Hi, my name's Riley, and I love tech news, even though it doesn't love me back.
It can't, it's not live.
Yet, I'm working on something. Microsoft thinks it would just be swell if every Windows app was updated through Windows
Update, like how updates are handled on phones, according to a post on the company's Windows
IT Pro blog. The post says this would help app updates on Windows feel less like a fragmented experience,
which that certainly sounds bad, we don't want that, I think.
Microsoft says their new Windows Update orchestration platform can schedule updates to happen at
the most eco-efficient times and ensure apps get future enhancements automatically.
No, you don't get a say in that, that would be a fragment, that would be so messy, trust
me. Okay, now's the part where I admit that this feature is clearly geared towards businesses
and could make it easier for IT managers who already limit which apps get updates and
when. But can you blame regular users for being wary, given Microsoft's many attempts to funnel
us all towards the Microsoft Store, not to mention springing updates on us at what seem
like intentionally bad times? What's this guy doing?
Oh, he almost beat the boss. Update time! Discord has introduced orbs.
Yeah, I think we can leave it there.
And kidding, it's a new in-app currency that users can earn by finishing quests, which
involve things like watching ads or playing a promoted game, epic.
Real hero stuff. Previously, quests only rewarded players with in-game bonuses or Discord avatar decorations,
but now brands can choose to give orb.
Please, sir, I want some orb. I had to.
I can tell you've got lots of questions, and thankfully there's an FAQ.
Is there any other way to obtain orbs? No.
Well, there is one other way. But it's too dangerous.
What should I do if I see someone selling orbs? Call the police immediately.
More importantly, what can one buy with orbs?
Standard cosmetics and stuff from the Discord shop, but also you can buy Nitro credits,
which can be used to experience the benefits of a Nitro subscription until your credits
run out. And it seems like grinding orbs for Nitro won't be a viable strat forever, because
Discord doesn't want it to be. An exact told PC gamer, we have a lot of control over the orbs' economy right now.
Not saying, but heavily implying, that once the orbs start to gain consciousness and begin
pondering themselves, well, bets are off.
The European Commission has published its full ruling on whether Apple is compliant
with the EU's Digital Markets Act regulations. Although Apple was already fined 500 million euros last month, the EU says it'll keep
issuing more fines to the tech giant because it has still failed to make enough changes
to bring its policies in line with DMA requirements, particularly the ones that say Apple has to
stop restricting developers from informing users about services outside of the app store.
In a statement given to 9to5Mac, Apple responded with the usual stuff about security issues
and being forced to give away our technology for free, which is I guess how they'd also
describe allowing people to sideload and do whatever on macOS.
It's not like Apple hasn't had time to implement proper changes, but they've probably been
pretty busy working on a gaming-focused app they'll introduce later this year, according
to Bloomberg. And that doesn't seem that complicated, but gaming doesn't come easy to them.
What a weird dig. They're not real gamers like you and me.
Apple's also been developing a new naming scheme for their OS's.
All of them will be named after the following year, like cars.
So the next major iOS version will be iOS 26 instead of iOS 19.
You think coming up with that idea was easy? Tech news will need companions when I bring it to life, so I'll also be doing that with
the quick bits, despite warnings from every scientist I know.
Oh, you didn't think Intel was going to make more battlemage gaming graphics cards?
Then what are these? Device IDs for four different battlemage GPUs and the Mesa graphics driver for Linux
Spotted by leaking person Lassa Karkanen?
You don't have an answer, do you? Which is why you wait for me to talk.
But hey, if this is all a mirage, prices for RTX 5090s have reportedly fallen below MSRP
in Finland for the first time. And while that doesn't help us at all, we can all be happy for Finland.
Texas has passed a bill into law that will require the Apple App Store and the Google
Play Store to verify its users' ages by January 1st, 2026.
Meanwhile, the European Commission said they're investigating a number of adult websites that
the EU says fail to prevent minors from accessing their content.
It is quickly becoming apparent that tech giants better figure out how to solve the
age verification problem because these laws are hitting the books faster than I did in
college after already spending the night before the big test gaming until 3am.
It's more efficient that way. Got a couple fun things left over from Computex, courtesy of Tom's hardware.
Turns out Inwin unveiled a 1650 watt power supply intended just for GPUs.
And so accordingly, it only has 4 of the 12 volt 16 pin connectors best known for melting
GPUs. It's supposed to sit in your system alongside your regular PSU, so if one melts, you're
still good. And also a company called UTRAN showed off a $3,000 expansion card that can add up to
224 terabytes to your system in the form of 28 M.2 SSDs.
Very nice. SpaceX successfully got its massive Starship to orbit again using a super heavy booster
that was reused for the first time. But though Elon was 80% sure they'd solved the engine bay issues that led to a fiery
ending for the previous flight, another issue came up this time.
After reaching orbit, leaks caused a loss of main tank pressure and Starship fell victim
to yet another rapid unscheduled disassembly.
Contrary to popular belief, these incidents aren't actually disasters.
Rocket companies use all of the data collected to improve the design, but I'm sure they'd
still love to get their hands on whoever it is that keeps disassembling these rockets.
Is it tardigrades in space? Can't rule it out. And there's another AI game generator on the scene.
We've already had AI-generated playable versions of Quake from Microsoft, Minecraft
from D-Cart, and some trippy demos from Google's Genie 2.
But this one, a playable grainy walking simulator from a company called Odyssey, is not a game.
Odyssey is very clear that this is AI video you can both watch and interact with in real
time. That sounds like a game, but no actually.
Through Odyssey's research, we're now seeing the earliest glimpses of an entirely new medium
of entertainment. The company calls Interactive Video, which looks like video you watch every day, but
which you can interact and engage with in compelling ways.
Consider it an early version of the holodeck. So like, okay, like, this is a video game.
It's particularly remarkable that it can generate a new realistic video frame every
40 milliseconds, which is, it's 25 FPS, it's kinda low for a game actually.
It's like a glitchy dream, raw, unstable, but undeniably new.
I deny it. Now don't deny me the gift of your presence on Friday, and I won't deny you tech news.
Get a who knows, maybe I'll even throw in an orb or two, okay?