1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,700 Ah, you've arrived, and just in time, the tech news is about to start. 2 00:00:06,140 --> 00:00:09,540 And they're super chill about the dress code, so that's perfect. 3 00:00:09,540 --> 00:00:15,140 Apple is reportedly gearing up for a big wave of AI hardware, including smart glasses, 4 00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:19,460 camera-equipped AirPods for some reason, and even an AI-pendant thing, 5 00:00:19,460 --> 00:00:23,500 which will finally signal to the normies that they can buy AI wearables now. 6 00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:27,500 According to German notorious Markulon, aka Bloomberg's Mark German, 7 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:30,500 the glasses have evolved from early tethered prototypes 8 00:00:30,500 --> 00:00:35,320 with external battery packs to sleeker frames with everything embedded directly inside, 9 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,320 including high-resolution cameras, but not a display. 10 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:43,300 The pendant, meanwhile, will have a low-res camera for environmental awareness, 11 00:00:43,300 --> 00:00:48,460 and lean on your iPhone to power its AI features, which I need like yesterday. 12 00:00:48,460 --> 00:00:51,860 My pendants haven't been hallucinating nearly enough. 13 00:00:51,860 --> 00:00:53,900 Get these guys some LSD. 14 00:00:54,900 --> 00:00:57,900 And Apple has pivoted to exploring camera-equipped AirPods 15 00:00:57,900 --> 00:01:03,860 instead of a camera-equipped Apple Watch after realizing that viewing that video would suck. 16 00:01:03,860 --> 00:01:09,360 Missed opportunity to redefine the term watching video. These new AirPods could incorporate gesture controls 17 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:14,100 and contextual awareness, but most importantly, these new devices will likely be able to let you record 18 00:01:14,100 --> 00:01:17,420 fingerboard tricks from five different angles. 19 00:01:17,420 --> 00:01:22,340 Six, seven. Valve has confirmed that Steam Deck OLED shortages 20 00:01:22,340 --> 00:01:25,620 are tied directly to, shocker, 21 00:01:25,620 --> 00:01:28,620 the ongoing memory and storage supply crisis, according to a little notice 22 00:01:28,620 --> 00:01:33,300 now sitting at the bottom of the handheld store page. The news comes shortly after the Steam machine was delayed, 23 00:01:33,300 --> 00:01:36,900 and the worst part of me worries that Valve is doing this on purpose 24 00:01:36,900 --> 00:01:41,060 to create yet another Half-Life 3 situation. Valve could easily survive another 20 years 25 00:01:41,060 --> 00:01:44,700 on the hopes of fans and commissions on CSGO trading. 26 00:01:44,700 --> 00:01:47,860 It's legal, kind of. But the fact that even the mighty Valve 27 00:01:47,860 --> 00:01:52,980 is being affected by this data-centered driven crisis lines up with what memory controller company 28 00:01:52,980 --> 00:01:58,180 Fyzen CEO recently said in an interview. He predicts that many consumer electronics manufacturers 29 00:01:58,180 --> 00:02:02,140 will go bankrupt or exit product lines by the end of 2026, 30 00:02:02,140 --> 00:02:05,580 describing a structural shift in DRAM and NAN supply 31 00:02:05,580 --> 00:02:09,300 that favors data centers over everyday devices. Which is fine by me. 32 00:02:09,300 --> 00:02:12,460 We don't wait in lines to use the payphone in public places anymore. 33 00:02:12,460 --> 00:02:15,980 I think we really lost something there. Ferdinand has subscribed to things. 34 00:02:15,980 --> 00:02:20,380 Sitting a box full of graffiti and spit. Meanwhile, Western Digital revealed during an investor call 35 00:02:20,380 --> 00:02:23,380 that they are pretty much sold out for 2026. 36 00:02:23,380 --> 00:02:28,900 They apparently have data centers buying drives years in advance. So if you thought going back to the old hard disk drive 37 00:02:28,900 --> 00:02:32,140 was gonna save you, then you were sorely mistaken, bucko. 38 00:02:32,140 --> 00:02:35,180 As memory and storage continues to get prioritized for AI infrastructure, 39 00:02:35,180 --> 00:02:38,820 we're rapidly heading into a situation where hardware will be so expensive 40 00:02:38,820 --> 00:02:43,220 that people just won't be able to own their own computers anymore. And renting your bleeps and bloops 41 00:02:43,220 --> 00:02:47,540 will really be the only option. In 10 years, we're gonna be driving across 42 00:02:47,540 --> 00:02:52,720 the silicon wasteland, pumping buzzling into our EVSwap 1973 Ford Falcons 43 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,440 as we try to escape the war boys. And we'll still be making payments to a Morton Joe 44 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,200 for a lease on a Game Boy Color. At least we'll have payphones. 45 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,880 With a Chrome Edition. Discord's global age verification rollout 46 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,960 somehow got even messier this week. After users in the UK discovered 47 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,880 they were part of what Discord calls an experiment with Persona, 48 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:17,240 an alternate age assurance vendor. Persona is also used by Reddit, Roblox, 49 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:21,500 and OpenAI for age assurance. But users found this concerning for a couple reasons. 50 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:25,960 For one, Discord promised that age verification data would be kept local, not stored. 51 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,200 But Persona stores the info users submit for seven days 52 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:34,280 and then deletes it. That's not zero days. For two, one of Persona's biggest investors 53 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,640 is Founders Fund, the venture capital firm directed by co-founder of Palantir 54 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,000 and winner of the world's sweatiest billionaire award, which is the high bar, Peter Thiel. 55 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,160 And while Thiel's company isn't personally handling the face scans, 56 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:50,480 the association with the guy whose surveillance company builds tracking tools that helps the U.S. military 57 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,080 shorten the kill chain, and who appeared over 2200 times 58 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,800 in the recently released Epstein files, isn't going to help with user outrage. 59 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:04,280 What's wrong with that? He likes a massage. Discord told Kotaku that the Persona experiment 60 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:08,200 has concluded and they have edited their support blog to remove mention of it, 61 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:13,640 but that hasn't stopped the ongoing fallout. Discord competitor TeamSpeak says it hit hosting capacity 62 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,160 from the wave of users fleeing Discord. And even though the September data breach 63 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,920 that exposed roughly 70,000 Discord users' government IDs 64 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,920 was actually not connected to age verification rollouts in the past year or so, 65 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,520 collecting even more IDs was always bound to be met with significant pushback. 66 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:35,520 I, for one, will never push back, though, against our sponsor, I consent. 67 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,960 The QuickBits and I were just talking and we think it's so brave that you showed up 68 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:43,440 to today's tech news without a prom date. I feel like I would be absolutely mortified 69 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,200 if that were me, but you're like the Joan of Arc of tech news. You're like owning it. 70 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,480 Wow, epic. I have a date every time she's just off screen. 71 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:56,480 BiteDance is scrambling to add safeguards to its AI video generator, CDance 2.0, 72 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,800 after Hollywood came at it with the law. Play law and order sound effect. 73 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:05,920 Disney sent a cease and desist accusing BiteDance of a virtual smashing grab of its IP, 74 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,800 saying the tool treats its characters like free public domain clip art. 75 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,600 That's right. The Lion King is not public domain clip art. 76 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,480 It's just incredibly traumatizing. That said, CDance 2.0 is actually 77 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,280 a genuine leap in AI video. It can cut between shots with consistency, 78 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,680 generate decent fight choreography, and users have been cranking out everything 79 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:30,120 from a cat in Godzilla doing a Dragon Ball Z fusion dance to some actually funny Star Wars skits, 80 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:31,960 which really tickles Riley's heart. 81 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,600 And other parts. To be fair, it's because a human wrote them. A very clever human was involved. 82 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,620 But a very believable performance from AI Anakin, 83 00:05:40,620 --> 00:05:43,940 doesn't hurt. Open AI has hired Peter Steinbagger, 84 00:05:43,940 --> 00:05:49,300 the creator of viral AI assistant Open Claw to build its next generation of personal agents. 85 00:05:49,300 --> 00:05:54,140 In his announcement, Steinbagger stated that Open Claw will stay open source 86 00:05:54,140 --> 00:05:57,220 unlike the vast majority of Open AI's products. 87 00:05:57,220 --> 00:06:01,660 What does that stand for? Open. He also pointed to Europe's regulatory environment 88 00:06:01,660 --> 00:06:06,820 as a factor for the move to Open AI, tweeting that in the US, people are enthusiastic about his work. 89 00:06:06,820 --> 00:06:10,900 While in Europe, they shout for regulation and responsibility. 90 00:06:10,900 --> 00:06:15,260 Cridge. To be fair, Europe itself has acknowledged this. 91 00:06:15,260 --> 00:06:20,540 Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister, published a 2024 report calling the EU's innovation gap 92 00:06:20,540 --> 00:06:25,980 with the US an existential challenge. But damn it, they just love regulating things so much. 93 00:06:25,980 --> 00:06:29,340 It's hard to stop. Nokia, the company that made our dad's cell phones 94 00:06:29,340 --> 00:06:32,860 has won a patent dispute over the H265 Kodak, 95 00:06:32,860 --> 00:06:37,620 also known as HEVC, forcing Acer and ASUS to halt certain PC 96 00:06:37,620 --> 00:06:42,300 and laptop sales in Germany. Europe's at it again. 97 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:46,540 Nokia felt that the use of the Kodak by these brands was not up to the fair, reasonable, 98 00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:52,540 and non-discriminatory obligations tied to its designation as a standard, essential patent, 99 00:06:52,540 --> 00:06:55,900 allowing Nokia to file for an injunction in Munich courts. 100 00:06:55,900 --> 00:06:59,620 So many fun words in there. Afterwards, both manufacturers filed for an appeal 101 00:06:59,620 --> 00:07:04,580 and will be pursuing further legal action to reach a fair solution as quickly as possible end quote. 102 00:07:04,580 --> 00:07:09,260 So if you're a German and you wanna buy an Acer or ASUS PC with your marks or whatever, 103 00:07:09,260 --> 00:07:13,420 it looks like you have to actually go into Dasgeschaft to get one while supplies laugh. 104 00:07:13,420 --> 00:07:17,500 T-Mobile is rolling out a live call translation that works without an app. 105 00:07:17,500 --> 00:07:20,860 Dubbed live translation, it runs at the network level 106 00:07:20,860 --> 00:07:27,340 and can be activated after enrolling in the beta program by simply dialing an asterisk 8-7 asterisk on your phone. 107 00:07:27,340 --> 00:07:31,340 8-7. Only one person on the call needs to be on T-Mobile 108 00:07:31,340 --> 00:07:34,900 for a defunction, translating conversations in real time across supported languages. 109 00:07:34,900 --> 00:07:38,740 And I mean, hey, that sounds great and all, but this is also the carrier that's currently being accused 110 00:07:38,740 --> 00:07:43,340 of accidentally switching some customers to the wrong phone plans during iPhone promos. 111 00:07:43,340 --> 00:07:50,420 At least now you can yell at their support agents in any language you want. Putin, T-Mobile, Senne, Funktioné, Pa, 112 00:07:50,420 --> 00:07:54,660 Zutalo, Tabernacle Baguette. No, not the last one. 113 00:07:54,660 --> 00:07:57,740 The Justin Trudeau. And China's Spring Festival Gala, 114 00:07:57,740 --> 00:08:02,140 an annual Chinese New Year celebration, featured humanoid robots doing backflips, 115 00:08:02,140 --> 00:08:06,100 nunchuck routines, and kung fu alongside martial arts actors. 116 00:08:06,100 --> 00:08:10,780 Not Steven Stigal, though, that guy. Four robotics firms showcased their bots to an audience 117 00:08:10,780 --> 00:08:14,740 where nearly 80% of active TVs in the country were tuned in. 118 00:08:14,740 --> 00:08:18,260 Because they had to be. But of course the bots couldn't pull it all off 119 00:08:18,260 --> 00:08:23,540 without at least one stumbling and falling. I guess there's still some kinks to work out. 120 00:08:23,540 --> 00:08:26,660 Oh, what? It's part of the show? 121 00:08:26,660 --> 00:08:29,580 I wasn't expecting them to use drunken fist style. 122 00:08:31,420 --> 00:08:35,620 It's self-referential. The whole thing was perfectly choreographed 123 00:08:35,620 --> 00:08:41,100 and as an added bonus, no little kids got accidentally well done by a nunchuck-wielding robot. 124 00:08:41,100 --> 00:08:45,380 You know what, China? Nice job on this one. I'd like to see more shows like this 125 00:08:45,380 --> 00:08:48,620 performed over there, far away from me and my children. 126 00:08:48,620 --> 00:08:52,540 They are nunchuck-free so far. But I want you to stay close, especially on Friday, 127 00:08:52,540 --> 00:08:56,060 when we come back with more tech news. Right now, we're all heading to Brad's house 128 00:08:56,060 --> 00:08:59,340 to go swimming in his parents' pool. You can come if you want, but as dad said, 129 00:08:59,340 --> 00:09:03,220 you weren't allowed in the pool because of what you did last time. But you can come. 130 00:09:04,380 --> 00:09:06,660 Not in the pool. Sit on the side.