Notnerd Podcast: Tech Better

Yes, AOL dial-up internet is still a thing, but not for much longer. We reminisce on the "good" old days of the internet and how far we've come. Plus, we had some big news in the AI world this week and so much more.

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

AI Stuff, should we cover more or less? Let us know in the comments (03:30)

MAIN TOPIC: Pour one out for dial-up (05:45)

AOL ditching dial-up service, a relic of the internet in the '90s and early '00s

AOL Sound Board

AOL Wikipedia

Net Zero Dialup still kicking - maybe not, but they have a website

The Commodore 64 is back

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Shared Photo Albums (17:30)

JUST THE HEADLINES: (25:05)

Starbucks asks customers in South Korea to stop bringing printers and desktop computers into stores

Jellyfish swarm forces French nuclear plant to shut

Astrophysicist proposes paperclip-sized spacecraft could travel at lightspeed to a black hole

Microsoft sued for discontinuing Windows 10 support

Autonomous AI-guided Black Hawk helicopter tested to fight wildfires

Xerox buys Lexmark for $1.5 billion as print industry clings to relevance

US to expedite plan for nuclear reactor on the moon

LISTENER MAIL: Todd - Magnets and computers (28:05)

TAKES:

Here's everything OpenAI announced at its GPT-5 event (03:30)

OpenAI announces massive US government partnership - Anthropic is giving Claude to the U.S. government for $1 as AI companies try to win key agencies (36:20)

Elon Musk's xAI releases Grok 4 for free globally, challenges OpenAI's GPT-5 launch (39:25)

Reddit will block the Internet Archive (44:45)

Microsoft Patch Tuesday August 2025 (46:40)

BONUS ODD TAKE: Lex.games (49:25)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Dave: Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16 GB (newest model) – With color display and adjustable warm light – No Ads – Black (51:10)

Nate: Flat Plug Power Strip Surge Protector, 5ft Ultra Thin Extension Cord with 4 USB Wall Charger(2 USB C Port), 6 Widely-Spaced Outlets Power Strip Compact for Travel, Office, Dorm Room Essentials (White) (54:50)

RAMAZON PURCHASE OF THE WEEK (57:15)

Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are betting big on AI and trying to build a dream team. Can they buy their way into AI dominance? Quarterly results are in for most of the tech world, and we don't really care. Google has a bunch of new rules on age and language. That and so much more as we help you tech better!

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

One month until new iPhones! - Nate's iPhone Beta Woes (03:05)

Quarterly Results from big tech, who cares - Microsoft officially tops $4 trillion in market cap, joining Nvidia in exclusive club (08:25)

Bitchat reality check (11:10)

MAIN TOPIC: Can Meta buy AI Superintelligence? (12:30)

Meta is shelling out big bucks to get ahead in AI. Here's who it's hiring

Meta's AI Recruiting Campaign Finds a New Target

Mark Zuckerberg says Superintelligence is imminent. What is it?

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Download Offline Maps (25:55)

JUST THE HEADLINES: (33:35)

U.S. Senators Introduce New Pirate Site Blocking Bill: Block BEARD

YouTube loosens profanity rules for monetized videos

Cheyenne to host massive AI data center using more electricity than all Wyoming homes combined

Elon Musk says he's bringing back Vine's archive

A luggage service's web bugs exposed the travel plans of every user

Tim Cook has now been Apple's CEO for longer than Steve Jobs

Radioactive wasp nests found near nuclear storage site in South Carolina

TAKES:

Google starts rolling out ML-powered age estimation in the US - YouTube banned for teens in Australia (36:20)

Trump ends de minimis exemption for global low-cost goods - Nintendo Switch Pricing Update (42:30)

iOS 26's new Messages feature has political fundraisers freaking out (46:40)

Your public ChatGPT queries are getting indexed by Google and other search engines (47:55)

BONUS ODD TAKE: Historical Tech Tree (49:50)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Dave: Mint Mobile (54:45)

Nate: BOYA by M1 Lavalier Microphone for Smartphones Canon Nikon DSLR Cameras Camcorders Audio Recorder PC (01:01:00)

Ramazon Purchase of the Week (01:06:55)

Tech news doesn't take a vacation. We've got a ton of stories to get caught up on this week, including Apple Public Betas, World Emoji Day, and the Tea dating app breach. No main topic, just a bunch of random tech stories that we think you should know about so you can get out there and tech better!

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

Bluetti to the rescue (05:00)

MAIN TOPIC: Too much news this week

Apple releases public betas of its new software updates with Liquid Glass (08:10)

Apple introduces AppleCare One, streamlining coverage into a single plan with incredible value (11:40)

The $2,000/week summer camps aiming to cure teens of phone addiction (14:35)

World Emoji Day 2025: Top 10 emoji in the U.S. (17:55)

Not News? "The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time" (21:15)

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Screenshot to Capture Text (26:05)

JUST THE HEADLINES: (30:40)

'Chuck E. Cheese' handcuffed and arrested in Florida on charges of using a stolen credit card

Sony is fighting climate change by scaling back PS5 performance

The Nintendo Switch 2 is the fastest selling gaming hardware in history

George Lucas makes Comic-Con debut with first look at his "Temple to the People's Art" museum

Apple announces $500 million commitment to buying American magnets

Elon Musk confirms Tesla has signed a $16.5 billion chip contract with Samsung Electronics

Man awarded $12,500 after Google Street View camera captured him naked in his yard in Argentina

TAKES:

bitchat mesh, Jack Dorsey's Bluetooth messaging app, debuts on the App Store (34:10)

Arizona woman sentenced to 8.5 years for running North Korean laptop farm (41:10)

Replit's CEO apologizes after its AI agent wiped a company's code base in a test run and lied about it (42:45)

Tea dating app breach bigger than previously thought, company says (44:45)

BONUS ODD TAKE: Draw a Fish! (48:50)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Dave: Onn microSD Express Card for Nintendo Switch 2 (50:55)

Nate: Magnetic Pocket Phone Tripod Foldable Compatible with Magsafe for iPhone 15/14/13/12 Plus Pro Max Series, Upgrade Mini Cell Phone Tripod Mount Handle Smartphone Desk Stand Travel All in One (54:05)

Ramazon Purchase of the Week (58:20)

AI is amazing, and it continues to improve every day. However, with that, there are many people who create content solely for the sake of creating content and attempt to game the system. YouTube and Facebook are looking to rein that in. Additionally, we have a lot of tech news to catch up on after our unusual 500th episode and then drastically short episode 501.

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

The ep. 501 incident - Portable car jump starter (03:25)

4 new subscribers! (07:15)

Alaska Airlines resumes - after IT outage (08:25)

MAIN TOPIC: Can we stop AI Slop? (10:30)

YouTube prepares crackdown on 'mass-produced' and 'repetitive' videos, as concern over AI slop grows

Following YouTube, Meta announces crackdown on 'unoriginal' Facebook content

Rock band with more than 1 million Spotify listeners reveals it's entirely AI-generated — down to the musicians themselves

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Travel Tech, traveling light (18:45)

JUST THE HEADLINES: (24:55)

China hosts first fully autonomous AI robot football match

These tiny lasers are completely edible

You can now rent a flesh computer grown in a British lab

Netflix Says 50 Percent of Global Users Now Watch Anime

UK police dangle 75 million pounds to digitize its VHS tape archives

"Vibe Coder" who doesn't know how to code keeps winning hackathons in San Francisco

Microsoft to stop using engineers in China for tech support of US military

Japan sets new internet speed record — it's 4 million times faster than average US broadband speeds

Candy Crush maker King lays off 200 staff, replacing many with AI tools they built

AI note takers are increasingly outnumbering humans in workplace video calls

Hackers can remotely trigger the brakes on American trains and the problem has been ignored for years

Chuck E. Cheese launches new arcade concept for adults

Russian basketball player arrested in ransomware case despite being "useless with computers"

LISTENER MAIL: Todd: Maybe setting up browser profiles and how they work? Right now, I have 4 Google accounts I'm juggling in different windows, and they all sign each other out, and it's hard to manage. (29:25)

TAKES:

Everything Samsung Announced at Its Summer Galaxy Unpacked Event (36:05)

Not News: A foldable iPhone could be slightly thicker than Samsung's latest offering (38:40)

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, July 2025 Edition - Microsoft fix targets attacks on SharePoint Zero Day (40:15)

Belkin ending support for most of its Wemo smart home accessories (43:20)

BulletVPN shuts down, killing lifetime members' subscriptions (45:55)

BONUS ODD TAKE: Coldplay Canoodlers (50:20)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Dave: Saramonic Air 2-Person Universal Micro Wireless Microphone System with Lavaliers, 3.5mm/USB-C Output/Headphone Out/Charging Case/Noise Canceling/Magnetic Mounting (53:35)

Nate: Wood Blocks by Staple Games - Ryan Trahan #50states St. Judes (56:20)

RAMAZON PURCHASE - Giveaway (01:01:35)

For the first time in 500+ episodes, we had to end the show due to an emergency. Nate received a text a few minutes in and then tried to figure out what to do. We had a great show planned that we will probably just save for next week. However, this was quite exciting, and we did get to discuss Prime Day and Bitcoin before ending it. Heck, Nate didn't even get to turn his hat around. Please don't comment that you like the new shorter format. ;) Update: Nate was able to get his car going, and we are home safe and sound.

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

Amazon Prime Day - We've recently noticed an increase in customers reporting fake emails about Amazon Prime membership subscriptions - Amazon Scams (02:05)

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Bounce your light (04:20)

CryptoWatch - Dave sells all Bitcoin, Bitcoin hits record high (08:20)

We're switching things up a bit for our 500th episode. All the fun, a lot fewer tech stories. We've talked a lot of tech for a long time, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to help you tech better. Here's to 500 more, or something.

A great one to Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

Notnerd Bingo Card from Episode 100 (06:30)

Backwards Episode?

MAIN TOPIC: 500 is just the beginning (09:30)

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Like, subscribe, and comment (25:45)

JUST THE BYLINES: (28:05)

BY Verne Kopytoff - Senior Editor, Tech - July 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM EDT

By Jowi Morales published July 3, 2025

By Rya Jetha - Published Jul. 05, 2025 • 6:00am

Rebecca Szkutak - 10:01 AM PDT · July 1, 2025

Marcus Mendes - Jul 4 2025 - 7:29 am PT

Alex Longley - Bloomberg News - June 24, 2025 9:28 AM, EDT

July 1, 2025 Brian Fagioli

SKIPPIN' MOST THE TAKES:

Apple Podcasts - 20 Years 20 podcasts we love (31:55)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Our first ones from Episode 43: ICANN Haz Photos? - Oct 6th 2016 (38:25)

Nate: Feedly - Follow Your Favorite Sites (40:10)

Sidestep: Dave's Travel Tech (42:00)

Dave: Getting Things Done - David Allen (46:00)

Wrike - Project Management (48:25)

Amazon Prime Day! (49:45)

Quitch Mosquito Bite Itch Relief Patch, After Bite Insect Bite Treatment, Anti Itch Cream Alternative, Insect Bite Relief, Cruise, Travel and Camping Essential for Kids (50:30)

Does that plant even exist? Is that how I take care of plants? AI is all over the place these days. Years ago, tech news used to slow down in the summer. But that's no longer the case. We will get you caught up with as much as we can to help you tech better.

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

Anker issues new global recall for five power bank models over fire hazard (05:25)

Microsoft makes Windows 10 security updates FREE for an extra year — but there's a catch, and you might not like it (06:25)

MAIN TOPIC: Thanks AI, that plant doesn't exist (09:05)

AI-generated images of fake, otherworldly-looking houseplants are proliferating online and misleading consumers, as AI slop extends to plant care advice

How ChatGPT and other AI tools are changing the teaching profession

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Audio messages or Press and hold "+" to bring up gallery (15:30)

JUST THE HEADLINES: (21:10)

Call center workers are tired of being mistaken for AI

To spam AI chatbots, companies spam Reddit with AI-generated posts

Nintendo yanks Switch 2 from Amazon in pricing dispute

Microsoft's new AI tool outperforms doctors 4-to-1 in diagnostic accuracy

X11 fork Xlibre released for testing on systemd-free Artix Linux

Google Chrome browser gets 'highest score ever' on Speedometer Performance Test

FAA to eliminate floppy disks used in air traffic control systems - Windows 95 also being phased out

TAKES:

The F1 movie is a cinema smash hit, on track to outperform combined box office of all previous Apple originals films (23:50)

This Week in Denmark: Danish military using robotic sailboats for surveillance in Baltic and North seas (28:50

Microsoft Authenticator is ending support for passwords (33:10)

China breaks RSA encryption with a quantum computer, threatening global data security (34:50)

BONUS ODD TAKE: Arbitrary Awards (36:30)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Dave: Bombas Slippers (38:35)

Nate: APEXEL Universal Phone Rig Video Kit. Aluminum Handheld Smartphone Vlogging Cage with Rechargeable Handle Wireless Bluetooth Shutter, Phone Stabilizer for Videomaker Compatible with iPhone/Android. (41:50)

RAMAZON PURCHASE - Giveaway! (45:40)

It makes for a great headline saying that 16 billion passwords were leaked. Was this some new massive data breach? What should you do about it? We take a look. We've got plenty of other tech news, tips, and picks to get you caught up on this week so you can get out there and tech better!

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

It's not just Prime Video: Max shows 50% more ads now (06:45)

MAIN TOPIC: 16 Billion with a B Passwords Leaked (09:20)

16 Billion Apple, Facebook, Google And Other Passwords Leaked

No, the 16 billion credentials leak is not a new data breach

haveibeenpwned.com

Please use passkeys, a password manager, and 2FA!

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Schedule Text Message, Send Later on iOS (18:55)

JUST THE HEADLINES: (25:35)

Applebee's and IHOP plan to introduce AI in restaurants

Axolotl discovery brings us closer than ever to regrowing human limbs

A mathematician calculated the size of a giant meatball made of every human

Scientists once hoarded pre-nuclear steel; now we're hoarding pre-AI content

Record DDoS pummels site with once-unimaginable 7.3Tbps of junk traffic

Iran bans officials from using internet-connected devices

Scientists create 'world's smallest violin'

TAKES:

Introducing Oakley Meta Glasses, a New Category of Performance AI Glasses (28:30)

macOS Tahoe beta drops FireWire support (36:05)

Project Indigo - a computational photography camera app from Adobe (38:55)

Why Denmark is dumping Microsoft Office and Windows for LibreOffice and Linux (43:30)

BONUS ODD TAKE: Catleidoscope and Catcordian! (46:50)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Dave: Lytro Camera (48:45)

Nate: Ryan Trahan YouTube Channel (56:40)

RAMAZON PURCHASE - Giveaway! (01:03:35)

The 23andMe saga continues, the Trump Organization announces phones and cell plans, and beloved Anker has a recall. After Apple's WWDC and our special episode last week, there's plenty of tech news to get caught up on this week. Time to tech better!

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

Dave Plays Games - iPhone can be used as a Nintendo Switch 2 webcam (05:00)

WWDC Followup (08:55)

MAIN TOPIC: 23andWho (15:05)

23andMe's founder Anne Wojcicki wins bid for bankrupt DNA testing firm

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to buy 23andMe and its data for $256 million

23andMe says 15% of customers asked to delete their genetic data since bankruptcy

DAVE'S PRO-TIP OF THE WEEK: Sort by recently added in photos plus more. (19:20)

JUST THE HEADLINES: (26:25)

An experimental new dating site matches singles based on their browser histories

Barbie goes AI as Mattel teams with OpenAI to reinvent playtime with artificial intelligence

China shuts down AI tools during nationwide college exams

Volvo debuts new Internet of Things seatbelt design

Amazon doubles Prime Video ads to 6 minutes per hour

The IRS tax filing software TurboTax is trying to kill just got open sourced

Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours

TAKES:

Trump Mobile launches: What to know about the T1 Phone, 47 calling and data plan (29:50)

Disney, NBCU sue Midjourney over copyright infringement (35:20)

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, June 2025 Edition (37:00)

Anker is recalling over 1.1 million power banks due to fire and burn risks (40:45)

Meta found a new way to track android users covertly via Facebook & Instagram (44:05)

BONUS ODD TAKE: Old iPhone Simulator (50:25)

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Dave: Nintendo Switch 2 (52:50)

Nate: Re-pick Amazon Basics 50-inch Lightweight Portable Camera Mount Tripod Stand with Bag, for Travel Photography, Champagne - https://www.notnerd.com/episode-124-stealing-the-spotlight/ (54:50)

RAMAZON PURCHASE - Giveaway! (59:25)

Apple kicked off its Worldwide Developers Conference this morning. WWDC is the event where developers are educated and the public is informed about all the new features coming to their various operating systems this fall. We discuss the announcements, what we're excited about, and what confuses us.

Watch on YouTube! - Notnerd.com and Notpicks.com

INTRO (00:00)

Apple Intelligence (03:15)

Liquid Glass (04:40)

iOS 26 (10:40)

WatchOS 26 (21:55)

tvOS 26 (22:30)

macOS 26, Tahoe (24:30)

visionOS 26 (31:45)

iPadOS 26 (34:55)