This Week in Tech 1031: My 3 Friends

Apple asks court to halt App Store rule changes while it appeals Proposed Amicus Brief – #1300, Att. #1 in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. GOOGLE LLC (D.D.C., 1:20-cv-03010) – CourtListener.com Eddy Cue Causes a Stir for Google DOJ pushes for Google to sell its advertising platforms Google Will Pay $1.4 Billion to Texas to Settle Claims It Collected User Data Without Permission What Stacey has been doing Attorney General Bailey Files Groundbreaking Rule to End Big Tech's Censorship Monopoly and Protect Online Free Speech DOGE bro Kyle Schutt's computer infected by malware, credentials found in stealer logs The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked Samsung is paying $350 million for audio brands Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz and Polk Zuckerberg's Grand Vision: Most of Your Friends Will Be AI - Slashdot How AI Demand Is Draining Local Water Supplies Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and other big names are mostly off the hook from the FTX fallout FTC Bans Hidden Fees For Live Events and Short-Term Rentals - Slashdot The FTC puts off enforcing its 'click-to-cancel' rule 20 years to give away virtually all my wealth | Bill Gates Mexico is suing Google over 'Gulf of America' name change for US users Switzerland To Hold Referendum on Introducing Electronic ID Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Shoshana Weissmann, Wesley Faulkner, and Stacey Higginbotham Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: expressvpn.com/twit bitwarden.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT shopify.com/twit

Mike McCue introduces Surf: Flipboard's founder and CEO demonstrated their new social browser app that aggregates content from ActivityPub, AT Proto, and RSS into unified feeds, allowing users to follow people across platforms and create curated content collections. OpenAI Adjusts Reorganization Plans: OpenAI will maintain its non-profit arm while converting its for-profit division into a public benefit corporation similar to Anthropic, pending regulatory approval. AI Criticism Blog Post: A blog highlighted practical AI concerns beyond the singularity, focusing on coordinated inauthentic behavior, misinformation, and non-consensual pornography. AI Workplace Misuse: Nearly half of workers admit to using AI inappropriately at work according to a Fast Company report. AI Academic Cheating: New York Magazine investigated widespread AI cheating in colleges, including students using AI for all assignments while maintaining excellent grades. "I Smell AI": The team discussed unreliable AI detection methods and embarrassing AI-generated news errors, including Alberta being incorrectly described as "French-speaking." Instagram Co-founder on AI Chatbots: Kevin Systrom claims AI assistants are designed to maximize engagement metrics rather than utility, though Leo demonstrated how these behaviors can be modified. Google Labs' AI Experiments: The hosts explored Google's new AI Mode search interface, language learning tools, and a career recommendation system. New York Times Subscriber Growth: The NYT added 250,000 digital subscribers with a 14% jump in digital subscription revenue, with nearly half subscribing to multiple products. Auburn University's Phone Help Desk: The hosts discussed Auburn's 70-year tradition of librarians answering public phone questions, continuing through technological changes. San Francisco's Orb Store: World opened a downtown storefront where visitors scan their irises with "orbs" to verify humanity and receive WorldCoin cryptocurrency. Driverless Trucks Begin Regular Routes: Aurora launched fully autonomous semi-trucks between Dallas and Houston, raising both safety hopes and public perception concerns. Waymo Safety Study: Data showed Waymo's autonomous vehicles significantly reduced injury crashes, though the hosts questioned aspects of the data presentation. AI-Generated Video in Court: An AI-generated video of a deceased shooting victim "forgiving" his killer was shown in an Arizona courtroom, raising ethical and legal questions. Paris's Game Recommendation - Norco: Paris recommended the Southern Gothic narrative game Norco, set in industrial Louisiana with a surreal atmosphere similar to Disco Elysium. Leo's Game Recommendation - Tippy Coco: Leo shared a simple browser-based ball-bouncing game at TippyCoco.com as an easy option for casual players. Jeff's Pick - World Bank Data Sets: Jeff highlighted World Bank's release of hundreds of public data sets intended for AI training that provide insight into global technology adoption. Google Invests in Wonder: Google Ventures invested in virtual kitchen company Wonder, which raised $600 million despite questions about food delivery business sustainability. These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines/episodes/818 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Guest: Mike McCue Sponsors: monarchmoney.com with code IM spaceship.com/twit bigid.com/im Melissa.com/twit

Microsoft announces big changes to Windows 11: New Start menu, Phone Companion on Start, AI actions in File Explorer, Notepad and other updates. Plus, new Copilot+ PC features: Click to Do actions, AI agent in Search for some reason, new Photos, Paint, and Snipping Tool features, and more. Windows 11 Microsoft announces new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models after teasing the announcement last week Recall improvements, Taskbar improvements, HDR improvements, more come to Beta and Dev Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 to start on hotpatching, same schedule as Windows Server 2025 A moment of silence for Skype, we didn't know what we had until you ensh*ttified and then killed it Google is secretly working on two major changes for Android 16+ - We need something like this for 25H2 Antitrust Apple is slapped down hard by Judge in Epic v. Apple Spotify, Amazon, Proton and many other change apps to avoid Apple Tax The walls are finally tumbling down for Big Tech US v. Google (ads) has a remedy hearing set for September, that should go well AI Open AI: just kidding about that for-profit thing. Did Microsoft squelch this plan? Google's Little Language Lessons looks like a neat use of AI GitHub Copilot now has over 15 million users Xbox & gaming FTC may have suffered its final defeat in trying to end Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard Xbox/ASUS portable gaming device leaks Good news! Xbox consoles are more expensive now! Wait. New DOOM game and more are coming to Game Pass this month Gears of War Remastered coming to Xbox, PS5, PC, Game Pass in August Minecraft drops VR/MR support GTA VI delayed until 2026 Backbone Pro works with phones directly but also tablets, PCs, and more wirelessly Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Go passwordless App pick of the week: Microsoft Authenticator RunAs Radio this week: Building a Career in Cybersecurity with Yuri Diogenes Brown liquor pick of the week: Jura 10 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: uscloud.com

Microsoft to officially abandon passwords and support their deletion. Meta's RayBan smart glasses weaken their privacy terms. 30% of Microsoft code is now being written by AI. Google says prying Chrome from it will damage its security. Nearly 1,000 six-year-old eCommerce backdoors spring to life. eM Client moves to version 10.3 A bunch of terrific listener feedback creates talking points. A little-known, insecure message archiving service comes to light. Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-1024-notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: bitwarden.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT drata.com/securitynow material.security threatlocker.com/twit

Stephen Robles from the Primary Technology podcast joins the show this week! A federal judge blasts Apple and Tim Cook for violating an antitrust ruling against the company's control over its App Store. Results from Apple's Q2 2025. Could Apple be shaking up its iPhone release calendar? And would you want to view your favorite celebrities that can be found in Apple services? Well, now you can with Apple's 'Snapshot'! Judge blasts Apple for violating antitrust ruling. From Six Colors: Apple Q2 2025 results and charts: $95.4B revenue. Tim Cook addresses Apple's delay of personalized Siri features. Beware the tariffs! Inside Apple's latest financial results. Apple to shake up iPhone release calendar with base iPhone 18 launch in spring 2027, six months after Pro models. London's Court of Appeal rules Apple must pay Optis $502M as a lump sum for using Optis' 4G patents from 2013 to 2027. Apple launches a new celebrity hub that's all about Apple. Apple continues leadership changes, restructuring Apple Music and Global Affairs. New Apple TV+ trailer reveals first ever full-length 'immersive' film. Picks of the Week: Stephen's Picks: The Anker MagGo Power Bank, Ultra Slim & MoFT iPad Dynamic Folio Leo's Pick: ADHD Planner Andy's Pick: Joplin Alex's Pick: Midjourne 7 - Omni Reference Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, and Andy Ihnatko Guest: Stephen Robles Download or subscribe to MacBreak Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/macbreak-weekly. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zocdoc.com/macbreak 1password.com/macbreak Melissa.com/twit storyblok.com/twittv-25

Judge Blasts Apple For Violating Antitrust Ruling Google's Sundar Pichai Calls US Remedies 'De Facto' Spinoff of Search - Slashdot Firefox could be doomed without Google search deal, says executive Visa Announces Plans to Give AI Agents Your Credit Card Information The Age of Realtime Deepfake Fraud Is Here The TAKE IT DOWN Act: A Flawed Attempt to Protect Victims That Will Lead to Censorship Congress Moving Forward On Unconstitutional Take It Down Act White House Slams Amazon After Report it Will Highlight Tariff Costs The Kickstarter you backed may soon ask for more money to cover Trump's tariffs Microsoft Raises Xbox Prices 20% as Tariffs Drive Up Cost of Development UPS will cut 20,000 jobs because fewer Amazon packages are coming Elon Musk's DOGE ties could get his companies out of $2 billion in potential liability President Trump's fiscal 2026 budget proposal suggests slashing $491M from CISA's ~$3B budget, claiming the cut "refocuses CISA on its core mission" Government Actually Threatens Wikipedia's Editorial Freedom; Self-Proclaimed Free Speech Warriors Suddenly Have Other Plans Mark Zuckerberg Sailed 5,300 Miles With Two Superyachts Only to Helicopter Up a Mountain and Ski Down in Billionaire Style - Sustainability Times Massive power outage in Spain, Portugal leaves millions in dark Wall Street Banks Sell Final Slug of Elon Musk's X Debt Elon Musk's SpaceX gets a company town in Texas Amazon deploys the first Project Kuiper internet satellites Researchers Secretly Ran a Massive, Unauthorized AI Persuasion Experiment on Reddit Users How Badly Did ChatGPT and Copilot Fail to Predict the Winners of the Kentucky Derby? - Slashdot Quantum message travels record distance over fiber optic network Photo appears to show Mike Waltz using Signal-like app that can archive messages Chinese university designed 'world's first silicon-free 2D GAAFET transistor,' claims new bismuth-based tech is both the fastest and lowest-power transistor yet The one interview question that will protect you from North Korean fake workers Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Owen Thomas, Iain Thomson, and Gary Rivlin Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT outsystems.com/twit drata.com/weekintech coda.io/twit zscaler.com/security

Interview with Jacob Ward Duolingo launches 148 courses created with AI after sharing plans to replace contractors with AI The Age of Realtime Deepfake Fraud Is Here The Hottest AI Job of 2023 Is Already Obsolete Bridges and Tunnels in Colorado Are Helping Animals Commute A rare glimpse inside the mountain tunnel that carries water to Southern California You can't lick a badger twice Mark Zuckerberg is planning a premium tier and ads for Meta's AI app Zuck video promoting Meta AI learning all about you and your loved ones Melanie Mitchell: LLMs & World Models part 1 Universities Have a Computer-Science Problem Take It Down Act heads to Trump's desk Attention Kmart Shoppers Digital creator jobs jump 7.5x since pandemic Rabbit ears Orb.net Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Guest: Jacob Ward Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zscaler.com/security bigid.com/im

YOU ARE THE PRODUCT! But... are you? In Russia, Windows 11 uses you! Plus, something happened to Paul on the way to dual-booting Ubuntu 25.04 on Surface Laptop 7, but all is well! Also, you should be using Brave. But if you don't like/trust Chromium, Firefox 138 finally added profile management support. Windows Windows 11 24H2 preview update for April finally arrives Now we know why Microsoft waited: It wanted to announce the "general availability" of Recall, Click to Do, and "improved Windows Search" (we're still struggling with a name for that one) Dev and Beta (24H2) builds add a profanity filter, a Pen shortcut for Click to Do, improved Windows Search for work and school accounts, Accessibility flyout in Quick settings Microsoft (sort of) explains why Windows Insider Preview channels don't follow a logical order anymore Microsoft deprecates Map app in Windows 11 That makes sense. But also VBS Enclaves in pre-24H2 versions, which is interesting Corporate Microsoft says it will defend EU companies against US government Alphabet/Google is doing just great, thanks Intel earnings are flat, and that's as good as that news gets Samsung posts record revenues on strong S25 series sales Dev Build and Google I/O are coming in hot Google is holding a separate Android event for the first time, ahead of I/O What about Surface? At Build last year, the company announced Copilot+ PC AI Microsoft has an OpenAI problem - duh and/or hello Microsoft is part of an AI unholy quaternity on new Moto phones Duolingo announces controversial "AI first" strategy - And then announces 148 new AI-based courses Apple on Apple Intelligence: Just kidding! OpenAI on GPT-4o: Just kidding! ChatGPT goes shopping and OpenAI improves Deep Research Google updates NotebookLM audio overviews with support for over 50 languages YouTube starts testing AI overviews for videos - and Spotify is using AI for playlists Adobe updates Firefly models, adds third party support DuckDuckGo's Duck.ai now supports real-time model switching Meta launches a standalone AI app that no one should want Xbox Xbox-exclusive game Towerborne is here in preview on Xbox, PC, and Game Pass Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Be prepared App pick of the week: Firefox 138 RunAs Radio this week: Modern Work in 2025 with Karoliina Kettukari Brown liquor pick of the week: Highwayman Whisky Abbey 2024 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: uscloud.com cachefly.com/twit

Why did a mysterious empty "inetpub" directory appear after April's Patch Tuesday? And what new Windows Update crashing hack did this also create? North Korea is now creating fake US companies to lure would-be employees. The "Inception" attack subverts all GPT conversational AIs. New information about data loss in unpowered SSD mass storage. Lots of terrific feedback from our listeners. How malware has taken to hiding inside the Windows Sandbox and what you can do to stop it Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1023-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: legatosecurity.com threatlocker.com for Security Now outsystems.com/twit hoxhunt.com/securitynow

The Hottest AI Job of 2023 Is Already Obsolete NYT Asks: Should We Start Taking the Welfare of AI Seriously? Microsoft finally ships controversial Windows 11 "Recall" feature after year-long delay — now rolling out to all Copilot+ PCs Sam Altman says OpenAI is no longer "compute-constrained" — after Microsoft lost its exclusive cloud provider status Only Google Can Run Chrome, Company's Browser Chief Tells Judge What Happens When You Pay People Not to Use Google Search? 4chan Is Back Online, Days After The Infamous Hack That Leaked Its "Janitors" Emails Mark Zuckerberg Says Social Media Is Over Google is scrapping its planned changes for third-party cookies in Chrome Google's revenue tops Wall Street's expectations — and the stock climbs Google will stop supporting early Nest thermostats on October 25 PC shipments spike as Windows 10's end and U.S. tariffs loom Apple Aims To Source All US iPhones From India in Pivot Away From China Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders: Sold out at most retailers including GameStop, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others The $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen Tesla whistleblower says Musk wanted to deport her team for raising brake issue In a Boon for Tesla, Feds Weaken Rules for Reporting on Self-Driving Enter The Fourth Amendment, Yet One More Reason DOGE Is Such A Constitutional Nightmare Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Abrar Al-Heeti, Daniel Rubino, and Cathy Gellis Subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: kinsta.com/twit monarchmoney.com with code TWIT outsystems.com/twit drata.com/weekintech expressvpn.com/twit