Is social media addictive by design or just irresistible entertainment? The panel tackles the lawsuit that's dragging tech giants onto the witness stand and how surveillance tech is quietly expanding while lawmakers and users scramble to catch up.

• Jury told that Meta, Google 'engineered addiction' at landmark US trial
• Instagram Chief Says Social Media Is Not 'Clinically Addictive' in Landmark Trial
• Section 230 turns 30 as it faces its biggest tests yet
• Meta apparently thinks we're too distracted to care about facial recognition and Ray-Bans
• Amazon Ring's Super Bowl ad sparks backlash amid fears of mass surveillance
• Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
• TikTok is tracking you, even if you don't use the app.
• Discord backtracks on controversial age verification rollout...kind of
• Discord/Twitch/Snapchat age verification bypass
• The DJI Romo robovac had security so poor that this man remotely accessed thousands of them
• HP's laptop subscriptions are a great deal — for HP
• FTC Ratchets Up Microsoft Probe, Queries Rivals on Cloud, AI
• T-Mobile announces its network is now full of AI by rolling out real-time translation
• Apple's latest attempt to launch the new Siri runs into snags
• SpaceX Prioritizes Lunar 'Self-Growing City' Over Mars Project, Musk Says
• Elon Musk declares victory with Medicaid data release
• Waymo Is Getting DoorDashers to Close Doors on Self Driving Cars
• Backblaze Drive Stats for 2025
• $1.8 million MST3K Kickstarter brings in (almost) everyone from the old show
• OpenAI Is Nuking Its 4o Model. China's ChatGPT Fans Aren't OK
• Hideki Sato, designer of all Sega's consoles, has died
• Byte magazine artist Robert Tinney, who illustrated the birth of PCs, dies at 78
• Launching The Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Wesley Faulkner, Stacey Higginbotham, and Thomas Germain

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On Hands-On Tech, Mikah Sargent answers listener Don's questions on how to set up a Mac mini as a home theater system.

Send in your questions to Mikah at hot@twit.tv!

Host: Mikah Sargent

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The Linux Kernel 6.19 is out, the Rust experiment is over, and it's time to talk about 7.0. Vim 9.2 is out, with a bit of a weird new feature in its changelogs, and IPFire is an intriguing, community-driven security domain block list. PearOS has a new release for those seeking an Apple-inspired Linux experience, and Linux Mint is adjusting its release schedule to better manage developer and tester schedules. River is a new project trying to do Wayland support with a modular Desktop stack, and Mesa 26.0 is out with impressive performance gains. For tips, we have cull for finding and deleting big files, a systemd program for detecting if the OS is running virtualized, preload for caching applications in ram, and new_script for a script-writing tool that *doesn't* feature an LLM. You can find the show notes at https://bit.ly/3ZCNcEc and happy Linux'ing!

Host: Jonathan Bennett

Co-Hosts: Rob Campbell, Ken McDonald, and Jeff Massie

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Most people don't think of spaceflight when talking about the United Nations, but the UN, through its Office of Outer Space Affairs, or UNOOSA, has been pivotal in securing agreements on space poilicy and behavioral norms. This week, we speak with Aarti Holla-Maini, the director of UNOOSA, and Dr. Rick Jenet, the executive director of Expanding Frontiers and the National Space Society's representative to the UN, about the importance of this office. It's a wide-ranging discussion of the intersection of international space efforts and the intersection with commercial space as we expand activities into Earth orbit, the moon, and beyond.

Headlines:

• SpaceX Crew-12 Launch Sends New Astronauts to the ISS
• Vast Joins Commercial Flights to the ISS, Prepares for Private Space Stations
• Axiom and Vast Face Off in Commercial LEO Station Race
• International Collaboration Ramps Up for Future of Space Policy

Main Topic: Inside UNOOSA—The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

• Dr. Rick Janet Explains the Role of COPUOS and UNOOSA in Global Space Governance
• Aarti Holla-Maini Shares Her Path to Leading UNOOSA and Her Vision for Its Future
• Distinguishing UNOOSA (the office) from COPUOS (the committee)
• UNOOSA's Expanding Mission: Capacity Building, Disaster Response, Space Law, and Sustainability
• The Importance of Neutral Convening, Capacity Building, and Industry Input
• Growing Need for Space Sustainability, Debris Mitigation, and New Regulatory Focus
• Anticipating Lunar Activity: Resource Use, Transparency, and Non-Appropriation Principle
• Engaging Commercial Space Actors While Maintaining Member State Authority
• Megaconstellations: Building New Norms for Responsible Behavior in Orbit
• Future UNOOSA Goals: Coordinating Space Traffic, Centralizing Satellite Data Access, and Fostering Global Partnerships

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guests: Fredrick (Rick) Jenet and Aarti Holla-Maini

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Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch joins Mikah Sargent this week on Tech News Weekly! A Stanford graduate built a matchmaking algorithm that's sweeping across the Stanford campus. Is social media "clinically addictive"? Discord announced an age-verification process that sparked privacy concerns among users. And the Virtual Boy is back?

• Amanda talks about an AI-powered dating app that was developed by a Stanford graduate and how dating for young adults is becoming more driven by tech.
• Mikah talks about the social media addiction trial and comments made by Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri.
• Emma Roth of The Verge joins the show to talk about Discord's age verification mandate that has sparked huge user privacy concerns, especially following a data breach the company suffered last year.
• And Scott Stein of CNET stops by to share his thoughts and time with Nintendo's revival of Virtual Boy as a replica accessory for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Amanda Silberling

Guests: Emma Roth and Scott Stein

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Speaker drivers haven't changed much in the last 100 years, but they have certain drawbacks, especially in small form factors such as earbuds. A company called SonicEdge is developing a new type of driver that takes a completely different approach. CEO and co-founder Moti Margalit talks about his company's innovations with Scott Wilkinson.

Host: Scott Wilkinson

Guest: Moti Margalit

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Forget the built-in Windows tools—Paul shares why third-party password managers are the secret to making passkeys smarter, more powerful, and truly universal across all your devices.

Host: Paul Thurrott

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The Home app just got a major overhaul, thanks to Matter compatibility and fresh features that are quietly transforming how Apple users control their homes. Mikah Sargent breaks down what you need to do, and why this update is bigger than you may think.

• Why updating to the latest Apple Home version is required
• How to prepare your devices and household for the update
• Steps to manually update the Apple Home system
• Overview of post-update Home app features and settings
• Walkthrough of new Home app controls: activity, energy, hubs, security, and more
• Matter accessories and updated connected services explained

Host: Mikah Sargent

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