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