Computer Talk Radio

05/29/2026

This weeks Computer Talk Radio broadcast has been uploaded at http://computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR/?."name=ctrpodcast-2026-05-30.mp3

05/29/2026

This weeks Computer Talk Radio broadcast has been uploaded at http://computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR/?."name=ctrpodcast-2026-05-23.mp3

05/29/2026

Last week, we talked about Samsung’s impending strike, and this week, the contracts were finalized, averting some level of disaster. In these contracts, semiconductor workers will see some $340,000 in bonuses, and other teams will see smaller bonuses, depending on what they work on. The monies will come out of the annual profits for Samsung, as well as other places. This does work for us in that some of the chip shortage is not likely to happen, but that could also mean Samsung raises prices to increase overall profit elsewhere.

The Samsung union wage deal is signed, but a sharp divide in payouts between chip and non-chip workers is already fueling internal tension.

Source: Samsung Signs New Wage Deal, But Workers Discontent Looms


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Samsung Signs New Wage Deal, But Workers Discontent Looms

Last week, we talked about Samsung's impending strike, and this week, the contracts were finalized, averting some level of disaster. In these contracts ...

05/29/2026

AI Generated Slop has invaded our lives. Don’t get me wrong, AI has it’s place, but a trip onto YouTube can overwhelm you with AI videos that are clickbaited, generated, and worse. In response to the growing backlash, the massive streamer is going to start tagging and labelling AI generated content more clearly. Actually, creators are already supposed to manually disclose this usage, but YouTube will be running detectors for “significant photorealistic AI use”. Now if we could also choose to bypass this garbage for real people saying real things, it would be golden!

YouTube is making AI-generated content labels more prominent, and it’s going to start automatically applying the labels if it detects that a video includes ‘significant photorealistic AI use.’

Source: YouTube to Automatically Label AI-Generated Videos & Enhance Labels


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YouTube to Automatically Label AI-Generated Videos & Enhance Labels

AI Generated Slop has invaded our lives. Don't get me wrong, AI has it's place, but a trip onto YouTube can overwhelm you with AI videos that are ...

05/26/2026

When it seems like everyone should be happy about their employees using AI, Microsoft just let their own engineers know that they were canceling Claude Code licenses. Now, on one side, they do still have their own Microsoft Copilot, but it seems like they have run into an issue of the extreme expense. Indeed, the dollar amount was so large that the 2026 budget for tokens, the individual cost per query with AI, was used up in just four months. This comes as AI pricing is undergoing it’s own inflation amount, at 20-37% increases over last year. Now, Microsoft isn’t going to abandon AI overall, but they are urging their teams to go back to CoPilot, even though the engineers like the competitor version more. Ouch.

A quiet internal decision at Microsoft is generating more debate than most of the company’s public announcements and the details behind it explain why

Source: Microsoft CEO sends shocking message to IT employees – TheStreet


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Microsoft CEO sends shocking message to IT employees – TheStreet

When it seems like everyone should be happy about their employees using AI, Microsoft just let their own engineers know that they were canceling Claude Code ...

05/26/2026

Erin Brockovich, whose name is joined forever with the idea of legal activism, recently developed a crowdsourced online map of data centers popping up around the country. This news came as Wired and other folks are reporting that federal law enforcement is monitoring for “anti-tech violent extremism threats.” Apparently as much as photographing a data center could be considered suspicious activity that could identify “adversarial actors”. Now, I’m not against data centers, but I also feel like keeping people informed about these locations, need not be considered a national threat. This is a dangerous situation, when we start being alarmist about the NIMBY crowd to the extent of allowing the FBI, DHS, and others looking over our photos and posts. First Amendment, anyone?

A new report says that law enforcement offices around the country are now monitoring for extremist activity against AI and data centers.

Source: Law enforcement is now monitoring for ‘anti-tech extremism’ – Android Authority


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Law enforcement is now monitoring for ‘anti-tech extremism’ – Android Authority

Erin Brockovich, whose name is joined forever with the idea of legal activism, recently developed a crowdsourced online map of data centers popping up aroun ...

05/26/2026

Last year, Ferrari tapped the brilliant mind of Jony Ive for the design of their newest car, a $640,000 Electric Vehicle. People had grand ideas of what Jony might come up with, and this week, the first images were released. Ferrari’s stock plummeted some 8% in the ensuing hours after what appeared to be a very pedestrian design that looked nearly similar to a Tesla, save the famous yellow badge and the iconic taillights from Ferrari’s storied past. Even the specs on the car’s speed and 0-100kmh are amongst the Tesla range, making one wonder what the point is for spending an extra 1/2 million for the Ferrari logo.

Some analysts question whether design of Luce, starting at $640,000, lives up to sportscar car brand’s heritage

Source: Ferrari shares fall after launch of first EV as Jony Ive design proves divisive | Automotive industry | The Guardian


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Ferrari shares fall after launch of first EV as Jony Ive design proves divisive | Automotive industry | The Guardian

05/22/2026

As we hit the end of the school year, youth are planning their video game pleasures… as are adults. The timing of the Forza Horizon 6 release couldn’t have been better, and it’s really hitting some amazing numbers. Over 1/4 of a million players were playing it on Steam on Thursday morning, setting a new peak concurrent players record for thjem. 6 million players overall after 2 days. The gameplay videos that I’ve seen are amazing, showing details and nuance that seem closer to life than any game yet, and I’m looking forward to seeing my son give a demo for me, drifting around a stylized version of Tokyo.

Xbox’s Forza Horizon 6 is enjoying a huge launch, and it’s not slowing down.

Source: Forza Horizon 6 hits a massive milestone across Xbox, PC, and Game Pass after its explosive release — it just set a new Steam peak player count, too | Windows Central


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Forza Horizon 6 hits a massive milestone across Xbox, PC, and Game Pass after its explosive release — it just set a new Steam peak player count, too | Windows Central

As we hit the end of the school year, youth are planning their video game pleasures... as are adults. The timing of the Forza Horizon 6 release couldn' ...

05/19/2026

Laptop pricing is shooting up month by month, and it’s becoming a major headline. Dell’s various laptop lines are shooting up faster than SpaceX rockets headed to parts unknown. This is echoing through other manufacturers as well, but Dell is a top dog and an enabler for others to bring higher pricing. The effect for the future may mean that we have to really weigh out our concerns when purchasing. My own purchase from Thanksgiving, a tricked-out Dell Alienware with a top-of-the-line CPU, 64GB, and 2TB for under $2000 delivered, just hit a new price of $4569 this week.

Welcome to the age of high-end lightweight laptops costing $3,000 or more.

Source: Dell’s Massive XPS Price Hikes Spell the Doom of Cheap PCs


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Dell’s Massive XPS Price Hikes Spell the Doom of Cheap PCs

Laptop pricing is shooting up month by month, and it's becoming a major headline. Dell's various laptop lines are shooting up faster than SpaceX r ...

05/19/2026

Computer memory pricing is getting so bad, that there are a number of folks that are selling fake RAM in various locations like eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, and more. This is tricky as some of the items are getting new stickers, or being sold as “untested” or “junk” or “it worked when I last used it”. This is a nasty approach, as bad guys get the money, and even on legit marketplaces, the wording is enough to prevent refunds or other approaches to recover funds. Stick with the reputable sellers, and brand-names, as this could get uglier fast.

Fake RAM chips and fake stickers are popping up in secondary markets in Asia. Watch out for “broken” electronics deals that are too good to be true.

Source: The RAM crisis is bringing out DDR5 counterfeiters | PCWorld


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The RAM crisis is bringing out DDR5 counterfeiters | PCWorld

Computer memory pricing is getting so bad, that there are a number of folks that are selling fake RAM in various locations like eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, ...