In Episode 16 of SouthGeek News, Donovan and Ben are joined once again by guest co-host Samuel Lewis for a wide-ranging and often hilarious dive into the week’s tech, life, and pop culture happenings. Sam kicks things off by sharing his deep love for Disney Dreamlight Valley, especially the latest Alice in Wonderland update that adds fan-favorite characters and surprisingly emotional storylines to the whimsical life sim. Ben talks about surviving a wild week that included long commutes, a solo network install in a crawlspace, and narrowly avoiding a possible tornado that tore through part of town. Donovan shares his recent experience with HexOS, a $200 UI wrapper for TrueNAS Scale that left him wondering why he bought into it in the first place. While visually slick, the software adds little for experienced users and relies heavily on TrueNAS under the hood, making it a tough sell at any price. The trio also digs into Synology’s controversial decision to require branded drives for their upcoming NAS models, drawing comparisons to Apple’s historic hardware lockdowns. There’s plenty of discussion around Intel’s latest GPU driver update—offering up to 25% performance boosts for those rare few using Intel ARC graphics—and a deep dive into newly discovered AirPlay vulnerabilities that could expose millions of devices to Wi-Fi-based attacks. Later in the episode, they explore how connected cars and subscription-based features are quietly becoming surveillance tools, with many manufacturers sharing data with law enforcement. The conversation wraps up with some skepticism (and amusement) over Sam’s Club’s plan to eliminate checkout lanes in favor of AI-powered Scan & Go shopping, where trust in tech might run headfirst into human nature. Along the way, there are sidebars on The Sopranos, Walter Goggins’ performance in Fallout, and the shared horror of realizing you now qualify for a senior citizen discount at 55. It's another laugh-filled, geek-friendly episode that blends tech insight with personal stories and just the right amount of snark.

Links

Disney Dreamlight Valley
Intel says it’s rolling out laptop GPU drivers with 10% to 25% better performance
Millions of Apple Airplay-Enabled Devices Can Be Hacked via Wi-Fi
Car Subscription Features Raise Your Risk of Government Surveillance, Police Records Show
Synology confirms that higher-end NAS products will require its branded drives
Sam’s Club phasing out checkouts, betting big on AI shopping
Fitbit is dying a slow death
Bluesky Is Rolling Out Official Verification

Where to Find Us:

• SouthGeekNews.com
• Leave a voicemail: Voicecast
• Donovan: Socials
• Sam: tscn.tv // @tscnsam on socials
• Ben:  Instagram

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