Daily Tech News Show (VIDEO)

Is Apple’s product line too confusing and is that a bad thing? And do we really need a video game console? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Scott Johnson, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

What does gaming look like without discs? As companies race toward a future where physical media becomes a relic of the early 21st century, will gamers embrace the all-digital future—or will the industry have to change to keep them on board? Plus Apple new CEO John Ternus has only three days in the office. So we judge his three day performance like some supercilious alien race from Star Trek. And Thomas Wilde from Geek Wire argues that the video game industry is heading towards its a big crash in a opinion article. Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Trisha Hershberger, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Ransomware is a looming threat for any business or entity that has an online footprint. But we ask the big question. Should companies pay ransomware or not? We engage each other in a debate for the ages. Plus Walmart began accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay at its Walmart and Sam’s Club locations. Robb wants to ask us why aren’t more people using tap to pay? Xbox announced its disc-to-digital program that will let owners of physical game discs claim digital copies. You can use those digital copies in Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, David Spark, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

How is generative AI impacting creatives who have had their worked copied or used without permission. Meta’s trial in Oakland, California began this week. 29 US states allege that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to drive compulsive use by children and tried to hide known risks of using their products. Plus we explore what media executives think what the TV market will look like in three years. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Don Komarechka, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Android Faithful’s Jason Howell is here with details on the Pixel 11 phone. Plus Anthropic announced this week it would embed watermarks in text. And a plea for a revival of reading from 120 years ago. Finally we end our week with the Great Debates Smartphones that can always find the perfect place to eat or a phone that can always find the right things to say in any coversation. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Jason Howell, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

OpenAI and Anthropic have confirmed their AI models were involved in separate third-party cybersecurity testing incidents resulting in a real website being breached and social engineering attacks against sites outside the intended testing boundaries. Plus Bending Spoons to buy Airtable for $1.2 billion. We ask everyone what they think of Bending Spoons track record so far in managing the companies they’ve acquired so far. And we close the week with a quiz about desserts! Or was that deserts? Find out on today’s show! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

As computer RAM and NAND prices continue to go through the roof, other PC components are feeling the effects besides memory and solid-state storage. Is open-source AI the key to cybersecurity in the age of threats powered by LLMs, tech companies think so. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Nate Lanxon, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Samsung announced new foldables including a phone with an unfolded aspect ratio that makes it wider than it is tall. Plus OpenAI released some details about how one of its agents broke out of a sandbox and hacked Hugging Face to find the solutions to a benchmark challenge. And we debate a recent Redfin poll on how Americans feel about data centers being built in their neighborhood. Finally its the end of the week and we got some Zillow game show action. Can you figure out the price before the panel does? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Can AI save wildlife and win over humans? While Meta’s smart glasses battle public side-eye, physical AI is surging. Nvidia just united 22 Japanese robotics giants under its new open-world model, while Boston Dynamics is testing its Spot robot to trot deliveries straight to your door. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Blair Bazdarich, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Digital photographer, Ant Pruitt, is here to talk about his 30-day personal photography challenge and how it made him a better photographer. Plus Netflix, ElevenLabs and the Gene Wilder estate recreated the voice of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka to use as the narrator for its new reality show “Wonka’s The Golden Ticket.” We discuss the implications and what it really means for the afterlife of well-known actors likenesses being used after their death. Sony announced it would end production of physical game discs starting in January 2028. Roger shares how he feels about losing physical game discs. And we end the week on a sweet note as we test everyone’s knowledge of SODA! Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Ant Pruitt, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Sarah shares her experience Vibe coding her new website. Tim Cook warns customers that prices for iconic Apple products are going up. We check out the new prices and share what we think of them. Plus the prices for the new Steam Machines have been made public and aren’t cheap. Finally we end our week with a quiz on American culinary delights. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Show regular Andrea Jones-Rooy decided to challenge themselves by facing their fears and posting videos on Instagram every day for 100 days. Andrea explains how the experiment worked and if it did indeed help them overcome their fears. Plus this week the US Government ordered Anthropic to restrict access to its Fable 5 and Mythos models to only US citizens causing Anthropic to restrict its access for everybody. And we end the week with a horror quiz!! Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Andrea Jones-Rooy, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Nica Montford and Terrance Gaines from the snobOS podcast, share their thoughts on the announcements from WWDC 2026. Plus 2026 FIFA World Cup has started and we talk about all the tech being used to keep track of the games and elevate security at the different venues. Finally its the end of the week and we have another great debate around what we would give up for a million bucks. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nica Montford, Terrance Gaines, Len Peralta, Roger Chang To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

The CEO of Sophia Space, Rob DeMillo, is here to explaining what’s different about space startups in 2026 vs. five years ago. Plus Nvidia announced a new Soc the RTX Spark which combines 20-Core Grace CPU With a 5070-Like Blackwell GPU and a partnership with Microsoft that will see a version of Windows for the platform. And we’ve got a special space movie quiz to help end the week. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Rob DeMillo, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Ferrari unveiled its EV supercar and Tim Stevens is here with a first hand appraisal of the new machine. Plus DuckDuckGo, provides an AI free version of its search engine at noai.ducduckgo.com. Is this backlash against Google’s AI search implementation? And would you be interested in test driving old and obsolete Operating Systems from days of yore? Then the Virtual OS Museum is the place for you. Finally we end the week with a road trip quiz! Starring Sarah Lane, Tim Stevens, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Google I/O 2026 was this week and Google unveiled a new Gemini search tool allowing you to add images and video to your search query. TechCrunch says “Google Search as you know it is over”, we discuss what that means. Plus Warby Parker worked with Google and Samsung on new smart glasses that were also announced at Google I/O. Is the smart wearables market big enough for another entrant? And we end the week with a weighty debate. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nica Montford, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Google announced a number of new initiatives and products this week. Ron Richards from Android Faithful is here with the major highlights. Plus A professor and research fellow at Sheffield Hallam University posted five tips on The Conversation for using screens as a parent. We review what was said and share what we think of them. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Ron Richards, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

What are options for running Intel Mac software on an Apple Silicon Mac? Bloomberg’s Nate Lanxon shares his top favorites with us. Plus what does the data say about the effects of cell phone bans on student behavior and classroom performance? And we have a quiz lined up to test your knowledge of translations in history! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nate Lanxon, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

A new study finds that AI chatbots can be addictive but are the way they’re designed partly to blame? Plus Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI is going on this week. We share if we find the story interesting from an information point of view because of the details that will be divulged or because its just entertainment? And we do another round of our popular Name The Price on Zillow game! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Amber MacArthur, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Tim Cook steps down as the CEO of Apple with chief of hardware development John Ternus taking the reins. Is this a shrewd move for the Cupertino company? Will Framework latest version of its modular laptop take modular laptops and Linux mainstream? And we see if the panel can out guess the riddles on today’s quiz! Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Ramageddeon continues to inflict financial pain on consumers looking up the prices for new laptops, flash memory, VR headsets and storage. Plus we discuss findings from the Australian Recording Industry Association that show that people are listening to less new music in favor of old favorites. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Patrick Norton, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

We discuss the implications of the Artemis II mission that saw humans fly the furthest distance from the earth and observe the dark side of the moon. Plus Gen Z is growing less excited about AI than previously. Anthropic decides to limit its latest model to a select number of companies. And we have a quiz on the innovations space exploration has gifted the human race. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nica Montford, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

What were the big trends in AI and Data Science in 2025 and what trends they expect to see in 2026. Andrew Jones-Rooy is here to explain. And we discuss Derek Thompson’s “Is the Smartphone Theory of Everything Wrong?” post on his Substack page where he lays out the difficulty in analyzing smartphone impacts on behavior. Is there truth in Derek’s analysis or is all confirmation bias? Plus we debate the weightiest topics of our time in our Balance Game of the Week! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Andrea Jones-Rooy, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

As the Trump administration pulls back on funding programs to encourage EV adoption do they still have a future in the US? Plus the US FCC added all foreign-made routers to a “covered list” meaning the FCC won’t certify them. We share how we all think this will play out. Plus a special BTS quiz conjured up by Tom Merritt. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Tim Stevens, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Vinyl records, cassette tapes and now reel-to-reel tapes are being revived. What’s with the surge in popularity in old media formats? We share out thoughts on NVIDIA next generation DLSS 5, which does real-time rendering to add realistic lighting to game frames. And we play a game of guess what this product is based on the name! Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Microsoft released more details about Project Helix, their next generation Xbox including the ability to play Xbox and PC games. Plus Nvidia announced new DLSS 4.5 native integration coming to 20 games. And our listeners ask us how to parse out our time between listening to news and entertainment podcasts. Finally there’s a new quiz this week that will test your knowledge of the two Ryans. Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds. Who starred in what movies? Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Trisha Hershberger, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

We discuss all the big announcements Apple made this week including the MacBook Nano, new M5 SoC, and iPad Air. Is Jack Dorsey right to get ahead of it and right when he says “most companies are late?” to replacing people with AI tools, or is this a mistake? And we have a new Zillow Game. Can you guess the correct price for these stunning properties before the staff do? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Nica Montford, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Xbox replaces its leadership. Is this a sign that Microsoft is looking to sunset its gaming division or is there something else afoot? Samsung unveils its new Galaxy S26 lineup. We ask local Galaxy fan, Robb Dunewood, what he thinks of the new phone line? And Josh asks us “Do you think Meta is moving to close down Messenger?… Are they trying to get everyone on Facebook again OR are they planning to consolidate messaging into WhatsApp? Besides making it easier to maintain just one product, it might move to lock-in WhatsApp as the de facto world messaging app?” Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!