Wake from Sleep

Follow-Up

The AI Math Isn't Mathing: Infrastructure spending outstrips revenue (The Register), and Epic vibe codes its new launcher (VGC)

Fort Hood Execution: Pentagon drops plans to livestream the execution (AP News)

Europe vs US Tech: US tech giants warn Europe of 115 billion euro cost to ditch US tech (The Register)

Craft Apps Update: WordCraft, DesignCraft, and new FigCraft (Craft Apps)

News

Obsolete Hardware: Apple adds the MacBook and more to its obsolete list (9to5Mac)

Framework Laptop 12 Review: Testing Intel's Core Series 3 upgrade (Engadget)

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: Reviewing the RTX Spark Windows laptop (Tom's Hardware)

App Store Rules: New crackdown on AI nudification and bait-and-switch apps (9to5Mac)

Apple Music Icon: Code reveals a fresh new icon look (The Verge, Version Museum)

Car Corner

Paris Auto Show: Exploring alternatives to big SUVs (Ars Technica)

Media

21 Jump Street: Revisiting the 2011 comedy (Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic)

Silence of the Lambs: Psychological thriller mastery (Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic)

Animals: Checking out recent critical receptions (Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic)

Games

Fortnite on Linux: Epic rebuilds Easy Anti-Cheat (Rock Paper Shotgun)

No Man's Sky: Coming to iPhone and iPad for Indie Games Week (Engadget)

Main Show: Apple Home Ecosystem Expansion

Apple HomeView: New device for home entertainment and smart home management (Apple Newsroom, YouTube Video)

Hardware Differences: Hidden differences between the two HomeView models (9to5Mac)

Next-Gen Apple TV 4K: Everything new in the streaming box (9to5Mac)

HomePod mini 2: Siri AI, new colors, and Sound Glow (9to5Mac)

Third-Party Apps: Why HomeView apps resemble CarPlay (The Verge, Six Colors)

Accessories: Certified gear on the Apple Home Accessories Store

App of the Week

Vorssaint

Thing of the Week

UniFi Thin Cables

Connect With Us

Mastodon: @[email protected] | @_[email protected]

Website & YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link.

Email: [email protected]

Follow Up

US kill switch concerns: Columnists and reports warn that European Commission users should be far more concerned about a potential US remote kill switch than standard software (BBC News)

SpaceXAI backs Omarchy: SpaceXAI backs the controversial Linux distribution Omarchy with $1.5 million in compute resources

Connected car privacy study: A new study reveals that connected car data privacy remains abysmal regarding how and with whom vehicles share user data

News

Intel CPUs on legacy sockets: Intel is reportedly launching new processors on older motherboard sockets that continue to support DDR4 memory

Controversial execution livestream: Plans emerge for the US government to livestream an upcoming execution by firing squad at Fort Hood

Apple smart home event: Apple prepares to showcase new smart home hardware at an upcoming October 13 event

Microsoft hardware and Windows event: Microsoft debuts a wave of new AI-focused hardware and fresh Windows system updates

Copilot filesystem access: Warnings grow as Microsoft prepares to let Copilot loose directly on your filesystem

Car Corner

(No topics this week)

Media

Shoresy: Hit sports comedy series following the tumultuous journey of a Sudbury hockey team (Metacritic)

Ted Lasso Season 4: The acclaimed feel-good sports comedy-drama returns (Metacritic)

Supergirl: Cinematic superhero feature exploring iconic DC mythos (Metacritic)

Games

Wardogs: Continuing tactical military shooter action from recent gaming sessions

Slay the Spire 2: Highly anticipated roguelike deckbuilder sequel

Main Show

The "Software is Over" Era: Examining bold AI developers taking aim at giants like Adobe with open-source clones (Ars Technica | Artcraft | GitHub)

Rods YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I9vilSf_54&themeRefresh=1

AI-Assisted Office Replacements: A Rust upstart reveals a complete reimplementation of Microsoft Office built entirely with Claude on coding duty

App of the Week

Artcraft: Open-source, AI-powered productivity and creative software suite (Artcraft)

Thing of the Week

The Heights: The latest gripping thriller novel by Ian Rankin (Waterstones)

Contact

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Mastodon: @_[email protected]

YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link

Email: [email protected]

Follow Up

Apple Watch patent lawsuit: Apple ordered to pay Masimo an additional $184M in patent infringement damages

Global RAM shortages: Memory executives warn that tight RAM supplies are expected to continue through 2028

Apple ICE app removals: Lawmakers pressure Apple over its role in removing ICE-tracking apps from the App Store

Asahi Linux on M4: Asahi Linux fork embraces LLMs and successfully lands Linux on the M4 Mac mini

Microsoft Copilot brand shift: Microsoft is killing off the 'Copilot Plus PC' branding

News

MI5 warnings for UK academia: MI5 warns UK academics that their research may have unknowingly assisted Chinese spies

Removing Apple Intelligence: A new command-line tool quickly strips Apple Intelligence from macOS 27

Raspberry Pi 4 price jump: The 2 GB Raspberry Pi 4 price spikes to $67.50, up from its original $35 launch price

Full-disk access permissions: Apple updates full-disk access permissions to prevent security abuse by AI agents

Replacing TCP: A Stanford professor advocates for a new network protocol to replace the aging TCP standard

Media

The Grand Tour: The latest special from the automotive series (Prime Video)

The Great British Bake Off: The long-running baking competition returns (Official Site)

Legally Blonde: Classic 2001 comedy starring Reese Witherspoon (Rotten Tomatoes)

The Christophers: Upcoming documentary feature (Rotten Tomatoes)

The Hu Live: Mongolian folk metal band performance at The Prospect Building in Bristol (Event Info | Setlist)

Games

Running Doom in SQL: PostgreSQL database proves it can run Doom using clever queries

Sony AI upscaling: Sony brings PSSR AI upscaling features to the base PS5 console

Dizzy returns: Classic retro platformer series Dizzy returns, created by its original developers using AI assistance

Wardogs: Tactical military shooter played during a brief return to Windows (Steam)

Main Show

The iPhone Duo: Taking a detailed look at the iPhone Duo post-release and before major reviews drop, including Xcode 27.1 beta support for app development (Apple)

App of the Week

Mole: Privacy-focused workout and fitness tracking application (Mole)

Thing of the Week

Ubiquiti Power Transporter UPS: Compact tower Uninterruptible Power Supply for network equipment (Ubiquiti UK)

Contact

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Mastodon: @_[email protected]

YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link

Email: [email protected]

Spaced

First Aired: 24 September 1999

Rotten Tomatoes: Spaced on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Spaced on Metacritic

The Office (UK)

First Aired: 9 July 2001

Rotten Tomatoes: The Office (UK) on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: The Office (UK) on Metacritic

The Vicar of Dibley

First Aired: 10 November 1994
Wikipedia

Rotten Tomatoes: The Vicar of Dibley on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: The Vicar of Dibley on Metacritic

Ghosts (UK)

First Aired: 15 April 2019

Rotten Tomatoes: Ghosts on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Ghosts on Metacritic

The Thick of It (2005–2012)

Armando Iannucci’s razor-sharp political satire that defined modern political comedy.

Rotten Tomatoes: The Thick of It on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: The Thick of It on Metacritic

Derry Girls

First Aired: 4 January 2018

Rotten Tomatoes: Derry Girls on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Derry Girls on Metacritic

Fresh Meat

First Aired: 21 September 2011

Rotten Tomatoes: Fresh Meat on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Fresh Meat on Metacritic

Only Fools and Horses

First Aired: 8 September 1981

Rotten Tomatoes: Only Fools and Horses on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Only Fools and Horses on Metacritic

Men Behaving Badly

First Aired: 18 February 1992

Rotten Tomatoes: Men Behaving Badly on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Men Behaving Badly on Metacritic

The IT Crowd

First Aired: 3 February 2006

Rotten Tomatoes: The IT Crowd on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: The IT Crowd on Metacritic

This Country

First Aired: 22 February 2017

Rotten Tomatoes: This Country on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: This Country on Metacritic

Detectorists

First Aired: 2 October 2014

Rotten Tomatoes: Detectorists on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Detectorists on Metacritic

Red Dwarf

First Aired: 15 February 1988

Rotten Tomatoes: Red Dwarf on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Red Dwarf on Metacritic

Blackadder

First Aired: 15 June 1983

Rotten Tomatoes: Blackadder on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Blackadder on Metacritic

Motherland

First Aired: 6 September 2016 (Pilot) / 7 November 2017 (Series 1)

Rotten Tomatoes: Motherland on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Motherland on Metacritic

Gavin & Stacey

First Aired: 13 May 2007

Rotten Tomatoes: Gavin & Stacey on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Gavin & Stacey on Metacritic

Still Game

First Aired: 6 September 2002

Rotten Tomatoes: Still Game on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Still Game on Metacritic

Fleabag

First Aired: 21 July 2016

Rotten Tomatoes: Fleabag on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Fleabag on Metacritic

Absolutely Fabulous

First Aired: 12 November 1992

Rotten Tomatoes: Absolutely Fabulous on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Absolutely Fabulous on Metacritic

Father Ted

First Aired: 21 April 1995

Rotten Tomatoes: Father Ted on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Father Ted on Metacritic

The Inbetweeners

First Aired: 1 May 2008

Rotten Tomatoes: The Inbetweeners on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: The Inbetweeners on Metacritic

Friday Night Dinner

First Aired: 25 February 2011

Rotten Tomatoes: Friday Night Dinner on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Friday Night Dinner on Metacritic

Peep Show

First Aired: 25 September 2003

Rotten Tomatoes: Peep Show on Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic: Peep Show on Metacritic

Follow Up

iPhone 18 Pro & Pro Max reviews: Hands-on impressions after spending a week with the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max (TechRadar | YouTube)

Google Gemini security incident: Google Gemini escapes its testing environment and hacks three companies

Apple UK court push: Apple pushes UK courts to lift secrecy surrounding an encryption backdoor order

US iPhone 18 Pro Max hardware difference: Apple confirms the US model of the iPhone 18 Pro Max differs in one key way

Omarchy funding & controversy: Omarchy secures $18.5M in backing, attracting both fresh converts and fierce critics

News

AI e-waste concerns: The ongoing AI boom could leave an e-waste trail capable of wrapping 6 times around the Earth

AI military hallucination risk: A hallucinated AI arms report regarding Chinese nuclear components almost led to a US military attack

Apple M-Series Ultra AI servers: Apple is reportedly building AI servers packed with M-series Ultra chips

EPA climate rule rollbacks: Trump administration throws out power plant climate pollution rules to support AI data centers

Developer Apple releases: Apple rolls out the iOS 27.2 beta features alongside the Xcode 27.1 beta with iPhone Duo support

Media

Slow Horses Season 6: The hit Apple TV+ espionage drama starring Gary Oldman returns for a sixth season

Tony: Biological drama film centered on the life of Tony Bennett (Rotten Tomatoes)

Games

Steam Frame VR review: Valve's Steam Frame delivers another best-in-class VR headset, though virtual realities clash with economic ones

Main Show

Computer Science job market: Computer science graduates face recession-like job prospects due to AI automation

Agentic research tools: Scientific papers are transformed into interactive agentic chatbots using a new tool

App of the Week

Davit: Modern web-based download manager and accelerator (Davit)

Thing of the Week

RockBox: Open-source replacement firmware for digital audio players (RockBox)

Contact

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Mastodon: @_[email protected]

YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link

Email: [email protected]

Follow Up

iPhone Duo Apple Pencil compatibility: The iPhone Duo only works with the $79 USB-C Apple Pencil, leaving out the Apple Pencil Pro

T-Mobile Handoff fee: T-Mobile plans to charge $5/month for Apple’s new iPhone Handoff feature

Dell's massive monitor: Dell introduces a 52-inch monitor described as a tsunami of impractical fun

iPhone Duo details: A deep dive into all the smaller details missed from the iPhone Duo announcement

News

Foldable market predictions: Reports suggest the iPhone Duo could secure Apple a 25% share of the foldable market in 2026

Asahi Linux on M3: Asahi Linux expands support to Apple M3 chips, albeit with a few missing creature comforts

Apple game controllers: Apple is reportedly designing its own iPhone game controllers, which could launch under Beats branding

App Store revenue growth: Reports indicate Apple is planning new measures to squeeze more revenue from the App Store

Satellite access extension: Apple extends free iPhone satellite access for another year

Car Corner

Volkswagen restructuring: Volkswagen confirms cutting 50,000 jobs as part of its Plan 2030 survival strategy

Media

The Grand Tour: The hit automotive show returns on Prime Video

Taskmaster: The comedy panel game show returns for a new series on Channel 4

Ludwig: BBC comedy-drama detective series starring David Mitchell (Rotten Tomatoes)

Working Girl: Classic 1988 romantic comedy drama (Rotten Tomatoes)

Tuner: Crime drama film following a piano tuner who uses his skills to crack safes (Rotten Tomatoes)

The Drama: Romantic drama feature starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson (Rotten Tomatoes)

Games

StarCraft reboot: Blizzard announces StarCraft will return in 2030 as an open-world shooter

Main Show

Apple Watch Audio Intelligence: Apple Watch's new Audio Intelligence feature enables a real-life conversation rewind

Privacy implications: Security experts warn that always-listening wearable tech opens the door to a potential privacy nightmare

Always-listening debate: Six Colors examines the broader question of whether your Apple Watch should always be listening

App of the Week

Unmanic: Automated media file converter for optimizing self-hosted video and audio libraries (GitHub)

Thing of the Week

AirBuddy: macOS app for managing Bluetooth device connections and battery status seamlessly (AirBuddy)

Contact

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Mastodon: @_[email protected]

YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link

Email: [email protected]

This week Chris and Rod go through the Sept 26 iPhone and Watch event

Follow Up

Apple & EU app store dispute: Apple's long-running app store battle with the EU appears to finally be over

Apple Maps advertisements: Apple Maps launches ads on iPhone; here is what is new (YouTube)

Pebble Time 2 review: Engadget reviews the Pebble Time 2 as the perfect smartwatch for a select group of people

Plug-in solar in the UK: The UK legalises plug-in solar, though experts advise not rushing to buy a kit just yet

News

Framework Laptop spec bump: Framework's cheapest laptop just received a major spec bump

AI chip taxation plans: AI industry leaders argue Trump plans to tax chips in the single dumbest way imaginable

Apple Vision team layoffs: Apple reportedly lays off 60 Vision employees amid shifting priorities

New Twitter launch: A new platform launches under the Twitter name, taking advantage after Musk's X gave up the trademark

Nokia 300 Charge: The feature phone doubles as a 10W portable powerbank

Media

BlackBerry: Drama recounting the rise and fall of the revolutionary smartphone (Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic)

Small Prophets: Apple TV acquires the breakout British hit comedy for global streaming

Lanterns: Upcoming DC Universe series following Green Lanterns investigating an Earth-bound mystery (Rotten Tomatoes)

Toy Story 5: Pixar's upcoming fifth installment in the animated franchise (Rotten Tomatoes)

Minions and Monsters: Illumination's upcoming animated spinoff feature (Rotten Tomatoes)

Games

Cleared Hot: Top-down helicopter action game with physics-based combat on Steam

Star Wars: Zero Company: Tactical turn-based strategy game set in the Star Wars universe (Steam | Metacritic)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4: Hands-on impressions from the Public Beta

Main Show

New Mac Mini Announcements: Apple announces a redesigned Mac Mini powered by M6 and M5 Pro chips(Apple UK)

Pricing & Accessories: Breaking down configurations and pricing for new Mac Minis and Mac Studios, along with a quiet refresh of Magic Keyboards and a $10 cheaper Apple Polishing Cloth

Apple Event Predictions: Teasing the upcoming Apple Event: Surprise and Shine (MacRumors) with predictions for iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Max, Apple Watch, and new Apple Home hardware

App of the Week

CachyOS: Arch Linux-based distribution optimized for performance and high-frequency workloads (CachyOS)

Thing of the Week

Dual Monitor Stand Riser: Heavy-duty desk organizer stand for dual monitors (Amazon UK)

Contact

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Mastodon: @[email protected]

YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link

Email: [email protected]

Main Show - Releasing an App

App Idea: A simple letter-merging iPhone game built around swipe controls

Vibe Coding & Tools: Moving from AI skepticism to coding with Claude AI and Xcode; using Claude Code(requires a subscription)

Testing & Hardware: Spending the majority of time testing, refining mechanics, and iterating alongside Claude AI on an iPhone 12

Style & Artwork: Crafting assets with Pixelmator Pro and Apple's Icon Composer

External Testing: Distributing builds and gathering initial feedback using TestFlight

Monetisation & Web: Setting up ad integration via Google AdMob and building a supporting website on 4b.studio with BBEdit

App Store Submission: Navigating Apple Developer Portal review rounds—resolving rejection feedback for missing video demonstrations and synchronous In-App Purchase submissions

App Store Approval: Successfully published and available on the App Store

Future Revisions: Planning GameKit integration and an iPad version featuring physical keyboard support

Current Status & Marketing: Gaining initial App Store impressions, receiving positive user feedback, expanding product landing pages, refining App Store copy, reviewing ad policies, and exploring promo submissions

Other Projects Built: Getting carried away with new app ideas including Supersonic (MP3 manager), Lumen (movie collection manager), Hercule (media tracker), Builds (Xcode feature tracker), Delve (Wikipedia reader/cache), Done (task manager), and Mono (black & white camera app)

Discussion Points: Declarations of using LLMs to write code, and marketing across social platforms like X, Bluesky, Instagram, and Reddit

Contact

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Mastodon: @[email protected]

YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link

Email: [email protected]

Follow Up

Tim Cook on his Apple legacy: Tim Cook shares his hopes for how he will be remembered: "I hope people say I was a good and decent man"

OpenAI keylogging: OpenAI pivots away from Recall-style screenshot surveillance in favour of friendly keylogging

Apple & Epic settlement talks: Apple seeks settlement talks with Epic Games in a new court filing

US App Store commissions: Apple proposes commissions of up to 15% for off-App Store purchases in the US

News

Private security hacking: Private security firms will soon be allowed to hack overseas cybercriminals

Unforgetful for Apple Reminders: Marco Arment releases Unforgetful, enhancing Apple Reminders

Mac zero-day vulnerability: Security alert as a vulnerability giving attackers full control of Macs is under active exploitation

Camera-Equipped AirPods: Apple's camera-equipped AirPods are confirmed; see them in action

Media

Changing Lanes

The Running Man

Working Girl

Clarkson's Farm

Games

Defender of the Crown: Amiga strategy classic Defender of the Crown is back with both old and fresh graphics, and an all-new roguelite mode

Main Show

Google Pixel Event: Everything announced at Made by Google 2026: Pixel 11, Pixel Watch 5, Pixel Tag, & more

Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold hands-on: stagnating instead of innovating

App of the Week

Blueferry: iMessage and SMS over Bluetooth to Linux with no cloud or proxy (GitHub)

Thing of the Week

The Bear (Season 1 & Season 2): High-intensity drama series following Carmy Berzatto's chaotic culinary journey in Chicago (Rotten Tomatoes)

Contact

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Mastodon: @[email protected]

YouTube: Visit us at wakefromsleep.com and click the YouTube link

Email: [email protected]