Episode 15 of SouthGeek News kicks off with Donovan and Ben catching up on their recent tech trials and domestic adventures. Ben dives into ongoing frustrations with sluggish Hyper-V VMs running on a weak RAID 5 setup and discusses experimenting with open-source surveillance tools like Shinobi and ZoneMinder, both of which fall short of expectations. Donovan shares his own camera setup woes, eventually conceding that consumer-grade NVRs like Lorex might be the way to go. They swap updates about property searches, lawn rehab, and an ailing Ford Explorer with a famously finicky sealed transmission. A trip down memory lane follows, from the high price of Tift County land to the painful rise of automotive repair costs and the need for backup vehicles—especially when yours might refuse to reverse. The pair shift gears into tech support talk, covering a voicemail transcription upgrade in 3CX and the odd mystery of why forwarded calls started showing up with no caller ID. Spoiler: the fix involved a SIP binding tweak that somehow wasn’t in the documentation. They also take shots at clunky modem suggestions from ISPs and share opinions on Hitron versus ARRIS hardware, SonicWall’s lingering legacy in modern networks, and how WireGuard is quickly becoming the gold standard in VPN tech—especially for those ditching slower protocols like IPSec and OpenVPN. The second half of the episode dives into the tech headlines: OpenAI’s rumored social network ambitions, Claude’s new Gmail integration (with some side-eye), Android 15’s storage requirements, and the absurdity of Microsoft breaking security patches with a missing empty folder. There’s also a nostalgic (and surprisingly passionate) moment where they debate the correct pronunciation of GIF—and retell the arcane saga of archive formats from the BBS era. They wrap up the show with laughter over someone actually paying for WinRAR, and OpenAI's "new" memory feature that everyone thought was already a thing. Along the way, there's snark, cookies, and the eternal struggle between dog lovers and people who just want a clean house. In short, it’s a classic SouthGeek blend of tech, humor, and real-world absurdity—all served with a strong side of geeky storytelling.


Links
OpenAI considering own social network to compete with Elon Musk's X
Anthropic's Claude can now read your Gmail | TechCrunch
Android 15 has a new requirement that could leave your phone behind | ZDNET
Microsoft warns that anyone who deleted mysterious folder that appeared after latest Windows 11 update must take action to put it back | TechRadar
Someone actually paid for WinRAR—here’s how the company reacted
OpenAI updates ChatGPT to reference your past chats | TechCrunch
Mark Cuban backs Skylight, a TikTok alternative built on Bluesky's underlying technology | TechCrunch
China unveils GPMI, an HDMI and DisplayPort rival with 192 Gbps bandwidth and 480W power delivery | TechSpot

Where to Find Us:

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

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