GeekNights Mondays: Science Technology Computing

Tonight on GeekNights, it's a Tech News Roundup! Madison Square Garden's insane surveillance machine, Github's ongoing collapse, Mac minis being hit by the ongoing RAM crisis, Ask.com is dead, a trivial-to-exploit Linux vulnerability, OpenAI won't stop talking about goblins, Apple fixes a notification vulnerability with Signal, iOS finally adds end-to-end encryption to RCS, AI slop podcasts are spreading, Roblox can't make money if kids can't sign up, and Tim Apple is replaced by John Apple.

• Tech News Roundup May 2026

• Tech News Roundup May 2026

• Tech News Roundup May 2026

• Rym - What do other animals think of human music?
• Scott - Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in the same photo

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the dangers of trying to mandate age verification on the Internet. In the news, Discord embarks on a disastrous age verification scheme, Anthropic is mad that other "AI" companies are using their product, and Goldman Sachs launches an AI-free index.

• Age Verification on the Internet

• Age Verification on the Internet

• Age Verification on the Internet

• Rym - Unicode Explorer
• Scott - The Sharp PC-2000 Computer Boombox from 1979

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss webcams. In the news, ICE murdered another person in broad daylight with video and witnesses, and Senate Democrats are willing to shut the government down over continued funding of ICE. Call your senators today. No funds for ICE: abolish, dismantle, and prosecute.

In other news, Europe may ban Elon Musk's nonconsensual porn machine and France is planning to build a video conferencing tool to reduce dependence on American technology.

• Webcams

• Webcams

• Webcams

• Rym - RESOURCE: Just how advanced WERE the Maya?
• Scott - Ignoring Lithium Battery Safety Warnings.. For Science!

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss tech bubbles like the Dot-com bubble. Unrelatedly here's a video by Hank Green titled The State of the AI Industry is Freaking Me Out, and a video by Adam Conover titled Sora Proves the AI Bubble Is Going to Burst So Hard. In the news, nearly 7 million Americans marched in defense of democracy, Amazon AWS went down Sunday night reminding us how fragile the Internet has become, and the end of Windows 10 shouldn't be ignored.

• Tech Bubbles

• Tech Bubbles

• Tech Bubbles

• Rym - The Hammond A-100 Organ
• Scott - Mac Source Ports

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss fitness tech like heart rate monitors and Strava and Dance Dance Revolution. In the news, Tik Tok has a dubious deal to keep operating in the US and the regime has plans for the algorithm. Also go see Perfect Blue remastered while you can. And read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

• Fitness Tech

• Fitness Tech

• Fitness Tech

• Rym - KNIGHTS OF GUINEVERE: PILOT
• Scott - 86box

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about specific mice. Mice we've used over the years, since the days of balls. In the news, Google dodges consequences in the US but not in the EU, Google is sued yet again for their advertising monopoly, and Google is looking to flood the phone lines of tiny businesses.

• Specific Mice

• Specific Mice

• Specific Mice

• Rym - Ti-85 Megademo (Calculator demonstration)
• Scott - The Old Robots Web Site

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the modern marvel that is video chat. In the news, Perplexity is using undeclared crawlers to scrape content, Samsung has a crazy Micro LED TV, real life ad block is possible, and Trump is forming the American SS.

The next GeekNights Book Club book will be The Running Man, by Richard Backman, who you may know better as Stephen King.

• Video Chat and Teleconferencing

• Video Chat and Teleconferencing

• Video Chat and Teleconferencing

• Rym - Survival food - dandelion seeds
• Scott - blahaj goes to waffle house at 3am

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss audio interfaces. Rym uses a PreSonus Studio 1810c to record GeekNights, and as his general purpose "sound card" in the studio.

In the news, the CEO of GitHub steps down, you can consider Forgejo if that worries you, Reddit will block the Internet Archive, and Trump illegally forces the National Guard to deploy to the streets of Washington DC.

• Computer Audio Interfaces

• Computer Audio Interfaces

• Computer Audio Interfaces

• Rym - Map of Queens NY, Explained
• Scott - The Pianolizer

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider why there, broadly, aren't major consumer technology developments lately. In the news, Debian reduces support for i386 and Chrome OS is combining with Android. Also we'll be live at PAX West!

• Why there's no big tech news

• Why there's no big tech news

• Why there's no big tech news

• Rym - The ‘Goal’ That Changed The NHL Forever
• Scott - Hot Spring Shark Attack

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the blinky lights and LEDs the kids are putting on everything including their computers. In the news, Windows 10 has extended security support, Broadcom is desperate to monetize VMware, and the EU forced Apple to comply, at least in the EU.

• Blinky Lights

• Blinky Lights

• Blinky Lights

• Rym - NHL: Refs Mic'd Up Part 2
• Scott - Balatro for the Nintendo E-Reader