Tech News Weekly 428: Live Nation Settles With the DOJ

Dan Moren of SixColors joins Mikah Sargent again on Tech News Weekly! Grammarly is facing a class action lawsuit over its AI 'Expert Review' feature. Live Nation's settlement with the DOJ does very little. A recap of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. And China is obsessed with OpenClaw AI. Dan talks about a class-action lawsuit brought against Grammarly and its company, Superhuman, over its AI 'Expert Review' feature that offered editing suggestions as if they came from various authors and academics, without their consent. Mikah, and many others, are perplexed at the DOJ's settlement with Live Nation Entertainment and what little Live Nation had to concede as part of the settlement. Abrar Al-Heeti of CNET stops by to share her experience at MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona and what she and her CNET colleagues saw there. And Mikah shares about China's obsession with the OpenClaw AI craze and how users are utilizing the AI agent. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren Guest: 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: bitwarden.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT zscaler.com/security hipebl.ai

Microsoft Edit is stepping into the spotlight as Notepad faces backlash for its new AI-heavy features. Find out why this lightweight, command-line text editor might just be your next favorite productivity tool. 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: threatlocker.com/twit

Apple's standalone Passwords app gives Keychain a proper home! Ready to clean up your secure digital life? This episode walks you through using Apple's Passwords app to spot weak logins, organize old accounts, and take control of your online security with tools already built into your devices. • Quick history: Keychain to iCloud Keychain to Passwords app • How to access the Passwords app on iPadOS, iOS, and macOS • Passwords app interface tour: categories, search, and shared groups • What autofill and notifications options you can enable in Passwords • Exploring the main categories: All, Passkeys, Codes, Wi-Fi, Security, Deleted • Viewing, editing, and sharing individual logins in the Passwords app • Manually adding, updating, or deleting passwords and usernames • Using search and sort to find and organize your saved logins • How autofill password suggestions work in Safari and system settings • Tweaking autofill and 3rd-party password manager integration • Homework: review and clean up your Passwords app before next episode 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: Melissa.com/twit

Apple's new iPad Air M4 gets the spotlight as Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard break down real-world performance jumps, discuss who actually needs all that power, and debate its role in the iPad family. If you're eyeing a tablet upgrade or wondering what sets the Air apart, this conversation cuts through the specs. • Apple unveils iPad Air M4: features, pricing, and lineup placement • iPad Air M4 specs, performance leap, and real-world use cases • Pro vs. Air vs. standard iPad: who should buy what • Apple intelligence, battery life, and new wireless connectivity in iPads • Student, family, and retiree use cases: choosing the right iPad • Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard elevate iPad Air versatility • News: Studio Display and Studio Display XDR are Apple's new monitor announcements • App Caps: Power Wash Simulator on Apple Arcade and a spring cleaning cable organization hack 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: shopify.com/ios

Brad Marman wonders what's up with Vizio TVs these days? Are they still around? Are they still good quality and value? Scott Wilkinson has some answers, but other answers are hard to come by. 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.

Apple's legendary evangelist Guy Kawasaki reveals how signal messaging and open-source AI are rewriting playbooks for privacy, immortality, and activism. Hear candid stories and sharp opinions from someone who has shaped—and challenged—today's tech giants. OpenAI robotics hardware lead resigns ChatGPT returns to the top of the App Store after DoD controversy OpenAI Had Banned Military Use. The Pentagon Tested Its Models Through Microsoft Anyway Anthropic Made Pitch in Drone Swarm Contest During Pentagon Feud Anthropic chief back in talks with Pentagon about AI deal OpenAI robotics leader resigns over concerns about Pentagon AI deal BREAKING: Sam Altman's greed and dishonesty are finally catching up to him ChatGPT update curbs 'cringe,' cuts down on answer refusals OpenAI's GPT-5.4 sets new records on professional benchmarks OpenAI Releases New ChatGPT Model For Working In Excel and Google Sheets - Slashdot OpenAI delays ChatGPT's 'adult mode' again OpenAI's IPO Hopes Face Skeptical Investor Community Sources: Meta has signed a multiyear AI content licensing deal with News Corp worth $50M per year; the deal will run for at least three years Zuckerberg has "finished" with Alexandr Wang, worth US$14 billion Yann LeCun Raises $1 Billion To Build AI That Understands the Physical World Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab signs a chip supply deal with Nvidia worth tens of billions of dollars, planning to deploy 1GW+ of next-gen Vera Rubin chips Meta didn't buy Moltbook for bots — it bought into the agentic web Where did you think the training data was coming from? You could be an influencer without even realizing it Amazon Wins Court Order To Block Perplexity's AI Shopping Bots Amazon's Health AI is now open to all US customers After outages, Amazon to make senior engineers sign off on AI-assisted changes Amazon Data Centers on Fire After Iranian Missile Strikes on Dubai Nvidia Is Planning to Launch an Open-Source AI Agent Platform How to Talk to Someone Experiencing 'AI Psychosis' Tiiny AI Pocket Lab: The First Pocket-Size AI Supercomputer A lot of journalism folks are offering editing advice as Grammarly's AI "experts" AI-generated art can't be copyrighted after Supreme Court declines to review the rule Judges Find AI Doesn't Have Human Intelligence in Two New Court Cases Ars Technica fires reporter after AI controversy involving fabricated quotes Start Up No.2624: Canadian journal retracts 25 years of studies, the AI writing question, Netflix buys Affleck AI firm, and more William Shatner says he turned a $42 money transfer from Elon Musk into nearly $200,000 for his charity YouTube Lays Claim to Another Crown: The World's Largest Media Company ET Fall Preview 1994 Payphone Go This company wants to pay you $800 to bully AI for a day Tweakbench - your favorite producer's favorite plugins lol Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Guest: Guy Kawasaki 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: helixsleep.com/machines monarch.com with code IM Melissa.com/twit get.stash.com/im

From bug-busting AI that's transforming Firefox to personal coding breakthroughs, the team breaks down how practical applications are cutting through skepticism and reshaping developer workflows. Plus, hear why lighter Patch Tuesdays are refreshing from time to time! Windows 11 Patch Tuesday's familiar list of updates: Network speed test, Camera tilt and pan controls, sysmon, RSAT improvements, Quick Machine Recovery improvements, WEBP support for desktop wallpaper, Emoji 16.0, etc. It's been a light year so far for Patch Tuesday features - that's a good thing New builds for Canary, Dev, and Beta late last week. Canary is nothing, Dev/Beta get Administrator Protection, Drag Tray refinements, File Explorer improvements, and fixes Android 16 QPR3 brings Desktop Mode to Android devices - and a hands-on with Pixel phones and tablets shows the way forward for Android-based laptops later this year Intel has new gaming processors for creators and gamers and they look excellent and are inexpensive AI and dev Copilot Cowork is literally Claude Cowork in Microsoft 365 - "Wave 3" for Microsoft 365 Copilot begins with a lot of agentic features, in private preview at first Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive get big Gemini updates for consumers and Workspace customers Mozilla partners with Anthropic to use AI to find bugs, and it's paying off nicely Visual Studio Code moves to a weekly update schedule The .NET 11 Preview 2 is here Xbox and gaming Microsoft starts talking up next Xbox console! It's called Project Helix and, yes, it will run Windows games New Xbox Mode is on the way Project Helix dev kits to game makers in 2027 Satya Nadella explains why he/Microsoft are "long" on gaming Gaming is a core identity for Microsoft alongside platforms, developers, and knowledge workers Tips and picks Tip of the week: Nostalgia with a purpose App pick of the week: Stardock Clairvoyance RunAs Radio this week: SQL Server in 2026 with Bob Ward Brown liquor pick of the week: Canadian Centennial Rye 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: helixsleep.com/windows cachefly.com/twit

Think your online alias keeps you safe? This episode reveals how advanced language models are making it trivial to de-anonymize users at scale, challenging everything we thought we knew about internet privacy. Anthropic & Mozilla improve Firefox's security. Apple & Google begin testing cross-platform RCS encryption. Ubuntu's SUDO starts echoing asterisks. Inviting a web proxy into your home. Apple devices cleared by Germany for NATO's use. A serious remote takeover of OpenClaw. TokTok won't encrypt messaging for visibility. Microsoft bans the term "Microslop" on Discord. Lot's of great listener feedback. LLMs could make Orwell's 1984 seem optimistic. Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1069-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: bitwarden.com/twit zscaler.com/security guardsquare.com hoxhunt.com/securitynow

Apple unveiled the MacBook Neo, the company's foray into a low-cost laptop. The iPhone Fold's supposed design has leaked through 3D CAD rendering files. And a toolkit for hacking iPhones has leaked. 18 years later, Apple ships a $599 computer. Apple's TikTok ads for the MacBook Neo are the right kind of weird. Apple creates adorable little Finder guy to promote its adorable little Mac. The new Apple begins to emerge. Apple 'Ultra' products expansion is up next after MacBook Neo launch. iPhone Fold design leaks in purported 3D CAD rendering files. Apple's 'HomePad' gets launch timing update via leaker. Apple's 512GB Mac Studio vanishes, a quiet acknowledgment of the RAM shortage. Apple Music to add Transparency Tags to distinguish AI music, says report. Apple ran a test on the App Store to see if AI could improve search result rankings. Apple geoblocking downloads of ByteDance-owned apps in the US. A toolkit for hacking iPhones, possibly created for the U.S. Government, has leaked. F1: The Stream - how the launch leveraged Apple's entire ecosystem. 'Apple' Review: Reinvention Incorporated. Picks of the Week Christina's Pick: What's Your JND Game Andy's Pick: Kids, Wait Till You Hear This Jason's Pick: Cloth Pro Max Leo's Pick: Art Bits from HyperCard 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: hipebl.ai helixsleep.com/macbreak

Between copyright-free AI art, government blacklists, and data brokers run amok, this episode spotlights the fierce new battles for privacy, agency, and control in our digital lives. Plus, hear Cory Doctorow break down why the AI gold rush may be headed for a colossal crash. Pentagon Officially Tells Anthropic It Is a Supply Chain Risk Trump moves to blacklist Anthropic AI from all government work If AI is a weapon, why don't we regulate it like one? Sam Altman's greed and dishonesty are finally catching up to him ChatGPT user base surges 350% in 18 months as it nears 1 billion weekly active users AI-generated art can't be copyrighted after the Supreme Court declines to review the rule Chardet dispute shows how AI will kill software licensing, argues Bruce Perens Grammarly is using our identities without permission Alphabet Grants Sundar Pichai Stock Awards Worth Up to $686 Million Google vs Epic Games ends with Android app stores, lower fees Google Ends Its 30% App Store Fee, Welcomes Third-Party App Stores - Slashdot Xbox CEO confirms next-gen 'Project Helix' console will play PC games Motorola Partners With GrapheneOS - Slashdot Data Broker Breaches Fueled Nearly $21 Billion in Identity-Theft Losses CBP Tapped Into the Online Advertising Ecosystem To Track Peoples' Movements Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous 'Stop Cop City' Protester COPPA 2.0 passes the Senate again, unanimously this time South Korean Police Lose Seized Crypto By Posting Password Online Iranian drone strikes at Amazon sites raise alarms over protecting data centers Charter Gets FCC Permission To Buy Cox, Become Largest ISP In the US How Big Diaper absorbs billions of extra dollars from American parents Anne Wojcicki's Plan to Revive 23andMe: Rich Donors, Improved Tests—and Maybe Even MAHA Bundle of human neurons hooked to silicon learns to stumble through Doom 10% of Firefox crashes are caused by bitflips Seagate Just Unleashed 44TB Hard Drives Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Joey de Villa and Cory Doctorow 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: zscaler.com/security joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT meter.com/twit NetSuite.com/TWIT bitwarden.com/twit