Hands-On Tech 283: Is Airplane Mode Necessary?

When politicians, parents, and platforms collide, who protects kids from tech's dark side? Dive into real stories of digital parenting, policy-making headaches, and the unexpected ways tech companies shape everyday life. US court rules Google will not have to sell ad exchange after losing antitrust case Why the Courts Are Hesitant to Punish Tech Giants Like Meta and Google John Ternus is now the CEO of Apple Apple, OpenAI legal fight keeps escalating. Here's how we got here Court Filings In A.I. Suit Invoke Copyright Law, Culture and Sports Meta accepts U.S. safety rules while pitching softer tools abroad FTC lawsuit alleges Amazon has been 'secretly and systematically' overcharging for ads Bernie Sanders Proposes Artificial Superintelligence Ban Amid Rogue AI Hackings Vance Called AI Satanic. He Struck a Chord Among Christian Republicans. Who Cares if AI Is Conscious—It's Basically Alive Nvidia Extends A.I. Spending Spree With $12.9 Billion Deal for Hugging Face Tesla's Cybercab Officially Launches Today. It's Already Under Investigation AI visionary Ray Kurzweil is joining a Silicon Valley startup developing a brain computer system that involves snorting nanoparticles Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Stacey Higginbotham, Jeff Jarvis, and Owen JJ Stone 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 audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT helixsleep.com/twit doppel.com

This week, we dive back into Omarchy, discuss the Ur project, and celebrate CERN's upgrade to Debian. Audacity 4 is finally out, Jeff tries to convince everyone to buy a Southbridge on a PCIe card, and the LLVM project is debating their AGENTS.md file. Firefox 155 is out, and KDE is working on better BTRFS support. For tips, we have postcard, the vibecoded simple mail client; seq, the for-looper for bash; and systemd-run, the oneshot service runner with interesting capabilities. You can find the show notes at https://bit.ly/46atanC and enjoy! Host: Jonathan Bennett Co-Hosts: Rob Campbell and Jeff Massie Download or subscribe to Untitled Linux Show at https://twit.tv/shows/untitled-linux-show Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit bitwarden.com/twit

On this episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers Gene's question about whether airplane mode still serves a real engineering purpose in 2026 and what the smartest phone setup is for flying. Send in your questions for Mikah to [email protected], and he'll answer them in a future episode! Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit NetSuite.AI/HOT

Capitalism—and a strong profit motivation—has driven enterprise for centuries. Two notable examples are the East India Company and the US transcontinental railroad, and the various tycoons who built it. In neither case, by today's standards, were the operations fair or ethical on a number of fronts. Can we do better in space? Dr. Rainer Zitelmann joins us to discuss capitalism and the importance of extraterrestrial land ownership as an enabler of human expansion off-Earth. He's got a lot to say, and not all of it is what you might expect. Join us for this fascinating and informative look at one business case for newspace. Headlines: • NASA's Roman Space Telescope Launches to Explore Cosmic Mysteries • SpaceX Falcon Heavy Returns to Action for Major NASA Mission • Blue Origin Selected to Build Mars Communications Relay for NASA • Japan and Europe's BepiColombo Mission Arrives at Mercury Main Topic: Who Owns the Moon? — Capitalism in Space With Dr. Rainer Zitelmann • Dr. Zitelmann Explains Market Forces Transforming the Space Industry • Historical Parallels Between Economic Reforms and the Privatization of Space • The Outer Space Treaty and Legal Uncertainty Around Private Ownership Off-Earth • Potential for Stock Markets and REITs for Off-World Real Estate and Resources • China's Rapid Advancement in Private Space and Market-Driven Innovation • Safety Zones, Artemis Accords, and the Limits of Current Legal Frameworks • First-Mover Advantage: How Initial Claims Might Play Out on the Moon and Mars • Equity, Envy, and Ethical Debates Over Colonization and Space Ownership • The Role of Commercial Incentive Versus Public Benefit in Expanding Humanity's Reach Get "New Space Capitalism" (Amazon Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/4xEeGID Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guest: Dr. Rainer Zitelmann Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit helixsleep.com/space

Apple enters the John Ternus era as he becomes CEO ahead of the anticipated iPhone event, a climate scientist exposes the real energy costs of AI use, a bezel-free concept phone debuts at IFA, and Malwarebytes warns GTA fans about dangerous fake "GTA 6 Extended Look" downloads. Apple kicks off the John Ternus era as CEO, just ahead of a much-anticipated iPhone event—facing challenges in AI, manufacturing, regulation, and the ever-present rumor of a foldable iPhone. A climate scientist's 8-week experiment spotlights how much energy AI actually burns, showing prompt-based measurements miss the real environmental impact of today's intensive tools. Tecno unveils Bezelless - a bezel-less concept phone at IFA, as anticipation builds for Apple's rumored border-free iPhone. Chris Fistonich from Malwarebytes joins to warn about fake GTA 6 sites delivering info-stealing malware to unsuspecting gamers. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti Guest: Chris Fistonich Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit framer.com/tnw rippling.ai/tnw

Joe Klusnick, whose home theater was recently featured on Home Theater Geeks, returns to talk about another project he worked on recently: a theater in a senior living community. It uses relatively modest equipment and was not terribly expensive, but it performs quite well and serves an important function for the residents. Westmont of Santa Cruz: https://westmontliving.com/our-communities/california/soquel/westmont-of-santa-cruz/ Host: Scott Wilkinson Guest: Joe Klusnick Download or subscribe to Home Theater Geeks at https://twit.tv/shows/home-theater-geeks Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit helixsleep.com/htg

Why does syncing your phone with Windows 11 feel so hit-or-miss? Dive into Phone Link's hidden strengths, quirky limitations, and what actually works—plus a heads-up on which features are about to disappear. Host: Paul Thurrott Download or subscribe to Hands-On Windows at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-windows Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit

The Apple TV app's constant renaming and feature shuffling have left users wondering where their watchlists vanished and what each oddly similar label actually means. Mikah Sargent untangles the confusion and reveals why your streaming experience might be missing more than you think. Identifying Watchlist and Continue Watching rows on iOS How to add, find, and remove shows from Watchlist and Continue Watching Syncing watch progress and lists across Apple devices Which streaming services and apps connect to Apple TV app Navigating Apple TV channels vs. third-party connected apps Missing Netflix and YouTube integrations and why some services don't appear Managing app subscriptions, billing confusion, and multi-device login strategy Essential Apple TV settings: autoplay, recommendations, and sports scores Controlling play history, privacy, and clearing recommendations Adjusting streaming and download quality for bandwidth and data usage Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Apple at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-apple Want access to the ad-free audio and video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit-biz

Apple's latest iPhone event is around the corner, but are you actually ready to upgrade? This episode digs into the essential, often overlooked steps that could make or break your next device swap. Apple Upgrade Program and comparing phone purchasing options Tips and tricks for trading in or handing down your old iPhone Importance of backups: iCloud, local, and encrypted with iMazing Steps for safely transferring data and activating eSIM Verifying new phone setup: calls, texts, Apple Pay, and Watch How to properly erase the old device before trade-in Reviewing device storage and considering foldable iPhone rumors News: Apple's Surprise and Shine event and iOS 27 rollout anticipation Shortcuts Corner: Building a share sheet shortcut for photo management App Caps: Apple Arcade Sneaky Sasquatch crossover and Anker power bank accessory Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at [email protected]. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit NetSuite.AI/IOS

Why is a 27-year-old founder betting against massive AI models and building powerful, ultra-specialized agents to run right on your phone? Find out how this new approach could reshape everything from daily productivity to privacy and platform power plays. Judge Rules on Google Ads Case OpenAI to start showing ads on ChatGPT's free and Go tiers in India Brief independent investigation of agents' behavior, reasoning and collaboration in the OpenAI / Hugging Face hacking incident OpenAI to Restrict Astra Model After Rating It 'Critical' Cyber Risk OpenAI Technique in 'Astra' Model Sparks Security Concerns Nvidia pays $12.9B for Hugging Face. Thomas Wolf is betting on Microduck, a $399 robot? OpenClaw 2.0 pours glitter on slow-burning security dumpster fire Dyson Debuts $499 AI-Powered Toothbrush With a Built-In Camera Infinite Slop by @levelsio + fal.ai YouTube uses AI to tag products in videos & create Amazon affiliate links Expert Intelligence: a new way for you to engage with trusted content Intelligent transcription with Gemini 3.5 Transcribe Google Rolls Out 3 New Ways to Book Travel Using AI Mode in Search I Let Google's Personal Intelligence Access My Life—and It's a Huge Help MrBeast partners with Gemini to turn impossibly big ideas into reality Google's answer to Canva is an AI tool where you prompt instead of design September Android Drop: Remember where you put things, ease motion sickness, and more (155) TIME on X: "TIME's new cover: Announcing the 2026 TIME100 AI, the world's most influential people in artificial intelligence https://t.co/ZnPVMdeJwe https://t.co/97g8cUJo8H" / X Pangram Has Emerged as the Gold Standard of AI Detection. Should You Trust It? Unusual Suspects Shout out to 2010s era Bloomberg Businessweek covers Archived video CS majors down 8.4% or 53k Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Guests: Mikah Sargent and Div Garg 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 audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit horizon3.ai/intelligent rippling.ai/machines