Home Theater Geeks 538: DIY Delight

Since 1958, the United States has been part of the spaceflight adventure, and since the mid-1960s has led in just about any category that counts. In this episode, we discuss the progression of American space efforts, review which flights launched or landed on July 4, and relive some of our very favorite US space missions of all time! "Headlines: • NASA's Swift Boost Mission Aims to Rescue Swift Space Telescope • Astronomer Avi Loeb Tapped to Chair White House UAP Panel • Celebrating 30 Years of the Film Independence Day Main Topic: 250 Years of America in Space • American Flags Across the Solar System • Origins of the Space Age: Operation Paperclip and the V2 Legacy • Explorer 1 and Early U.S. Satellite Achievements • Mariner and Viking Missions: Mars Exploration Milestones • Key American Firsts in Human Spaceflight • Apollo Landings and Moonwalk Milestones • Skylab and Its Legacy as America's First Space Station • The Rise of Reusable Rockets: Space Shuttle, Blue Origin, and SpaceX • Private Spaceflight and Tourism: From Dennis Tito to Jared Isaacman • Curiosity, Pathfinder, and Other Mars Rovers as Iconic U.S. Achievements • Reflections on Favorite Missions and the Future of U.S. Space Leadership" Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik 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: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT helixsleep.com/space

Abrar Al-Heeti of CNET joins Mikah Sargent on the show this week! Do Americans trust driverless vehicles? Safety tools for Social Media are failing kids. Sony is ceasing the production of physical games in January 2028. And a Supreme Court ruling guts the government's use of geofence warrants. A new Pew Research survey finds only 5% of U.S. adults have ridden in a driverless car, and 71% say they wouldn't feel comfortable riding in one in the first place. An audit conducted by the Cybersafety Research Center showcases that, within Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, the research center found 51 of 86 advertised child-safety features were either broken, buried, or missing. Sony announced it will stop making physical discs for new PlayStation games starting in January 2028. And in Chatrie v. United States, which reached the Supreme Court, the Court ruled 6-3 that police need a warrant to obtain Google location-history data, further extending Fourth Amendment protections for Americans. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti 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: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT framer.com/tnw hipebl.ai threatlocker.com/twit rippling.ai/tnw

HTG listener Jeremy Mills built an exceptional home theater in his basement, mostly with his own two hands and help from his wife and kids. That kept the budget down without sacrificing quality. Jeremy joins Scott Wilkinson to share his process and the outstanding final result. Host: Scott Wilkinson Guest: Jeremy Mills 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: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT helixsleep.com/htg

What happens when you strip Windows 11 to the bone and dodge Microsoft's usual bloat? Paul Thurrott reveals how far you can actually go in building a lean, privacy-focused Windows experience—without third-party debloating tools. 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. Sponsor: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT

Transform your iPhone interaction with a neat double-tap feature that most users have never noticed in the settings menu. Find out how to program the back of your phone for quick actions like taking a screenshot, launching your favorite app, or automating nighttime routines. Finding and enabling Back Tap in Accessibility settings Double tap and triple tap back actions explained How Back Tap uses sensors, not physical buttons Assigning system, accessibility, and device actions to Back Tap Using Back Tap to trigger shortcuts for custom automations Practical uses and avoiding accidental activations 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. Sponsor: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT

As heat waves and storms reshape daily life, see how localized weather tech and smart notifications are becoming essential tools for staying safe, planning ahead, and getting your forecast with a side of fun. Apple Weather app evolution from basic utility to Dark Sky integration Localized weather data, alerts, and hourly forecasting explained Shortcut automations for Weather: capabilities and app integration Changes in third-party weather app APIs post-Dark Sky acquisition CARROT Weather: customizable data sources, achievements, and unique personality (Not Boring) Weather: design-driven, interactive weather visualization Met Office Weather Forecast: official UK alerts and specialized app benefits Mercury Weather: cross-platform support, trip planning, and rain forecasting Acme Weather: US-only, feature-rich app from Dark Sky creators App Caps: Spigen TapZip MagSafe organizer and ESR CryoBoost charging station 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: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT NetSuite.AI/IOS

Think your AI assistant is working perfectly? This episode reveals why most AI breakdowns go completely unnoticed and how these "invisible failures" could be skewing the results we rely on. Fable is Back! Alex Stamos: Anthropic is saying "Amazon's inability to appropriately communicate severity threw our industry into chaos". China's Meituan says its new AI model was trained on domestic chips Chinese A.I. Models Gain Ground on Anthropic and OpenAI Claude Science is Anthropic's newest flagship product Previewing GPT-5.6 Sol: a next-generation model The New York Times Amends Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft OpenAI and Broadcom Unveil Custom A.I. Chip Design Neon Buys 'Artificial,' a Film About OpenAI, After Amazon Dropped It How AI helped the FBI investigate the White House Correspondents' Dinner attack Anthropic says Alibaba illicitly extracted Claude AI model capabilities Lost books by ancient philosophers recovered from 'unreadable' scrolls Ford had to hire back former engineers to fix mistakes made by its automated systems People have stopped trusting news but not newsrooms SpaceX Showed Investors Prototype of Elon Musk's New AI Device * Gemini Spark, Google's agentic assistant, is now available on Mac Jefferies Warns Memory Prices Will Surge 50% in Q3 2026 and Another 40% in Q4, With No Relief Until 2028 US supreme court rules geofence warrants require constitutional privacy protections Four in five under-16s in Australia using social media despite ban, study shows * Podcasting platform Riverside enters the newsletter publishing game The 'Father of the Internet' is finally retiring Political Bias in AI Om Malik, 1966-2026 Marfa Public Radio Puts You to Sleep My post: California's squandered opportunity Palantir coat Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Mike Elgan Guest: Chris Potts 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: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT zscaler.com/security XBOW.com rippling.ai/machines

Windows 10's Extended Security Update program quietly gets extended for another year for consumers. Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Go products & is now selling 8 GB Surface Pro & Laptop models. And Xbox Series X & S prices are going to go up again. Windows Microsoft quietly extends the Windows 10 Extended Security Update program one year to October 2027 for consumers Windows Insider Windows Update is transitioning to the new Windows Insider experience by default Plus, five new builds across Beta, Experimental, Beta (26H1), Experimental (26H1), and Experimental (Future Platforms) — new Taskbar size setting is the much-needed new feature Hardware Apple raises prices on Macs, iPads, and more, easing pressure on PC makers Microsoft quietly begins selling 8 GB Surface Pro/Laptop models Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Go products right when we need them the most The ASUS Zenbook A16 is nearly perfect, but it's unclear what you get with an X2 Elite Extreme chip AI HP partners with OpenAI for its agentic makeover Anthropic seizes on the "good enough" AI movement with Sonnet 5 Proton Lumo 2.0 is here Gemini personalized image creator is available for free in the US Notion blames agentic AI for it killing Notion Mail Xbox and Gaming The 2026 Doom and Gloom Watch Xbox Series X|S prices to go up again, by $150, on August 1 - and the 2 TB X is going away Undead Labs and Arkane Lyon possible victims of pending closures Latest rumor: Microsoft to layoff 2.5 percent of workforce next week - that's 5,500 people, less than expected, but that's because of the earlier voluntary buyouts, which apparently met internal expectations Minecraft Bedrock edition gets closed captions Sony will stop selling PS physical media in 2028 Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Help or get out of the way People who just complain aren't solving problems, they're just making noise and distracting us from the real problems. App Pick of the Week: Snapdragon Control Panel If you have a Windows 11 on Arm PC on Snapdragon X or X2, you need this app to make games run as well as possible. Plus - Settings > System > Display > Graphics for Auto SR and other settings and whatever is in each game RunAs Radio this week: AI-Accelerated Supply Chain Attacks with Mackenzie Duncan Brown liquor pick of the week: Rupert's Exceptional Canadian Whisky 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 audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT zscaler.com/security cohesity.com/Resilience

AI is now uncovering and fixing thousands of hidden software bugs faster than humans can keep up, but not everyone is playing by the rules. Find out how state-sponsored attackers and careless disclosures are turning the cybersecurity playbook upside down. Win10's popularity forces another year of free updates. CISA directs all federal agencies to update their UniFi OS devices. CISA gave federal agencies "the weekend" to update Cisco devices. Australia is disturbed by a deeply compromised infrastructure provider. OpenAI introduces Daybreak-powered "Patch the Planet" initiative. Meta's employee monitoring-for-AI-training backfired badly. Script Kiddies figure out how to use AI to find vulnerabilities. AI improves with "looping", "repeating" or "iterating". A wonderful story about Kevin Mitnick. Serious hackers mistakenly left a server directory accessible Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1085-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 audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT XBOW.com hoxhunt.com/securitynow cohesity.com/Resilience zscaler.com/security

Not long after Tim Cook's interview with The Wall Street Journal about price increases for Apple products, Apple raised prices on products such as the MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and iPad! Leaks are coming out about the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro. And could the rumored touch MacBook use M5 chips, with M7 models to follow? Apple raises prices due to memory chip shortage Micron executive Sumit Sadana tells Tim Cook to stop hitting himself. Apple suppliers Samsung, SK hynix & Micron hit by RAM price fixing suit. Apple faced bipartisan opposition when it last lobbied to buy Chinese RAM in 2022. FT reports that Apple is lobbying to buy memory chips from blacklisted Chinese company CXMT. Apple releases macOS, Tahoe iOS, and iPadOS updates focuses on dozens of security fixes. Apple's legal team is striking social media sharing stolen iPhone 18 Pro data. UK ponders copying more EU App Store rules. Half of social media child safety features don't work, report claims. Apple's touch MacBook to Use M5 Pro and Max Chips, with M7 models to follow. Siri AI app on iOS 27 lets users easily switch between Siri and ChatGPT. Apple seemingly killed Siri AI waitlist workaround in macOS 27 beta 2. Apple Music's billions of streams, billions of dollars in fines, and one failure. Three AirDrop vulnerabilities discovered, with Apple working on a full fix. Google pulls the plug on Tenor API, killing GIF pickers around the web. Apple's first cinematic event in 2026 is Everest ascent saga 'Tenzing'. Apple executive in charge of Vision Pro is reportedly leaving for OpenAI. The wedding-conspiracy mill that Taylor Swift built. Picks of the Week Leo's Picks: Cursor & OpenClaw apps, and a MacBook Neo cursor fix Christina's Pick: MKV2MP4 Andy's Pick: UGREEN Tablet Stand Jason's Picks: The Rest is History & "Historical World Cup" Soccer Jersey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Jason Snell, and Christina Warren 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 audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT ethos.com/macbreak cachefly.com/twit