{"video_id":"sXFlsYxh4Hg","title":"There’s Hope for Firefox","channel":"TechLinked","show":"TechLinked","published_at":"2026-02-03T14:53:29Z","duration_s":586,"segments":[{"start_s":0.08,"end_s":6.64,"text":"So, I was eating alphabet soup for breakfast this morning and the letters","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.6,"end_s":10.0,"text":"told me that today is tech news day. So,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":6.64,"end_s":12.08,"text":"here I am. I always follow the letters.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":10.0,"end_s":17.119,"text":"Mosilla has officially delivered on their promise of an AI kill switch for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":14.4,"end_s":23.199,"text":"Firefox. Starting with Firefox version 148 scheduled for February 24th, users","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.0,"end_s":25.6,"text":"will find a new AI controls section in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.199,"end_s":31.199,"text":"settings with a block AI enhancements toggle that nukes all current and future","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.039,"end_s":35.92,"text":"AI features from the browser. This comes after announcements late last year that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.2,"end_s":41.92,"text":"Mozilla would be turning Firefox into a modern AI browser, prompting enraged AI","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.2,"end_s":45.76,"text":"haters the world over to flood online forums demanding these features be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":43.92,"end_s":49.2,"text":"optional, even though it said right there in the blog post that they would","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.44,"end_s":54.079,"text":"be optional. All of this is happening amidst Mosilla's larger AI strategy,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":52.079,"end_s":57.92,"text":"which is running counter to what most of the tech giants are doing. Mark Surman,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.32,"end_s":62.0,"text":"president of the Mosilla Foundation, which owns the Mosilla Corporation,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.68,"end_s":66.799,"text":"which makes Firefox. Anyway, he says he's building a rebel alliance of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.479,"end_s":72.88,"text":"startups and developers to take on the big tech AI empire. The goal is to make","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.0,"end_s":78.88,"text":"AI more open and trustworthy and build a mainstream open-source AI ecosystem by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.68,"end_s":81.28,"text":"2028, which maybe won't blow up the AI","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":78.88,"end_s":85.92,"text":"Death Star, but might blow up the shield generator stationed on AI Endor. We took","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":84.24,"end_s":90.4,"text":"this analogy way too far. Mozzilla is not the only one trying to win back the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":87.92,"end_s":94.4,"text":"anti- AI crowd. Remember last Friday when we talked about Windows President","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.92,"end_s":98.32,"text":"Pavon Davaluri saying that 2026 would be about rebuilding trust? Well, Windows","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":96.64,"end_s":103.759,"text":"Central is now further reporting that Microsoft is actively walking back their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.04,"end_s":108.079,"text":"AI push. Copilot buttons in Notepad and Paint are under review. And they're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":105.52,"end_s":112.88,"text":"currently exploring ways to evolve the recall feature as they currently","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.0,"end_s":117.6,"text":"consider it to be a failure along with most other people. But you know what","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.64,"end_s":121.119,"text":"they say, the greatest teacher failure is. It's just too bad that Disney hasn't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":119.6,"end_s":127.759,"text":"seemed to learn anything from from the failure of the sequels. But anyway, different video. SpaceX has filed with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.719,"end_s":130.56,"text":"the FCC to launch up to 1 million","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":127.759,"end_s":134.8,"text":"satellites into orbit to serve as data centers for AI, which is frankly going","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":133.12,"end_s":140.319,"text":"to do nothing to help Elon beat the super villain allegations. For context,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":137.04,"end_s":143.28,"text":"there are currently only about 15,000","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.319,"end_s":148.0,"text":"satellites circling Earth in total, and about 10,000 of those are already","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.92,"end_s":153.36,"text":"Starlink satellites. So this would be an incredibly reasonable 100 times increase","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":151.12,"end_s":158.0,"text":"because according to the filing, it's a first step towards becoming a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.44,"end_s":161.599,"text":"Cardartesev 2 level civilization, which is evidently a civilization that can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.68,"end_s":166.16,"text":"harness the sun's full power. You know, for some reason, I thought we were all","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.28,"end_s":170.08,"text":"worried about egg prices and inflation. I completely forgot we were supposed to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":168.319,"end_s":174.16,"text":"be super focused on harnessing the sun's full power. But why data center","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":172.0,"end_s":180.48,"text":"satellites? Well, they would orbit between 500 and 2,000 km up, communicate","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":177.84,"end_s":185.28,"text":"via lasers, and radiate heat into the vacuum of space instead of wreaking","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.72,"end_s":189.92,"text":"havoc on groundbased water systems, which will still happen, but not because","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":187.519,"end_s":195.36,"text":"of the new space-based data centers. This comes as Musk's SpaceX just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.4,"end_s":200.08,"text":"announced it's acquiring XAI, which already absorbed Twitter, aka X, last","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.319,"end_s":206.08,"text":"year. So, this is going to be combining his rockets, Starlink satellites, the X","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":202.72,"end_s":208.64,"text":"platform, and Grock all under one roof","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":206.08,"end_s":214.959,"text":"ahead of a SpaceX IPO expected to value the company above $1 trillion. All this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.4,"end_s":219.519,"text":"so we can make Grock better, which given all the trouble it's been for us","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.239,"end_s":221.68,"text":"subcartev level one plebs, I fully","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.519,"end_s":226.879,"text":"support hurling into space. But it made a better Wikipedia,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.84,"end_s":229.599,"text":"did it? Notepad++, the popular text","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":226.879,"end_s":234.56,"text":"editor, was compromised for the last 6 months of 2025, according to the app's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":232.239,"end_s":238.72,"text":"developers, and Rapid 7, a cyber security firm who did a follow-up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":236.159,"end_s":243.439,"text":"investigation. Apparently, Chinese state affiliated hacker group Lotus Blossom,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":241.519,"end_s":249.12,"text":"compromised the hosting infrastructure behind Notepad++'s update system and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":246.56,"end_s":253.599,"text":"selectively redirected certain targeted users to malicious servers. Not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.599,"end_s":258.56,"text":"everyone, they just said, \"Fuck these users.\" in particular. The campaign","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":255.599,"end_s":262.639,"text":"began around June 2025. The hackers briefly lost access after an update in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.799,"end_s":267.12,"text":"September and then got back in using stolen credentials that were never","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.56,"end_s":271.28,"text":"rotated. It wasn't until December that someone finally noticed what was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.56,"end_s":276.72,"text":"happening, allowing Notepad++ to patch the issue in version 8.8.9, add proper","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.639,"end_s":280.8,"text":"certificate and signature checks, rotate credentials, and move to a new hosting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.88,"end_s":284.0,"text":"provider. Rapid 7 says the affected users were mostly government and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":282.4,"end_s":287.68,"text":"infrastructure related targets in Southeast Asia and Central America. But","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":286.0,"end_s":291.36,"text":"even if you don't live there, you never know when Chinese state hackers are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":289.199,"end_s":295.759,"text":"going to decide to ruin your day. So you should probably make sure your Notepad++","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":293.919,"end_s":299.12,"text":"is fully patched. And check out our sponsor, Acflow. It's the ultimate","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":297.6,"end_s":303.04,"text":"productivity tool for busy professionals. Organize your day with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":300.88,"end_s":307.199,"text":"intuitive time blocking. Just drag and drop tasks directly into your calendar","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":305.28,"end_s":311.039,"text":"and connect Gmail, Slack, To-Doist, Notion, and more to see all your tasks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":309.52,"end_s":316.32,"text":"in one place. Well, that all sounds great, but it's 2026, so where are the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":313.039,"end_s":318.479,"text":"AI features? Well, with AI Co-Pilot,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":316.32,"end_s":323.039,"text":"AIFlow learns your habits and assigns tasks automatically, saving you time and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":320.8,"end_s":327.039,"text":"keeping you focused. No fuss for us. Plus, customize your workflow with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":324.96,"end_s":331.039,"text":"color-coded projects, morning rituals, and AI powered organization. AIFlow","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":329.28,"end_s":335.52,"text":"helps you stay in control, focused, and productive every day. So, enhance your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":333.12,"end_s":338.4,"text":"productivity today with AIFlow. Use our link below to get started. Sometimes I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":337.039,"end_s":344.08,"text":"like to move the alphabet soup around with my spoon really, really fast and see what it spells. And one time it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":341.52,"end_s":350.0,"text":"spelled quick bits kind of if you kind of like turned if you were like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":347.68,"end_s":355.199,"text":"stupid. Apple has completely redesigned how you buy a Mac online, giving","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":352.4,"end_s":360.32,"text":"customers more options for building the computer they want.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":357.36,"end_s":364.96,"text":"Tim, you've changed. I hardly recognize you. Instead of choosing from","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.56,"end_s":370.479,"text":"preconfigured models, you now build your machine component by component. Display,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":367.84,"end_s":375.199,"text":"chip, memory, storage, even which power adapter you want. What company is this?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":372.88,"end_s":382.16,"text":"Price and delivery time update in real time as you customize. Look, I'm just a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.8,"end_s":385.84,"text":"CEO standing in front of a customer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":382.16,"end_s":388.88,"text":"asking them to configure their own Mac.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":385.84,"end_s":391.44,"text":"I love you. Never leave. Not like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":388.88,"end_s":397.6,"text":"Barbara did. Barbara. And in other surprisingly good Apple news, Apple is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":393.919,"end_s":400.08,"text":"adding a new privacy toggle in iOS 26.3","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":397.6,"end_s":404.24,"text":"that lets iPhone and iPad users limit how precisely cellular carriers can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":402.4,"end_s":408.96,"text":"track their location. Instead of a street level pin, networks may only see","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":406.479,"end_s":413.36,"text":"a rough area without hurting signal quality or emergency services. The catch","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":411.52,"end_s":417.759,"text":"is that it only works on newer devices and supported carriers. But hey, it's a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":415.919,"end_s":421.039,"text":"start. Like, my carrier doesn't need to know that I went to McDonald's at 2:00","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":419.52,"end_s":424.639,"text":"a.m. and then sell that info to advertisers who will serve me ads for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":422.88,"end_s":427.919,"text":"late night drive-throughs that continues a vicious cycle because I'll keep going.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":426.56,"end_s":434.16,"text":"I don't know, maybe we can get Tim Cook to just disable tracking altogether by bribing him with some Apple turnovers.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":431.44,"end_s":439.199,"text":"My favorite, Amazon is tightening its reigns on sideloading on Fire TV","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":436.56,"end_s":443.12,"text":"devices. After first slapping piracy apps with full screen warnings at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":441.039,"end_s":447.759,"text":"launch, Amazon has now moved the roadblock earlier, showing an app","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":445.44,"end_s":451.599,"text":"installation blocked message for apps that are flagged as providing unlicensed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":450.0,"end_s":455.919,"text":"content. The company says there are no exceptions and you are absolutely not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":453.68,"end_s":459.759,"text":"able to get around it, which somebody's going to take as a challenge. It pairs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":457.599,"end_s":464.96,"text":"neatly with Amazon's plans for a new Fire TV operating system called Vega OS,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":462.639,"end_s":469.36,"text":"which promises to block sideloading entirety. It's the feature users want.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.52,"end_s":474.4,"text":"Guess now you can't promise your mom that the Shadow the Hedgehog app on your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":471.44,"end_s":479.199,"text":"TV is definitely 100%. It's Netflix. It just looks different. Motorola just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":475.919,"end_s":481.52,"text":"launched the new Moto G17, a budget","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":479.199,"end_s":487.68,"text":"phone that ships with the last generation Android 15 and somewhat","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":484.56,"end_s":489.759,"text":"awkwardly zero promised Android OS","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":487.68,"end_s":494.639,"text":"upgrades. As some tech journalists recently discovered, EU rules that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":492.319,"end_s":498.96,"text":"sounded like they require manufacturers to provide 5 years of updates actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.96,"end_s":504.56,"text":"contained a loophole in the form of a very big if. If a company chooses to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":502.319,"end_s":509.28,"text":"provide updates for a device, then those updates must be available for 5 years.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":506.56,"end_s":514.399,"text":"Motorola has simply chosen not to provide OS updates for the Moto G17.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":512.0,"end_s":519.2,"text":"Easy. They have chosen to provide two years of security updates which will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":517.12,"end_s":523.36,"text":"according to EU rules remain available to download for five years after the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":521.839,"end_s":528.24,"text":"phone leaves the market. Does that all make sense? TLDDR, it's all perfectly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":525.76,"end_s":532.88,"text":"legal if you kind of squint. And it's also perfectly legal for us to tell","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":530.32,"end_s":537.92,"text":"Motorola to off. And scientists in Shanghai just built a computer chip","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":535.2,"end_s":544.8,"text":"inside a fiber thinner than a human hair. And it's absurdly tough. The team","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":541.12,"end_s":546.64,"text":"at Fudan University packed about 100,000","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":544.8,"end_s":552.32,"text":"transistors per centimeter into a flexible strand that survives washing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":549.36,"end_s":560.0,"text":"machines, extreme heat, and being crushed by 15.6 tons.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":556.56,"end_s":563.12,"text":"15.7 tons. It's done. It's aimed at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":560.0,"end_s":565.2,"text":"smart textiles, VR gear, and even brain","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":563.12,"end_s":568.32,"text":"computer interfaces. I just feel like I'm thinking of other things. This is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":566.88,"end_s":571.76,"text":"going to be like an actual functional reasons for robots to have hair. And if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":570.399,"end_s":576.16,"text":"you cut it off, they lose all their power. It's Samson.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":574.0,"end_s":580.399,"text":"But no matter what your hair looks like, I know you have the strength to return","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":578.64,"end_s":587.04,"text":"back here on Wednesday for more tech news. The soup says you'll be back. The","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":583.2,"end_s":587.04,"text":"soup doesn't lie. Unlike the cake,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"So, I was eating alphabet soup for breakfast this morning and the letters told me that today is tech news day. So, here I am. I always follow the letters. Mosilla has officially delivered on their promise of an AI kill switch for Firefox. Starting with Firefox version 148 scheduled for February 24th, users will find a new AI controls section in settings with a block AI enhancements toggle that nukes all current and future AI features from the browser. This comes after announcements late last year that Mozilla would be turning Firefox into a modern AI browser, prompting enraged AI haters the world over to flood online forums demanding these features be optional, even though it said right there in the blog post that they would be optional. All of this is happening amidst Mosilla's larger AI strategy, which is running counter to what most of the tech giants are doing. Mark Surman, president of the Mosilla Foundation, which owns the Mosilla Corporation, which makes Firefox. Anyway, he says he's building a rebel alliance of startups and developers to take on the big tech AI empire. The goal is to make AI more open and trustworthy and build a mainstream open-source AI ecosystem by 2028, which maybe won't blow up the AI Death Star, but might blow up the shield generator stationed on AI Endor. We took this analogy way too far. Mozzilla is not the only one trying to win back the anti- AI crowd. Remember last Friday when we talked about Windows President Pavon Davaluri saying that 2026 would be about rebuilding trust? Well, Windows Central is now further reporting that Microsoft is actively walking back their AI push. Copilot buttons in Notepad and Paint are under review. And they're currently exploring ways to evolve the recall feature as they currently consider it to be a failure along with most other people. But you know what they say, the greatest teacher failure is. It's just too bad that Disney hasn't seemed to learn anything from from the failure of the sequels. But anyway, different video. SpaceX has filed with the FCC to launch up to 1 million satellites into orbit to serve as data centers for AI, which is frankly going to do nothing to help Elon beat the super villain allegations. For context, there are currently only about 15,000 satellites circling Earth in total, and about 10,000 of those are already Starlink satellites. So this would be an incredibly reasonable 100 times increase because according to the filing, it's a first step towards becoming a Cardartesev 2 level civilization, which is evidently a civilization that can harness the sun's full power. You know, for some reason, I thought we were all worried about egg prices and inflation. I completely forgot we were supposed to be super focused on harnessing the sun's full power. But why data center satellites? Well, they would orbit between 500 and 2,000 km up, communicate via lasers, and radiate heat into the vacuum of space instead of wreaking havoc on groundbased water systems, which will still happen, but not because of the new space-based data centers. This comes as Musk's SpaceX just announced it's acquiring XAI, which already absorbed Twitter, aka X, last year. So, this is going to be combining his rockets, Starlink satellites, the X platform, and Grock all under one roof ahead of a SpaceX IPO expected to value the company above $1 trillion. All this so we can make Grock better, which given all the trouble it's been for us subcartev level one plebs, I fully support hurling into space. But it made a better Wikipedia, did it? Notepad++, the popular text editor, was compromised for the last 6 months of 2025, according to the app's developers, and Rapid 7, a cyber security firm who did a follow-up investigation. Apparently, Chinese state affiliated hacker group Lotus Blossom, compromised the hosting infrastructure behind Notepad++'s update system and selectively redirected certain targeted users to malicious servers. Not everyone, they just said, \"Fuck these users.\" in particular. The campaign began around June 2025. The hackers briefly lost access after an update in September and then got back in using stolen credentials that were never rotated. It wasn't until December that someone finally noticed what was happening, allowing Notepad++ to patch the issue in version 8.8.9, add proper certificate and signature checks, rotate credentials, and move to a new hosting provider. Rapid 7 says the affected users were mostly government and infrastructure related targets in Southeast Asia and Central America. But even if you don't live there, you never know when Chinese state hackers are going to decide to ruin your day. So you should probably make sure your Notepad++ is fully patched. And check out our sponsor, Acflow. It's the ultimate productivity tool for busy professionals. Organize your day with intuitive time blocking. Just drag and drop tasks directly into your calendar and connect Gmail, Slack, To-Doist, Notion, and more to see all your tasks in one place. Well, that all sounds great, but it's 2026, so where are the AI features? Well, with AI Co-Pilot, AIFlow learns your habits and assigns tasks automatically, saving you time and keeping you focused. No fuss for us. Plus, customize your workflow with color-coded projects, morning rituals, and AI powered organization. AIFlow helps you stay in control, focused, and productive every day. So, enhance your productivity today with AIFlow. Use our link below to get started. Sometimes I like to move the alphabet soup around with my spoon really, really fast and see what it spells. And one time it spelled quick bits kind of if you kind of like turned if you were like stupid. Apple has completely redesigned how you buy a Mac online, giving customers more options for building the computer they want. Tim, you've changed. I hardly recognize you. Instead of choosing from preconfigured models, you now build your machine component by component. Display, chip, memory, storage, even which power adapter you want. What company is this? Price and delivery time update in real time as you customize. Look, I'm just a CEO standing in front of a customer asking them to configure their own Mac. I love you. Never leave. Not like Barbara did. Barbara. And in other surprisingly good Apple news, Apple is adding a new privacy toggle in iOS 26.3 that lets iPhone and iPad users limit how precisely cellular carriers can track their location. Instead of a street level pin, networks may only see a rough area without hurting signal quality or emergency services. The catch is that it only works on newer devices and supported carriers. But hey, it's a start. Like, my carrier doesn't need to know that I went to McDonald's at 2:00 a.m. and then sell that info to advertisers who will serve me ads for late night drive-throughs that continues a vicious cycle because I'll keep going. I don't know, maybe we can get Tim Cook to just disable tracking altogether by bribing him with some Apple turnovers. My favorite, Amazon is tightening its reigns on sideloading on Fire TV devices. After first slapping piracy apps with full screen warnings at launch, Amazon has now moved the roadblock earlier, showing an app installation blocked message for apps that are flagged as providing unlicensed content. The company says there are no exceptions and you are absolutely not able to get around it, which somebody's going to take as a challenge. It pairs neatly with Amazon's plans for a new Fire TV operating system called Vega OS, which promises to block sideloading entirety. It's the feature users want. Guess now you can't promise your mom that the Shadow the Hedgehog app on your TV is definitely 100%. It's Netflix. It just looks different. Motorola just launched the new Moto G17, a budget phone that ships with the last generation Android 15 and somewhat awkwardly zero promised Android OS upgrades. As some tech journalists recently discovered, EU rules that sounded like they require manufacturers to provide 5 years of updates actually contained a loophole in the form of a very big if. If a company chooses to provide updates for a device, then those updates must be available for 5 years. Motorola has simply chosen not to provide OS updates for the Moto G17. Easy. They have chosen to provide two years of security updates which will according to EU rules remain available to download for five years after the phone leaves the market. Does that all make sense? TLDDR, it's all perfectly legal if you kind of squint. And it's also perfectly legal for us to tell Motorola to off. And scientists in Shanghai just built a computer chip inside a fiber thinner than a human hair. And it's absurdly tough. The team at Fudan University packed about 100,000 transistors per centimeter into a flexible strand that survives washing machines, extreme heat, and being crushed by 15.6 tons. 15.7 tons. It's done. It's aimed at smart textiles, VR gear, and even brain computer interfaces. I just feel like I'm thinking of other things. This is going to be like an actual functional reasons for robots to have hair. And if you cut it off, they lose all their power. It's Samson. But no matter what your hair looks like, I know you have the strength to return back here on Wednesday for more tech news. The soup says you'll be back. The soup doesn't lie. Unlike the cake,"}