1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,200 Happy Halloween. You know, when you think about it, this show is a bit like 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:10,000 Frankenstein's monster. We take bits of tech news from all over the place and 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:14,960 jam them into one wildly entertaining package. Plus, I'm sure our humor makes 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:21,240 the viewers groan like the monster sometimes, too. Um in ecstasy. 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:27,920 AMD's release notes for their latest GPU driver update mysteriously omitted any 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:30,640 mention of Radeon 5000 and 6000 series 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:35,440 GPUs, causing concern that AMD was sunsetting those cards. Multiple outlets 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:40,240 reached out to AMD, who clarified that the 5000 and 6000 series cards, still in 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:45,920 the prime of their lives, would be put into maintenance mode, only getting 10 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:50,160 updates for critical security and bug support. Now, that would be frustrating 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:54,360 for owners of the RDNA 1 and 2 based cards, and also a pretty wild move, as 12 00:00:52,960 --> 00:01:00,600 some of those graphics cards are only just over 3 years old. Not to mention 13 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:02,960 that RDNA 1 and 2 GPUs power many gaming 14 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:08,240 handhelds, including the just-released ROG Ally. But, we could take some small 15 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:12,560 solace in the fact that the Steam Deck and SteamOS-powered devices would be 16 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:16,680 unaffected because of AMD's Linux drivers being open source. As if we 17 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:21,920 needed another reason to yearn for the greener SteamOS pastures. But, don't 18 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:25,800 despair just yet. After working the internet all up into a tizzy, this 19 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:30,160 driver nightmare might prove to be a Halloween trick from AMD, as they've now 20 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:35,280 declared that they'll continue to release new features and game 21 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:40,680 optimizations for RDNA 1 and 2 based cards, quote, "as required by market 22 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:44,920 needs." Whatever that means. And I think it's 23 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:50,000 safe to assume that the market doesn't need you to make 3-year-old hardware 24 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:54,840 obsolete. Just a bit too soon, uh guys. Microsoft is being accused of having 25 00:01:51,880 --> 00:02:00,040 YouTube remove videos detailing how to bypass Windows 11's installation 26 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:04,480 requirements. YouTuber CyberCPU Tech, aka Rich, told Tom's Hardware that 27 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:08,840 having some of his videos taken down just days apart, he thought something 28 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:13,400 was fishy when he appealed YouTube's decision and they told him his videos 29 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:17,240 contained harmful or dangerous content, leading him to assume Microsoft is 30 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:21,720 pushing for the take downs rather than it being YouTube's discretion. Now, 31 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:26,600 whether Microsoft's actually involved here is still unclear, and there are 32 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:31,160 many active YouTube videos that cover the same content that he was flagged 33 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:34,760 for, but the story is worth following because Microsoft does appear to be 34 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:41,920 taking drastic actions to get folks to use Windows 11 the way they want you to, 35 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:44,360 including killing poor Windows 10. 36 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:47,960 It's only 3 years old. Microsoft, the answer might just be to make Windows 11 37 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:54,000 good. But, instead you gave us an optional October update with a funny new bug. 38 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:59,280 Whenever you try to close a Task Manager window, a new copy of Task Manager opens 39 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:02,680 up to replace it. Hey, you know what? I guess I can see 40 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:08,040 why folks might want to make content about how to more easily deal with 41 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:11,160 Windows 11's BS. Tesla CEO Elon Musk 42 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:14,000 says idling Tesla vehicles could soon 43 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:19,240 double as part of a 100 million vehicle AI supercomputer, generating up to 100 44 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:25,200 gigawatts of distributed computing power. This plan would allow parked cars 45 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:26,720 to lend their on-board chips to train AI 46 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:31,440 models, because in a time when we're strapping decommissioned jet turbines to 47 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:36,320 data centers, heaven forbid we leave a single ounce of computing power on the 48 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:39,880 table. It's a bold idea, although owners may have other Tesla-related concerns 49 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:44,880 right now, what with the company recently issuing a recall of some 50 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:49,760 Cybertrucks whose headlights have been falling off thanks to Tesla securing 51 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:53,560 them with adhesive instead of bolts. Hey, who needs lights anyway, right? 52 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:57,120 Definitely not anyone driving during the daytime, the only time people ever 53 00:03:55,160 --> 00:04:01,040 drive, right? Anyway, meanwhile, the company's robo-taxis, which launched 54 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:05,200 this year in Austin, Texas, are reportedly crashing more frequently than 55 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:09,840 their Waymo-powered counterparts, despite having a human safety supervisor 56 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:16,760 on board. Now, on the bright side, SpaceX is reportedly set to land a $2 57 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:22,600 billion Pentagon contract for Trump's golden dome missile defense network. 58 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:26,120 Because when Teslas stop moving, Musk just launches something else. The guy's 59 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:31,240 so busy, you got to take notes. And that's easy with our sponsor, the Plaud 60 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:34,760 Note Pro, the world's most advanced AI note-taker, rated the best product ever 61 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:39,080 invented by 9 out of 10 future historians. The Note Pro is not an app, 62 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:43,440 it's a palm-sized device with four noise-canceling mics to record in-person 63 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:47,440 meetings and phone calls from up to 5 m away. However, if you'd like to have a 64 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:51,040 say in your note-taking, don't fret. Fret. Oh, I'm fretting. Stop. You can 65 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:54,760 add your own ideas to the mix by attaching typed thoughts or marking key 66 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:58,800 points so that the meeting is better captured to your liking. Plus, if, like 67 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:02,920 me, you're as bad at remembering to charge your devices as you are at taking 68 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:07,240 notes, the Plaud Note Pro can handle 50 hours of non-stop recording on a single 69 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:10,960 charge. That's a long meeting. So, help future historians and take the first 70 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:15,320 step towards improving your note-taking game by checking out the Plaud Note Pro 71 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:18,920 at the link below. Famously, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's author, came up 72 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:22,600 with the concept for the novel while summering in Switzerland. Funnily 73 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:27,640 enough, the quick bits also love Switzerland. Big skiers. Not so big on 74 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:32,240 taking sides in a war. The US and China have agreed to a 1-year trade truce, 75 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:37,200 pausing tariffs and restrictions on semiconductors and rare earth exports. 76 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:42,960 The deal marks a rare cooldown in the ongoing tech trade war, with both sides 77 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:47,600 pledging to reopen supply chains and stabilize the global chip market. Still, 78 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:52,440 whether China will be allowed to buy NVIDIA's Blackwell chips remains unclear 79 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:56,280 under the new export rules. So, for now, this is less of a peace treaty and more 80 00:05:54,560 --> 00:06:03,000 like hitting the snooze button on a trade war that is destined to ring once 81 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:04,800 more. Five more minutes. Nay. Samsung is 82 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:09,960 bringing its Chromium-based mobile browser called Samsung Internet to 83 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:15,040 Windows PCs. The browser syncs history, bookmarks, and passwords between Galaxy 84 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:18,960 phones and PCs, features we definitely haven't seen in a web browser before. 85 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:23,640 Samsung says their new desktop browser will deliver a seamless, connected 86 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:27,600 browsing experience that is also delivered by a plethora of other 87 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:31,840 Chromium-based browsers we now have available that all pitch the same thing. 88 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:36,120 But, this one is also pre-installed on your phone. Uh 89 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:40,240 Chrome is, too. Whatever. It's It's cool. United States Immigration and 90 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:45,720 Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, has their agents scanning people's 91 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:50,360 faces with a smartphone app to verify their citizenship status, as reported by 92 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:53,800 404 Media. You know, it's about time someone decided whether law enforcement 93 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:57,160 should be able to use facial recognition on the general public despite years of 94 00:06:55,400 --> 00:07:01,480 debate over the privacy concerns related to such technology. Stop talking. Just 95 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:07,000 look at the camera, because according to a DHS document, you can't refuse. Plus, 96 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:11,320 it'll store your photo for 15 years for your convenience. Speaking of tools used 97 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:17,160 by law enforcement, a new leak indicates that Cellebrite's phone-cracking tools 98 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:19,320 can pull data from most Pixel models 99 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:24,240 unless they're running the Android fork GrapheneOS. The leaked slides show that 100 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:27,920 it works even on locked phones. But, jokes on the feds, because this leak 101 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:33,480 seems to have originated from one of their own, a user that goes by Rogue 102 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:37,680 Fed. It just goes to show that once again, if you think your data is 103 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:40,920 private, there's likely a company or an agent sitting next to you in the mission 104 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:46,120 briefing room who thinks that's just adorable. And YouTuber Nick Build rigged 105 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:51,400 up a Raspberry Pi to make your regular modern Wi-Fi sound just like that 106 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:55,040 nostalgic, screechy era of dial-up modems. 107 00:07:52,640 --> 00:08:01,200 Build's contraption feeds live wireless traffic through a Pi 3 plus a USB Wi-Fi 108 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:05,320 adapter, letting a microcontroller convert the signal into analog noise, 109 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:10,200 which it plays on a little speaker, resulting in a charming wail that sounds 110 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:14,560 a little like the distorted last gasps of a dying robot. 111 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:19,640 Feels like home. This episode is dying, too, but we'll be back Monday for more 112 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:21,320 tech news. Here's a Franken fact. Boris 113 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:27,400 Karloff, who played Frankenstein's monster on screen in 1931, suffered from 114 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:30,000 chronic back pain due to a brace he wore 115 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:34,640 as the monster while filming. That's horrible. I just hope he feels 116 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,640 better now.