WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.920 What is tech news, if not billion-dollar corporations acting like confused raccoons 00:00:05.920 --> 00:00:10.160 in a dumpster full of Ethernet cables? Let's see what they've knocked over today. 00:00:11.520 --> 00:00:17.040 Apple is reportedly putting the Mac Pro on the back burner, while also delaying the launch of 00:00:17.040 --> 00:00:22.320 the next series of iPhones. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Girm's Armageddon's 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:29.200 newest power-on newsletter, you know, the Mac Pro probably won't see any major upgrades in 2026. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:36.720 German says that Apple is cooking up a powerful new M5 Ultra chip, but the company is only aiming 00:00:36.720 --> 00:00:43.120 to put it in a refreshed Mac Studio for now. He also reports that Apple is pushing back the launch 00:00:43.120 --> 00:00:52.400 of the iPhone Air 2 and the mainline iPhone 18 lineup beyond 2026 to spring 2027, breaking a 00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:58.560 14-year Apple tradition. Analysts have theorized that the rumor delay of a new iPhone Air could be 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:04.960 a result of poor sales, but our pal Mark here says iPhone Air sales roughly matched Apple's 00:01:04.960 --> 00:01:11.920 expectations, and this wild and wacky new spring launch idea could be the new normal. 00:01:12.960 --> 00:01:18.880 That sounds just as insane as killing the Mac Pro, but of course the Apple faithful 00:01:18.880 --> 00:01:23.600 are totally on board with this. The appropriately named Cult of Mac site 00:01:23.600 --> 00:01:28.720 thinks killing the Mac Pro makes sense, obviously. Apple is really smart, 00:01:28.720 --> 00:01:34.160 and you shouldn't want a Mac Pro anyway. Just drink the Kool-Aid and enjoy the products. 00:01:34.160 --> 00:01:42.240 It's a revolutionary act. It's a little dark. Didn't want to go there with it. 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:50.000 Microsoft is up to some new shenanigans this week after shutting down a major Windows 00:01:50.080 --> 00:01:55.840 activation workaround that pirates have relied on for years. The company quietly pushed back-end 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:02.000 changes that broke KMS38-based activations, which used the mass-grave-popularized method 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:09.680 that let users keep Windows 10 and Office running indefinitely without actually paying for them. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:15.280 Users on these fake installs noticed deactivations right after their devices grabbed the latest 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:22.320 extended security update, proving that even if you forgot about that sketchy ISO you got in 2017, 00:02:22.320 --> 00:02:27.920 Microsoft absolutely did not. Looking at you, G2A, apparently sold one to one of our writers 00:02:28.640 --> 00:02:34.080 whose installation broke. He's a good guy, but even people who did buy Windows more legitimately 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:38.560 weren't spared. Some Business Windows 10 users who installed this week's update 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:43.200 found their systems rolling back to the previous build after rebooting, 00:02:43.200 --> 00:02:48.800 silently failing to apply the patch at all. Truly, the send-off Windows 10 deserves. 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:54.720 The AI hype bubble might finally be wobbling as investors, researchers, and even the AIs 00:02:54.720 --> 00:03:02.640 themselves start acting a little weird. Teal Macro LLC, the hedge fund of Palantir co-founder and 00:03:02.640 --> 00:03:08.640 very eccentric billionaire Peter Teal, dumped its entire NVIDIA stake last quarter, which is 00:03:08.640 --> 00:03:12.400 strange because Teal runs companies that would need NVIDIA GPUs. 00:03:13.760 --> 00:03:20.240 Meanwhile, Meta's AI pioneer in residence, Yan Lacun, who has called large language models a 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:26.560 dead end in AI research, is reportedly gearing up to leave and launch a startup focused on physical 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:35.120 world AI. And that means building systems that perceive gravity, air, human stuff. We care about 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:43.440 those. But not everyone is running from the soon to burst bubble. Jeff Bezos decided to become 00:03:43.440 --> 00:03:50.640 co-CEO of a new startup called Project Prometheus, named after the Greek hero who stole fire from 00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:56.480 the gods, which is perfect for a company that'll apparently use AI to improve manufacturing. 00:03:56.480 --> 00:04:01.920 That's the same thing. But if the AI bubble is a bit wobbly, it's not being helped by stories like 00:04:01.920 --> 00:04:06.960 this one where Anthropics Claude was put in a simulation where it believed it was running a 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:12.960 vending machine. It panicked, assumed it was being scammed, and tried to contact the FBI's cyber 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:21.920 crimes division. And then there's the AI toys, which are allegedly telling five-year-olds how to 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:27.920 find knives and start fires. But this is all just growing pains towards AGI. I mean, you can't make 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:33.680 an omelette without breaking a few eggs. And also, they might need to know how to use knives and start 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:39.600 fires when the machine apocalypse hits. The quick bits, like raccoons, are small and unpredictable 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:43.440 and they're guaranteed to steal your attention before you can chase them off the porch. So in 00:04:43.440 --> 00:04:48.960 that way, you know, Google might have deprecated its first and second generation nest learning 00:04:48.960 --> 00:04:54.400 thermostats, but those devices are still quietly sending sensor data about things like temperature, 00:04:54.400 --> 00:04:59.440 motion, and light back to Google. It still benefits them, just not you anymore. Google 00:04:59.440 --> 00:05:05.120 says the data transmission is necessary so the devices can continue to report logs for issue 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:10.000 diagnostics. So they can diagnose issues that they're no longer going to fix because they don't 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:15.120 support them. Here's an issue I think you can fix, Google. The smart thermostat you sold me no 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:20.240 longer works in the Google Nest app or the Google Home app. And you know what? I'll diagnose that 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:27.680 issue right now. It's you being jerks. Google and Samsung have said they will flag Android apps 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:33.760 that use too much background power. And starting March 1st, 2026, Play Store listings for these 00:05:33.760 --> 00:05:39.840 PowerHoggin apps may get a red warning label. Uh-oh. They can go so far as removing these 00:05:39.840 --> 00:05:45.600 apps from being recommended on the store. So I guess your app better heed my recommendation 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:50.880 to stop gulping up my battery life. You're like your Google and my power is thermostat data. Bam. 00:05:50.880 --> 00:05:59.040 Boom. Call back. Belkin is recalling its auto tracking stand pro for iPhones and two 20,000 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:04.400 milliamp hour boost charge power banks because of a defect that can make their lithium ion batteries 00:06:04.400 --> 00:06:10.000 overheat causing serious fire and burn risks. Although only one fire has been reported in the 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:16.880 US, there have been 15 incidents abroad, which include two minor burn injuries and around $38,000 00:06:16.880 --> 00:06:20.880 in property damage. You'll be trying to charge your battery and the next thing you know you'll be 00:06:20.880 --> 00:06:27.920 living in Nellie's hot in here music video. The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. That's not 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:35.920 what I want. I think my butt looks big. And that's the least of my worries. Netflix is doubling down 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:41.760 on TV gaming. Rolling out party style titles you can play by scanning a QR code on your TV 00:06:41.760 --> 00:06:47.200 and using your phone as a controller. The new lineup includes games like Pictionary, Lego Party, 00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:54.160 and also the mobile port of Red Dead Redemption 1. Now that's a party. Suddenly it looks like 00:06:54.160 --> 00:07:00.320 Game Night becomes a standoff and grandma isn't losing. She's got a plan. John is a reference, 00:07:00.320 --> 00:07:06.240 I'm told. It's part of Netflix's push to keep subscribers engaged without consoles, 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:12.400 offering easy social fun, at least until grandma calmly reloads and says you should have remembered 00:07:12.400 --> 00:07:18.160 her name. You should have remembered my name. And Microsoft Teams just rolled out a new feature 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:24.240 that lets hosts block screenshots from being taken during meetings. Great news for anyone who's ever 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:28.880 said something dumb and watched five coworkers immediately reach for the print screen button. 00:07:28.880 --> 00:07:33.200 But while Microsoft is plugging that leak, scammers seem to be stuffing the interwebs 00:07:33.200 --> 00:07:38.320 with fake Teams installers packed with malware. So now you're safe from your coworkers, 00:07:38.320 --> 00:07:45.040 but not the email you got from superduperteamsupdator.exe. The exe file is sending you an email. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:50.480 At this rate, the only productivity app we can really trust should be called Paranoia. 00:07:52.320 --> 00:07:57.600 Activate. That's all for today's news. Remember, raccoons can open doors, jars, 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:04.320 and even latches. So if your GPU mysteriously disappears, that's either on you or there's 00:08:04.320 --> 00:08:06.960 raptors in the mix too. Didn't see that coming.