for. I mean, they already kind of look
like the Matrix battery farm pods. What are we doing?
Okay, that was dark. Let's end with some good news. American and Korean researchers have collaborated
to develop a stretchable OLED that can double in size without dimming, ha ha.
They used ultra-thin Maxine electrodes and specialized organic layers
to keep the display bright even when stretched, achieving a record 17% external quantum efficiency.
And while I don't know exactly what external quantum deficiency efficiency is,
the important thing is that apparently flexible, wearable displays are closer to reality than ever before.
I think the real question is, if they brought this stretchable OLED onto Jimmy Fallon's show,
would it actually stretch or would it get performance anxiety like the last guy?
That's rude. I won't judge your performance as an audience member.
If you come back on Friday for more tech news, I gotta go get some Paxilorwin Eclipse.
Y'all know I'm a big Kithkin guy, little knockoff brand hobbit ass freaks.
Geez, that's a little, okay. Sorry.
Nathan wrote that. Tweet Nathan.
I don't know if he has Twitter.