TWiT News 407: Meta Connect 2024

NASA's planetary exploration program is in trouble. The Mars Sample Return program is verging on cancellation, and the VIPER mission to the moon already has been. Both are critical precursors to human exploration of these places, as Dr. Jim Bell of Arizona State University will tell us. We need to know more about the surface of Mars--with direct, in-the-lab studies of Mars rocks--and we certainly need to understand where the volatiles--another name for water and other resources of value--are on the moon. And, if you're the US government, you'd like to do both before China does--which is likely not far off. Does it matter who achieves these things first? And specific to the US, what role might private companies and individuals play in the drama? Headlines: SpaceX's Crew-9 mission is set to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station on Saturday, September 28th, with the primary objective of bringing back the Starliner astronauts who have been on the station for an extended period. A Seattle-based company, Iradian Aerospace, has unveiled plans for a new reusable orbital spaceplane that will utilize a revolutionary two-mile-long sled launch system. Earth is set to temporarily capture a small asteroid, 2024 PT5, which will remain in close proximity to our planet from September 29th to November 25th, providing scientists with an opportunity to study a near-Earth asteroid up close as it performs a de-facto flyby. Main Topic - Discussion with Dr. Jim Bell: Jim Bell discusses his early fascination with space exploration, inspired by the Apollo missions and Carl Sagan's acclaimed 1980s series "Cosmos," which led him to pursue a career in planetary science. The decadal survey process is explained, highlighting how it helps align the scientific community's priorities with NASA's mission planning and funding decisions. The challenges faced by the Mars Sample Return mission are discussed, with Jim expressing optimism that NASA will find a way to overcome the current budgetary hurdles and complete this groundbreaking mission. The cancellation of the VIPER lunar rover mission is addressed, with the hosts and guest emphasizing the importance of this mission for future human exploration of the Moon and the need for more transparency in NASA's decision-making process. Jim shares his perspective on the increasing involvement of commercial space companies in planetary exploration, stressing the importance of developing sustainable business models to ensure the long-term viability of these ventures. The conversation touches on the balance between NASA's priorities, such as the Artemis program, and the funding allocated to robotic scientific missions, with Jim highlighting the need for better communication and collaboration between the human spaceflight and robotic exploration divisions of NASA. Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guest: Jim Bell Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Emily Dreibelbis joins Mikah Sargent this week on Tech News Weekly! X released its first transparency report since Elon Musk took over the company. Initial impressions of Meta's Orion AR prototype glasses. And Microsoft has released a new tool that can reportedly correct incorrect AI-generated text. Emily Dreibelbis talks about how X has released its first transparency report following Elon Musk's purchase of the social media company. Why did X finally release the report after skipping last year? Scott Stein of CNET is reporting from the Meta campus in Palo Alto! He had the chance to try Meta's new Orion AR glasses prototype and share his initial thoughts. And Mikah Sargent shares a new tool Microsoft has released that can reportedly correct AI-generated text that generates incorrect information. However, the tool has some skepticism about when it attempts to fix it; it can generate more inaccurate information. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Emily Dreibelbis Guest: Scott Stein Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: shopify.com/twit threatlocker.com for Tech News Weekly

The 2024 CEDIA Expo was filled to the brim with new audio and video products as well as a bunch of awesome demos. Journalist, consultant and jolly good CEDIA Fellow Mike Heiss joins Scott Wilkinson to discuss what he saw and heard there. In Part 3, we talk about some of the new audio products introduced at the show. Host: Scott Wilkinson Guest: Michael Heiss Want access to the video version 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.

In this episode of iOS Today, hosts Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren dive deep into the exciting new features of iOS 18. They explore the customizable home screen layouts, the redesigned Photos app, and enhanced messaging capabilities. The duo later go over alterations to Control Center, the new standalone Passwords app, and updates to Maps, Wallet, and AirPods functionality. They also touch on upcoming Apple Intelligence features, including writing tools and Siri enhancements, while noting that some of these features won't be available immediately. If you've recently downloaded the latest core iPhone software, don't miss this episode! Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren Want access to the video version 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. You can also contribute to iOS Today by sending an email to [email protected].

Contrary to what an internet search might tell you, it's actually rather simple to reset your HomePod and HomePod mini. Mikah Sargent walks you through the process of factory resetting your HomePod speaker. Host: Mikah Sargent Want access to the video version 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.

Windows 11 will cross two important milestones in October: Windows 11 version 22H2 will exit support and Windows 11 version 24H2–released in limited and unfinished form only with new Snapdragon X-based Copilot+ PCs in June–will be distributed more broadly to the entire user base, including the vast majority on traditional x64-based PCs. This week, Paul shows off some of the new features in this latest Windows feature update. Host: Paul Thurrott Want access to the video version 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.

Stanley Is Releasing Collectible Tumblers Every Day This Week to Honor Different Decades of Barbie EssilorLuxottica extends smart glasses partnership with Meta Sam Altman catapults past founder mode into 'god mode' with latest AI post AI conversation about Jeff's book The Paris show Exclusive: Meta's AI chatbot to start speaking in the voices of Judi Dench, John Cena, others, source says Google TV adds several more free channels including The Bob Ross Channel YouTube confirms your pause screen is now fair game for ads Google's passkey syncing makes it easier to move on from passwords New Cloudflare Tools Let Sites Detect and Block AI Bots for Free Google Photos is getting a redesigned video editor Google's Gemini AI might soon appear in your corporate Workspace Google Earth AI eliminates clouds Ahead of Gemini coming to Google Buds, Hey Google & Voice Match Settings Change on Headphones Quote Origin: I Had Exactly Four Seconds To Hot Up the Disintegrator, and Google Had Told Me It Wasn't Enough Project Analyzing Human Language Usage Shuts Down Because 'Generative AI Has Polluted the Data' Comedian John Mulaney brutally roasts SF techies at Dreamforce Marques Brownlee says 'I hear you' after fans criticize his new wallpaper app Cards Against Humanity sues Elon Musk's SpaceX for trespassing McDonald's touchscreen kiosks were feared as job killers. Instead, something surprising happened Mullenweg calls WP Engine a 'cancer to WordPress' and urges community to switch providers Introducing HP Print AI, Industry's First Intelligent Print Experiences The 90s Executive Yes Man More Americans – especially young adults – are regularly getting news on TikTok Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: bitwarden.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

Windows 11 24H2 is following a now-familiar trajectory to release. Right, it's chaos Microsoft issues last-second updates to 22H2/23H2 and 24H2 in the Release Preview on Monday. Paul predicted these would turn into our Week D updates later in the week and that we'd get nothing on Tuesday Dev and Beta channels got some interesting updates recently as well The Windows App is now available on Windows, Mac, and iOS HP announces two new flagship AI PCs, one AMD and one Intel. Plus a lower-cost 8-core Snapdragon model. This is officially a trend. A week after providing details about the September 2024 firmware update for Surface Laptop 7, Microsoft confirmed it shipped the same update to Surface Pro 11. This has had a major negative effect on the device's instant-on capabilities Microsoft 365, cloud, AI Microsoft is reviving Three Mile Island and other headlines I never thought I'd write Google formally complains about alleged Microsoft antitrust abuses in the EU LinkedIn is training AI with your data. You can turn it off because Microsoft loves opt-out Microsoft issues a SFI progress report and they are doing GREAT, thank you very much Gemini comes to Workspace Apple Intelligence will hoover 4GB of drive space on iPhones to start, more later as more features are added More! Qualcomm makes another offer to acquire Intel Investment firm offers Intel a $5 billion lifeline Arc just experienced its first major security incident and handled it really well Raspberry Pi reports its first-ever earnings Paul has finished updating .NETpad for Windows 11 theming support in .NET 9, will put code up in GitHub after .NET ships in stable Xbox A new tell-all about Blizzard, Activision, and Xbox arrives October 8 Game Pass features are coming to Xbox mobile app where they belong Also, Game Bar Compact mode as part of September Xbox Update New Indie Selects titles Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available for preorder and it will look a lot better and take up a lot less disk space Xbox Ambassador's Program is dead, Jim Xbox spends $1 billion per year to acquire Game Pass titles Xbox figured out how to reduce its carbon emissions. You know, besides selling fewer consoles Sony announces 30th anniversary PS5 collection Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Stop paying so much for everything App pick of the week: A week of browser-adjacent updates RunAs Radio this week: Windows Server 2025 and Active Directory with Orin Thomas Brown liquor pick of the week: Hatozaki Small Batch Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsors: e-e.com/twit lookout.com bigid.com/windows veeam.com

Join Leo Laporte and Mikah Sargent as they commentate on Mark Zuckerberg's keynote at Meta Connect 2024 and discuss some of the things that debuted at the keynote, such as the Meta Quest 3S, Llama 3.2, and the prototype Meta Orion AR Glasses. Meta Connect 2024 - https://www.facebook.com/MetaforDevelopers/videos/449444780818091 Hosts: Leo Laporte and Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/twit-news. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

The case of the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies "Ford seeks patent for tech that listens to driver conversations to serve ads" Another large chunk of personal data exposed Passkeys takes a big step forward: Now supported by Chrome A nascent 9.9 Linux Unauthenticated RCE? Freezing Credit Credit Bureaus Drobo 5N SN email labeled as spam Public Wi-fi saftey SN for Certs Windows Defender Kaspersky exits the U.S. Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-993-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit 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. Sponsors: GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT code SN100 canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT bigid.com/securitynow e-e.com/twit