1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,280 Happy Halloween! You know when you think about it, this show is a bit like Frankenstein's Monster. 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:10,000 We take bits of tech news from all over the place and jam them into one wildly entertaining 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:15,760 package. Plus, I'm sure our humor makes the viewers grown like the monster sometimes, too, 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:24,640 in ecstasy. AMD's release notes for their latest GPU driver update mysteriously omitted any mention 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:32,640 of Radeon 5000 and 6000 series GPUs, causing concern that AMD was sunsetting those cards. 6 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:37,680 Multiple outlets reached out to AMD, who clarified that the 5000 and 6000 series cards, 7 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:43,680 still in the prime of their lives, would be put into maintenance mode, only getting updates for 8 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:49,840 critical security and bug support. That would be frustrating for owners of the RDNA1 and 2 9 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:56,480 and also a pretty wild move, as some of those graphics cards are only just over three years old. 10 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:02,960 Not to mention that RDNA1 and 2 GPUs power many gaming handhelds, including the just-released 11 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:09,280 ROG Xbox ally. But we could take some small solace in the fact that the Steam Deck and SteamOS 12 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:14,240 powered devices would be unaffected because of AMD's Linux drivers being open source, 13 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:19,120 as if we needed another reason to yearn for the greener SteamOS pastures. 14 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:24,880 But don't despair just yet. After working the internet all up into a tizzy, this driver nightmare 15 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:29,920 might prove to be a Halloween trick from AMD, as they've now declared that they'll continue 16 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:38,560 to release new features and game optimizations for RDNA1 and 2 based cards, quote, as required by 17 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:45,120 market needs. Whatever that means. And I think it's safe to assume that the market doesn't need 18 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:50,880 you to make three-year-old hardware obsolete just a bit too soon, guys. Microsoft is being 19 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:57,920 accused of having YouTube remove videos detailing how to bypass Windows 11's installation requirements. 20 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:04,480 YouTuber CyberCPUTech, aka Rich, told Tom's hardware that having some of his videos taken down 21 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,600 just days apart, he thought something was fishy when he appealed YouTube's decision and they 22 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:15,200 told him his videos contained harmful or dangerous content, leading him to assume Microsoft is 23 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:20,880 pushing for the takedowns rather than it being YouTube's discretion. Now, whether Microsoft's 24 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:26,640 actually involved here is still unclear, and there are many active YouTube videos that cover 25 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:31,920 the same content that he was flagged for, but the story is worth following because Microsoft 26 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:37,200 does appear to be taking drastic actions to get folks to use Windows 11 the way they want you 27 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:44,160 to, including killing poor Windows 10. It's only three years old. Microsoft, 28 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:50,560 the answer might just be to make Windows 11 good, but instead you gave us an optional October update 29 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:56,560 with a funny new bug. Whenever you try to close a task manager window, a new copy of task manager 30 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:02,240 opens up to replace it. Hey, you know what? I guess I can see why folks might want to make 31 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:08,480 content about how to more easily deal with Windows 11's BS. Tesla CEO Elon Musk says 32 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:15,760 idling Tesla vehicles could soon double as part of a 100 million vehicle AI supercomputer 33 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:21,440 generating up to 100 gigawatts of distributed computing power. This plan would allow parked 34 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:27,520 cars to lend their onboard chips to train AI models because in a time when we're strapping 35 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:33,120 decommissioned jet turbines to data centers, heaven forbid we leave a single ounce of computing 36 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:38,560 power on the table. It's a bold idea, although owners may have other Tesla-related concerns 37 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:44,560 right now. What with the company recently issuing a recall of some cyber trucks whose headlights 38 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:50,800 have been falling off thanks to Tesla securing them with adhesive instead of bolts? Hey, who needs 39 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,280 lights anyway, right? Definitely not anyone driving during the daytime, the only time people ever 40 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,480 drive, right? Anyway, meanwhile, the company's RoboTaxies, which launched this year in Austin, 41 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:05,200 Texas, are reportedly crashing more frequently than their Waymo-powered counterparts 42 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:12,160 despite having a human safety supervisor on board. Now on the bright side, SpaceX is reportedly set 43 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:19,760 to land a $2 billion Pentagon contract for Trump's Golden Dome Missile Defense Network. 44 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,080 Because when Tesla stopped moving, Musk just launches something else. 45 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,880 Famously, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's author, came up with the concept for the novel while 46 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:34,400 summering in Switzerland. Funnily enough, the QuickBits also love Switzerland, big skiers, 47 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:40,160 not so big on taking sides in a war. The US and China have agreed to a one-year trade truce, 48 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:46,320 pausing tariffs and restrictions on semiconductors and rare earth exports. The deal marks a rare 49 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:52,880 cooldown in the ongoing tech trade war, with both sides pledging to reopen supply chains and 50 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:58,720 stabilize the global chip market. Still, whether China will be allowed to buy NVIDIA's Blackwell 51 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:04,240 chips remains unclear under the new export rules. So for now, this is less of a peace treaty and 52 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:10,560 more like hitting the snooze button on a trade war that is destined to ring once more. Five more 53 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:18,400 minutes. NAY! Samsung is bringing its chromium-based mobile browser called Samsung Internet to Windows PCs. 54 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:24,560 The browser syncs history, bookmarks, and passwords between Galaxy phones and PCs. Features we 55 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:29,520 definitely haven't seen in a web browser before. Samsung says their new desktop browser will deliver 56 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:36,080 a seamless connected browsing experience. That is also delivered by a plethora of other chromium-based 57 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:41,760 browsers we now have available that all pitch the same thing. But this one is also pre-installed in 58 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:48,720 your phone? Ehh? Ah, Chrome is too. Whatever, it's cool. United States Immigration and Customs 59 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:54,800 Enforcement, better known as ICE, has their agents scanning people's faces with a smartphone app 60 00:05:54,800 --> 00:06:00,560 to verify their citizenship status, as reported by 404 Media. You know, it's about time someone 61 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:04,640 decided whether law enforcement should be able to use facial recognition on the general public, 62 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,160 despite years of debate over the privacy concerns related to such technology. 63 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:14,240 Stop talking! Just look at the camera, because according to a DHS document, you can't refuse. 64 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,920 Plus, it'll store your photo for 15 years for your convenience. 65 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaking of tools used by law enforcement, a new leak indicates that Celebrite's 66 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:28,800 phone cracking tools can pull data from most pixel models unless they're running the Android 67 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:35,200 fork GraphinOS. The leaked slides show that it works even on locked phones, but jokes on the feds, 68 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:40,320 because this leak seems to have originated from one of their own, a user that goes by 69 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:45,760 rogue fed. It just goes to show that once again, if you think your dad is private, 70 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:49,840 there's likely a company or an agent sitting next to you in the mission briefing room 71 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:55,600 who thinks that's just adorable. And YouTuber Nick Bilt, rigged up a Raspberry Pi to make your 72 00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:01,920 regular modern Wi-Fi sound just like that nostalgic screechy era of dial-up modems. 73 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:09,600 Bilt's contraption feeds live wireless traffic through a Pi 3 plus a USB Wi-Fi adapter, 74 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:15,200 letting a microcontroller convert the signal into analog noise, which it plays on a little speaker, 75 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:21,040 resulting in a charming wail. It sounds a little like the distorted last gasps of a dying robot. 76 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,120 It feels like home. This episode is dying too, but we'll be back Monday for more tech news. 77 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:33,600 Here's a Frankenfact. Boris Karlov, who played Frankenstein's monster on screen in 1931, 78 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:38,640 suffered from chronic back pain due to a brace he wore as the monster while filming. 79 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,120 That's horrible. I just hope he feels better now.