Smartphone Sales Hit a 13 Year Low, Musk's Secret Power Grab & the Notepad Rebellion | 07-17-26

Sam Bushman and Jay Harrison dig into why global smartphone shipments just hit their worst quarter in 13 years, and argue that AI on phones is more marketing hype than real innovation. They cover Elon Musk's quiet billion-dollar purchase of a power generation company, Waze's Israel-based legal controversy, Microsoft's layoffs and the backlash over a bloated AI-powered Notepad, and a breakthrough brain-computer interface that restored hand function and touch for a paralyzed man. Tech Watch: we keep an eye on tech so you don't have to. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro and sponsor mention (NetworkProvidersInc.com) 1:04 – Global smartphone shipments hit a 13-year low 4:44 – Why AI on phones still feels like marketing hype, not progress 7:32 – The endless frustration with map apps (Google, Apple, Waze) 10:51 – Musk quietly buys a $1 billion power generation company 12:49 – Sponsor break (Cyber Playbook, Managed IT Services) 14:25 – Password manager reminder and a new fake job interview scam 15:34 – Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, mostly in Xbox division 16:13 – The Notepad rebellion: a former Microsoft engineer's 2.5KB rebuild 20:49 – Brain-computer interface restores touch and hand movement for a paralyzed man Call to action: Enjoying Tech Watch? Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and visit NPItechguys.com for the full audio and video archive. Got a tech topic you want Sam and Jay to cover? Drop it in the comments below.