Tech News Weekly 461: The Mac Finally Gets Touchy

In our ongoing quest to develop a moon base, could we possibly utilize the area beneath the surface of the moon in order to make the moon habitable? In this episode of This Week in Space, Tariq Malik and guest host Mike Wall of Space.com talk with Than Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute about a NASA-backed payload bound for the Marius Hills Pit, a roughly 50-meter-wide opening that may lead into a lunar lava tube to gather more data about these formations on the Moon and the possibility of these lunar caves becoming the Moon's first living habitats for humans. Putzig explains how geophysical instruments on a rover could detect hidden voids beneath the surface and measure the size of these lava tubes. We also ask Than how these lava tubes form, what a follow-up robotic explorer could reveal, and how this research fits alongside NASA's Artemis plans for a south polar moon base. Join us! Headlines: Clear Images Emerge of China's Secretive Shenzhou Space Plane Virgin Galactic Unveils New Delta Class Spaceplane for Tourism Remembering Star Trek Legends Walter Koenig and Sir Patrick Stewart Main Topic: Exploring Lunar Caves and the Gimli Mission Introduction to Lunar Caves, Pits, and the Quest for Lava Tubes NASA's Gimli Mission and Selection to Explore Marius Hills Pit Science Goals: Detecting and Mapping Lunar Lava Tubes for Potential Habitats Details on Geophysical Instruments and Survey Techniques Potential Benefits of Lava Tubes for Lunar Habitat Planning Technical and Logistical Challenges for Accessing and Using Lunar Lava Tubes Parallels with Lava Tubes on Mars and Planetary Science Collaboration Building Teams and Proposals at the Planetary Science Institute Future Steps for the Gimli Mission and Outreach Efforts Host: Tariq Malik Co-Host: Mike Wall Guest: Than Putzig 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

Amazon unveiled a new Echo device lineup. Proton's AI manifesto. Understanding the PHP2Shell flaws, and Apple unveiled its first-ever touchscreen MacBook Pro! Mikah looks at Amazon's new Echo lineup the company unveiled earlier this week, including the Echo Show 16, Echo Studio, and Amazon's first digital photo frame. 404 Media's Joseph Cox joins the show to discuss his reporting on Proton's aggressive AI push, including employee re-interviews about AI use and a CEO who called pen-testing concerns "loser thinking." TechCrunch's Zack Whittaker talks about the recent PHP2Shell critical vulnerability that was discovered last week and how the coordinated patch rollout largely held, why a mass-hacking wave seems to have been avoided, and why millions of sites may still be vulnerable. And D. Griffin Jones breaks down Apple's announcements of new hardware this past week, including the first touchscreen MacBook Pro and a new iPad mini. Host: Mikah Sargent Guests: Joseph Cox, Zack Whittaker, and D. Griffin Jones 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 Sponsor: PaloAltoNetworks.com/Idira

Microsoft's AutoSR tech is no longer just for ARM: find out how automatic super resolution is leveling up game graphics and performance on Intel's latest Core Ultra Series 3 laptops. 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: bitwarden.com/twit

Ask a chatbot the same thing twice, and you might expect two different answers. Mikah Sargent runs one everyday request through ChatGPT five times and gets back the same basic text, two of them word for word. He explains where differences come from, what research says about why tuned chatbots can narrow the range of their answers, and why these replies left out what only he knew. Then he fills in the blanks and adds examples to show what prompt engineering really means, with four habits for getting answers you'd actually use. Send your AI questions to [email protected] Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On AI at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-ai 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: threatlocker.com/twit

Are you drowning in notifications before you even finish your morning coffee? This episode explores clever Focus tweaks and next-level notification controls that can reclaim your sanity and protect your attention. • Managing device distractions: Do Not Disturb and Focus basics • Apple Watch and iPhone notification mirroring explained • Customizing Focus modes for work, sleep, and driving • Sharing Focus status and syncing settings across devices • Letting important contacts break through Focus barriers • When to create custom Focus modes beyond Apple's defaults • Vacation Focus workaround to silence Microsoft Teams notifications • Experiences and pros/cons with Apple Intelligence Reduce Interruptions • Tiered approach to notifications across iPhone, Apple Watch, and Notification Center • How to triage and silence notifications for sanity • Screen Time insights for adjusting Focus and habits • News: Focus features boost automation and Siri Shortcut integration • iOS 27 gesture changes—Siri AI vs Notification Center in Control Center • App Caps: Apple's Invites app and Brick device for strong app blocking 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. Sponsor: PaloAltoNetworks.com/Idira

Scott Wilkinson is way into Dark Matter, a streaming series on Apple TV+ starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly. Based on a novel by Blake Crouch, it explores the notion of parallel universes and one physicist's invention that allows travel between them. Unlike many depictions of this idea, Dark Matter is much more character-driven and thoughtful. Highly recommended! Host: Scott Wilkinson 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. Sponsor: helixsleep.com/htg

Is the AI gold rush running on shaky ground? Get the inside story on Anthropic's blockbuster IPO, massive compute bets, and why some insiders think the industry's economics just don't add up. Anthropic's IPO S-1 Spells Out a Future of Promise and Peril DeepMind unveils Genie 4 world model promising more realistic physics and humans (Marissa Meyer) Maybe We All Need an A.I. Wife Whoops: Meta's Muse Share Links Disclosed All Sorts Of Super-Sensitive User Data Everybody is freaking out over the NYTimes adding AI to the Cooking app Wikipedia but only for things a half hour walk away from you Rest of World faces prospect of shutting down "WSJ: The Bull Case for AI Armageddon For investors mulling the Anthropic share offering, a 10% chance of extinction may be a 90% win for your portfolio" Hosts: Jeff Jarvis and Paris Martineau Co-Host: Jason Hiner 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: framer.com/machines gusto.com/machines PaloAltoNetworks.com/Idira doppel.com

Microsoft released new Windows 11 Experimental builds. A new round of buyout offers has been presented to 25% of Microsoft's global workforce. Microsoft fixed a major Authenticator flaw for Android. And... no major XBOX news? Windows Paul has confirmed a theory weʼve discussed about why Microsoft is really improving Windows 11 this year. Windows Insider Program Four new builds - Mobile device controls in Quick Settings, native Internet speed test. Corporate Microsoft offers buyout offers to almost 25 percent of its global workforce. Hardware This week in Paulʼs RTX Spark local AI coding fails - plus, the first step is realizing itʼs not you, itʼs the technology. Some advice for using AI. Software Microsoft fixes major Authenticator flaw on Android. PowerToys adds two new utilities, so many other updates. The Browser Company announces the inevitable end of Arc browser. AI Anthropic files for IPO, warns that its work could end humanity. Canva releases its first AI model, for images. Opera brings local AI to its desktop web browsers with WebAI standard-to-be. Apple is bringing AI assistant to its iWorks apps - Apple copies Microsoft again! XBOX and Gaming No real news this week, which is rare, but a few thoughts about the new Call of Duty. Tips and Picks Tip of the Week: Yes, the Windows Setup workarounds still work in 26H2. Windows 11 version 26H2 arrived recently and Iʼve now tested the installer on multiple Arm64 and x64 PCs and the local account workarounds we all know and love still work. My advice: Use Rufus to create install media. App pick of the week: Mozilla Firefox With a year or so of major improvements to its web browser, Mozilla has launched a big ad campaign to get Firefox users back. RunAs Radio this week: PostgreSQL with Elizabeth Christensen Brown liquor pick of the week: Vardberg Born Hosts: Mikah Sargent, 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: PaloAltoNetworks.com/Idira joindeleteme.com/twit-biz bitwarden.com/twit

A newly uncovered PHP vulnerability put nearly 70% of the internet at risk, sending governments and enterprises into a frenzy as AI-powered attackers raced to exploit a flaw that had lurked unnoticed for 14 years. Hear why this could be just the start of an unrelenting wave of security crises. We take a detailed look at the many facets and aspects of last week's wild PHP ride: What happened. How it happened. Why it happened. How it could have been prevented. How it impacted many of our listeners. We consider the implications of what is said to be coming next and the idea of temporary "strategic disconnection" from the Internet Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1102-Notes.pdf Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Steve Gibson 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: threatlocker.com/twit doppel.com hoxhunt.com/securitynow originhq.com/securitynow material.security

People are starting to get their iPhone Duo in hand! Are the reports of the iPhone Duo's screen cracking a concern for the product's viability? And Apple unveils a new iPad Mini and updated MacBook Pro and iMac with the M6 chip! Phone Duo review: The future is foldable. iPhone Duo: 24 hours in the Splash Zone. Some iPhone Duo displays are cracking, seemingly all in the same way. Apple's foldable iPhone Duo draws early complaints of the screen cracking. iPhone Duo teardown: the most repairable foldable has a huge screen problem. Novelty apps for the iPhone Duo: Toastie, Duo-Man, Tiny Computers, Delta, and RadPad. Building for iPhone Duo, in app developers' own words. Apple gives iPad mini its biggest update ever. Apple introduces the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6. Apple unveils new iMac with M6. Hello again, ten years later. Picks of the Week Andy's Pick: ChicagoFLF Regular Stephen's Pick: Check the Weather v2 Shelly's Pick: Metal Braided USB-C Cables Hosts: Jason Snell and Andy Ihnatko Guests: Shelly Brisbin and Stephen Hackett 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: Simplify.us/NestEgg coveron.com/macbreakweekly and use code macbreakweekly PaloAltoNetworks.com/Idira cachefly.com/twit