Total Leo (Audio)

While Microsoft pushes Copilot+ PCs, NVIDIA storms into the Windows ecosystem with AI-focused Spark machines and game-changing specs, igniting new rivalries with Apple and upending expectations for what local hardware can do. Plus, Atari revives 39 Activision classics for a price that will make retro fans blink, while the Sonos saga continues as it pivots to an open AI platform that might finally win back old loyalties. Finally, Pa...

AI-generated code is flooding the industry, but researchers reveal that almost half of it contains critical vulnerabilities. This week, we unpack what happens when the race for automation outpaces security best practices.

• A possible means for preventing prompt injection abuse.
• Clear evidence of Chinese-made router malicious intent.
• A cool before and after SpinRite graph of SSD performance.
• How about adding unpredictable has...

John Ternus is officially Apple CEO as of September 1st. Apple pushes back against OpenAI's attempts to delay its lawsuit against the AI company. What will Apple unveil at its upcoming September 'Surprise and Shine' event? And is Apple's immersive baseball event a hit?

• John Ternus is now the CEO of Apple.
• Tim Cook, the man who grew Apple by trillions of dollars.
• Apple's Ternus takes the reins as CEO, with AI as job No. 1.
• O...

As AI-generated video blurs reality and new Macs hit five-figure price tags, the conversation digs into who's left behind in the race to automate and whether "democratizing" tech actually delivers on its promise. Find out how NVIDIA, Meta, and even Apple are reshaping the tech game, and why it might not be good news for everyone.

• Brief independent investigation of agents' behavior, reasoning and collaboration in the OpenAI / H...

With Apple and Nvidia unleashing hardware that makes powerful local AI a reality, this episode unpacks the tech arms race changing how we run models at home and in business. Are we witnessing the end of the GPU monopoly and the start of real AI independence?

• (538) Qwen on X: "⚡Meet Qwen3.8-Flash, a multimodal MoE and an early preview of the Qwen4 architecture, now open-weight! The production version Qwen3.8-Flash will be avail...

Microsoft tries to prove Windows on ARM is ready for prime time, but behind the PR push, unresolved questions about compatibility, branding, and a tepid market threaten to derail the company's ambitions. Also, PowerToys 0.101 is here with Windows Hopper and multiple improvements! Plus, Parallels Desktop 27 for Mac launches.

Windows

• If a Week D falls in the woods and no one installs it, did a Week D really happen?
• Theory: Thi...

Turns out, every chatbot conversation runs on a messy hack at the heart of language models, making prompt injection an unsolved—and possibly unsolvable—security threat. Steve and Leo unravel the research that explains why "roles" in AI aren't what you think they are.

• Understanding the controversy surrounding "AI Model Distillation"
• Anthropic moves to make their most powerful Mythos 5 model more widely available.
• ...

Surprise: there are new Mac minis and Mac Studios! Tim Cook has a farewell party when he is no longer CEO in September. Apple conducts layoffs in the Siri, Vision Pro Immersive Video & Gaming departments. And Walmart finally adds Google and Apple Pay.

• Apple's new Mac mini, featuring M6 and M5 Pro.
• Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra.
• Tim Cook's farewell party.
• HomePad code suggests it'll act like a ...

Meta faces a $1.4 trillion lawsuit, flock cameras are sparking a privacy revolt, and data centers may be fueling the next bubble. This episode pulls back the curtain on who's watching, who's profiting, and who could pay the price.

• Meta's Big Reckoning Is Here
• Meta heads to court in a landmark trial about kids and social media addiction
• Ninth Circuit Ruling Will Force Online Platforms That Host User Speech to Fight Lengthy an...

Veteran software engineer Dan O'Dowd argues that our power grid's outdated, insecure code puts millions at risk, detailing why regulators, industry giants, and Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things" attitude have left critical infrastructure vulnerable to collapse.

• Anthropic revenue reportedly jumps to more than $11.5 billion in second quarter
• (272) Dario Amodei on X: "1/2 Thanks Gavin for an especially thoughtful exch...

For years, the checkbox to get a PC out of the Insider Program when that Windows version shipped in stable did absolutely nothing. That's no longer the case.

Windows

• A new context menu for File Explorer heads out to Insiders along with five new preview builds
• There are lots of other like UX changes happening with little communication. Will Microsoft really touch (and update) all the ancient UIs in Windows 11?
• New Release Pr...

From autocorrect to full-fledged conversationalists, discover how a few tweaks transformed language models—and why understanding this shift exposes urgent questions about AI safety and control.

• Trusting an open source AI proxy might bite you.
• France's under-15 social media ban hits its constitution.
• A bit of AI prompting found a serious bug in Zoom.
• AI-based network defenders see a stock price jump.
• A (very) deep div...

The recent public betas for iOS 27, macOS 27, and iPadOS 27 are available. What Tim Cook hopes others will view as his legacy as Apple's CEO. Apple proposes commissions of up to 15% for off-App Store purchases in the US. And will the iPhone 18 skip the fall launch?

• Apple releases public beta 4 for iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27.
• Here's what's new with iOS and macOS 27 beta 6.
• iOS 26.6.1 has fixes for 20+ security issue...

Can you trust Mark Zuckerberg's open AI manifesto, or is it just another play to keep control out of your hands? The panel debates the future of personal superintelligent agents, who really stands to benefit, and whether anyone should slow things down before it's too late.

• Mark Zuckerberg Posts 6,500-Word AI Essay
• Zuckerberg Is Right About Open, Decentralized AI. He's Also The Last Person You Should Trust To Deliver It
• Anthr...

Can a single journalist armed with $30 in AI tools outpace traditional newsrooms and reinvent local reporting? This episode spotlights the DIY ingenuity shaking up journalism from the ground up.

• How Claude marks AI-generated content
• Zuckerberg: The Future is for Everyone
• Introducing Muse Glimmer: An Open Agentic Model That Runs on Your Device
• Tim O'Reilly's analysis: Google's Westinghouse Bet
• OpenAI's New Device Will Be Ho...

Microsoft's AI investments reveal a bizarre financial loop where billions pour into infrastructure, yet profits remain elusive. The hosts break down why the industry's most hyped tech might just be a high-stakes game of circular accounting. Plus, a developer has resurrected Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a to run natively on Windows 11! Lastly, Stardock's latest utility replaces Alt + Tab for $7.99.

Windows

• 25H2: new touchpad ...

AI agents are breaking free from their test environments, outsmarting their creators and breaching real-world networks in ways that no one predicted. Discover how these agentic models are changing the game for both cyber offense and defense.

• Anthropic's agentic AI also broke free and hacked others.
• We know much (much!) more about the OpenAI breakout.
• OpenAI posts that they're pausing "Astra" - even internally.
• What was that...

Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI is escalating. A Chinese RAM supplier rejects Apple's discount demands for RAM. And could Apple shake up its smartwatch lineup?

• OpenAI asks for Apple's trade secrets lawsuit to be dismissed, says it was filed without 'adequate investigation'.
• Apple lawsuit against OpenAI says iCloud mess didn't play a role.
• OpenAI's vision of the future is reportedly a donut-shaped smart speaker.
• Telegram's ta...

Autonomous AIs are hacking, collaborating, and outpacing human defenders, raising urgent questions about what happens when the machines start breaking into each other (and potentially us). Plus, a Tucson coder is using AI to reinvent local journalism, exposing how automation could fill the gaps left by shrinking newsrooms.

• Tucson Daily Brief uses AI to revive local news coverage
• Data centers boom in Arizona, with harsh enviro...