1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,560 Okay, hey, sorry, yeah. 2 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:07,760 I got winded from jogging over here because I stuffed myself fuller 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:12,580 than a deep fried American turkey. And now I got sugar plums dancing in my tumtums. 4 00:00:12,580 --> 00:00:16,160 Anyway, here's the tech news. Custom PC company, Main Gear, 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:21,920 has launched a bring your own RAM program, letting customers buy fully built gaming PCs 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,040 without memory installed as a practical solution 7 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,400 to the ongoing RAM crisis. We can call it a crisis. 8 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,680 Yup, I'm crisis-ing. Hey, RAM's expensive. 9 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,280 Have you considered not buying it? The idea is simple. 10 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,520 DDR5 prices are high, availability is inconsistent, 11 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:43,240 and a lot of buyers already have RAM on hand or want to shop around for a better deal. 12 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,280 Instead of forcing customers to overpay or wait, 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:50,000 Main Gear builds a system, tests it, and then leaves the memory slots empty 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,120 for you to slide in and push until they click 15 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,760 and finish the job. For people upgraded from an existing system, 16 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:01,400 or for those willing to hunt for deals, it's a rare bit of flexibility in a PC market 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,440 that usually insists you pay the markup or wait in line. 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,520 Or, I suppose you could build your own RAM? 19 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,920 The box of scraps. Some Russian enthusiasts are crazy over there. 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:18,880 Reportedly started building their own DDR5 sticks by soldering memory chips onto blank PCBs. 21 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:22,960 They may not be the fastest, and they definitely do not come with a warranty. 22 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:27,600 But I feel like we're onto something with this. Scrappyard Wars with DIY memory, anyone? 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:35,120 Samsung is dealing with a bunch of their ex-employees leaking trade secrets to China. 24 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:39,120 One engineer is accused of smuggling handwritten notes to a competitor in China, 25 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,840 though South Korea prosecutors could not confirm whether the note contained details 26 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,920 about the company's DRAM tech, or simply a message reading, 27 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:50,140 do you like me, circle yes or no? This alleged leak is part of a broader case 28 00:01:50,140 --> 00:01:54,800 where 10 ex-Samsung employees have been indicted for industrial espionage. 29 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,800 Love that word. That prosecutor's claim enabled CXMT 30 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,960 to mass produce 10 nanometer class DRAM, 31 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:07,560 which may have cost Samsung and South Korea tens of trillions of won in lost revenue 32 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,680 and national economic damage. That's a lot of won, but not a lot of winning. 33 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,880 Ow! Yeah, you just- Ow! 34 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:19,940 Samsung appears to be dealing with all kinds of corruption issues as the company is reportedly internally investigating claims 35 00:02:19,940 --> 00:02:25,320 that some of its staff may have taken kickbacks to steer memory chip orders and allocations 36 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,920 with the company interviewing employees in Taiwan and reshuffling some sales and marketing personnel 37 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:33,360 as part of the review. The RAM shortage is nuts, 38 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,760 but hey, if enough information leaks, maybe China will help pull us out of these troubles. 39 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,600 Or maybe they'll just take a bunch of money for their own AI data centers 40 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:45,000 and set their robot army to auto invade. Who knows? 41 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,640 There's no way to predict. They got robots and people. We'll take either of those. 42 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:53,080 Best in both worlds. Speaking of AI, NVIDIA has dropped $20 billion 43 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,520 to buy GROC without actually buying GROC. 44 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,200 This is like that TikTok deal all over again. They're not actually buying it, one, 45 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:05,800 because it's not the Twitter chatbot, but an AI hardware company called GROC with a Q. 46 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,760 And two, because the deal brings GROC's founder and president, Jonathan Ross, 47 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:14,520 along with other key engineers over to NVIDIA while GROC stays an independent company. 48 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,240 They're kind of like a gelatinous Q rolling over GROC. 49 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,840 The move effectively gives NVIDIA access to cutting edge AI inference chips 50 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,880 and talent without formally buying the whole company. According to WCCF tech, 51 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:31,280 this deal is a surgical masterclass on NVIDIA's part, but other analysts say the deal is just structured 52 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,760 to keep the fiction of competition alive while sidestepping at Josh scrutiny, 53 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:41,320 which just seems to be easier and easier every day. Now I'm imagining Jensen as some sort of cannibal war chief 54 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,400 in a Mad Max scenario, cutting away the meat from other companies 55 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,800 for NVIDIA to devour. You think his leather jacket is useful or too warm in that situation? 56 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,400 Let us know in the comments. Probably not as useful as our sponsor would be. 57 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,040 The quick bits ate so much Christmas dinner, but I think they could have kept going personally. 58 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,960 Those freaks have got a faster metabolism than the Kobayashi or Joey Chestnut combined. 59 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,160 Famous for their hot dog swallowing. Yes. 60 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,000 ASUS was rumored to be planning to build its own DRAM memory chip fabs 61 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:13,600 to help ease the global memory shortage, but those rumors have officially been shot down. 62 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,400 Sorry y'all. ASUS told Taiwanese media outlets, CNA it has no plans to invest in memory 63 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:23,520 wafer fabrication and will instead work with existing suppliers and tweak its product mix. 64 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,600 CNA noted that building a fab takes at least two years 65 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,120 and at least tons of money. So ASUS is sticking to its core strengths 66 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,360 rather than trying to solve today's supply crunch itself, 67 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:37,040 which is too bad ASUS, because we would really like it 68 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,800 if you could have solved today's supply crunch. That would have actually been helpful. 69 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,240 By the time it got solved. Making more X-box. There'd be a new crunch. 70 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:49,800 Google is finally preparing to let users change their old at gmail.com email addresses. 71 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,280 Something that's basically been impossible since Gmail first launched. 72 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:59,400 The option will allow users to adopt a new Gmail username while keeping the old address as an alias. 73 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,280 So you won't lose emails or account access. The feature was spotted early on a Google support page 74 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:08,520 that appears only in Hindi, suggesting that this should be something on the way soon. 75 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,600 Although why it appears in that language, God only knows. 76 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:17,160 I'm just concerned that I'll never again get an email from adults still using addresses like Mel Gibson fan 99 77 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,480 or the underscore thunders pants. 78 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,400 Thunder Spants? It's what Mel Gibson wore in the Mad Max movie 79 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,080 in the Thunderdome. The Spants. 80 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:33,080 They can change our names, but they'll never take our memories. 81 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:37,320 Different Mel Gibson movie, but yeah. AI data centers are getting so power hungry 82 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:42,840 that US company HGP Intelligent Energy wants to repurpose retired Navy nuclear reactors 83 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:46,280 from submarines and aircraft carriers to power them. 84 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:49,880 The proposal could deliver roughly 450 to 520 megawatts 85 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,560 of constant electricity, enough for about 360,000 homes 86 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:57,960 and would rely on the Department of Energy support to get that off the ground. 87 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:02,560 Finally, a solution that makes sense. And if nuclear warship leftovers isn't enough 88 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,280 to roger your jollies, data center demand is also reportedly bringing back 89 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,960 the use of fossil fuel peak or power plants to help alleviate the load. 90 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,640 There's also rumors of an expedition to the bottom of the sea 91 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:17,640 to acquire the mystical gems that powered Atlantis in the Disney movie, 92 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,680 which sounds promising and James Cameron will probably be there. 93 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,480 And will the hot girl be there too? Apple is allowing third party earbuds 94 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:30,160 to use AirPod style proximity pairing with iOS 26.3, 95 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,280 meaning you can just bring them close to your iPhone 96 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:37,520 and tap to connect. At least in the EU, where the Digital Markets Act has forced Apple 97 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:42,200 to open up its ecosystem just a little bit. Ah, the land of milk and honey. 98 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,920 Watches from other companies will also be gaining limited notification support. 99 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:51,680 So Luddites who insist upon circular watches can receive notifications on either their iPhone 100 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,520 or their watch, but not both. You wanna round the corners 101 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,200 of a much more functional square shaped watch? And for what? 102 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,240 Nostalgia, tradition? You'll be tied to the tracks and trampled under 103 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,000 the relentless engine of progress, you sad fool. 104 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,040 Ha, ha, ha. And here's some bad news for Ubisoft. 105 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:16,880 Apparently hackers massively abused Rainbow Six Siege taking over parts of Ubisoft systems 106 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,360 to ban and unban players, unlock rare items, 107 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:25,480 boost players' renown and inject accounts with roughly 2 billion R6 credits, 108 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:30,020 valued at roughly $13.3 million. The hack forced Ubisoft to shut down the game 109 00:07:30,020 --> 00:07:33,320 and marketplace and roll back recent transactions. 110 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:37,320 But they clarified that players won't be punished for using the bogus credits. 111 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,360 They're like a bank. Ubisoft has denied any large scale leak of user data 112 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:46,980 or source code, making it seem like this hack comes from an in-game exploit, which is ridiculous 113 00:07:46,980 --> 00:07:51,080 because isn't this the company that made Watch Dogs? The ultimate hacker game? 114 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:56,760 They made Watch Dogs. And you should come back on Wednesday to watch these dogs hack your brain with more tech news. 115 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,200 In the meantime, I've gotta finish this jog 116 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:04,720 because I got more Christmas leftovers to work through before they spoil. 117 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:06,320 Potatoes, baby!