Lon Seidman

Check out my latest video! Physical Media Has Never Been Better — Here’s How to Make the Most of It - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOvq2wd49S0

Silicondust is calling on the FCC to require broadcasters to drop encryption on NextGen TV signals during nationwide Emergency Alert System tests. The company argues that current DRM restrictions prevent many compatible receivers from displaying critical safety information to the public. -

Verizon reported a record 314,000 new broadband subscribers in the third quarter, fueled by strong demand for fixed wireless and fiber services. - https://cordcuttersnews.com/as-comcast-keeps-losing-customers-verizon-added-314000-internet-customers-in-record-q3/

A growing trend sees affordable utility apps pivoting to high-priced premium subscriptions, leaving long-time users behind. - https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/from-cheap-tool-to-premium-subscription-when-a-beloved-apps-price-skyrockets/

Altice USA, the parent company of Optimum, is reportedly consulting with financial advisors to address a $26 billion debt burden. - https://cordcuttersnews.com/another-major-cable-tv-company-is-preparing-for-bankruptcy-with-over-26-billion-in-debt/

High-end data center hardware is being stolen in transit via sophisticated 'hit-and-run' operations and GPS spoofing, totaling hundreds of millions in losses. -

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has confirmed that PHP2Shell vulnerabilities are being actively exploited in the wild. - https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cisa-confirms-php2shell-vulnerabilities-now-exploited-in-attacks/

Nvidia is considering an annual $2,000 software license fee per GPU for running AI agents. - https://www.notebookcheck.net/Nvidia-discusses-2-000-per-GPU-annual-fee-for-running-AI-agents.1433623.0.html

Cloudflare's CEO predicts that AI will continue to reveal severe software vulnerabilities that were previously missed by human developers. The company has already used AI to identify a number of critical flaws in existing software stacks. -

Tim Sweeney has criticized Valve's requirement for developers to disclose the use of AI in games on Steam. Sweeney argues that these labels act as a 'political statement' and unfairly stigmatize developers who use AI tools for efficiency or creative assets. -

This is why prices go up - rather than competing, industry incumbents team up to try and lock a new competitor out. - https://www.pcmag.com/news/att-t-mobile-verizon-fight-fcc-satellite-proposal-that-helps-spacex

YouTube is planning to implement the AV2 video codec in early 2027, which aims to reduce data usage by approximately 30%. - https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/youtube-av2-video-codec-2027/

Major financial institutions are starting to implement "day after" plans for hypothetical AI-driven financial crises. - https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/banks-preparing-ai-financial-catastrophe

After increasing the retail price of Xbox consoles, Microsoft is now emailing existing owners with offers to trade in their hardware. - https://www.gadgetreview.com/microsoft-raised-xbox-prices-now-its-emailing-owners-to-trade-their-consoles-in

In a major blow to physical media enthusiasts, Sony is reportedly discontinuing its last remaining 4K Blu-ray player model. - https://hothardware.com/news/sony-scraps-last-4k-blu-ray-player

While broadcast television's share of total viewing has dropped significantly since 2021, retransmission fees continue to rise. - https://cordcuttersnews.com/fewer-people-are-watching-local-abc-cbs-fox-nbc-but-they-still-want-more-money/

A new 'vibe-coded' emulator project aims to improve the experience of Nintendo's failed 1995 wearable by injecting color into its famously eye-straining red monochrome games. - https://www.techspot.com/news/114314-vibe-coded-emulator-adds-color-virtual-boy-red.html

SpaceX is reportedly in talks to leverage up to 80,000 cell tower sites to bolster its Starlink satellite-to-mobile service. - https://www.pcmag.com/news/report-spacex-wants-80000-cell-sites-for-starlink-mobile

A new AI tool named REA is being marketed as a way to 'clone' and replicate paid software functionality, potentially bypassing traditional licensing and copy protection. -

Legendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto has expressed a surprisingly positive outlook on generative AI, suggesting it will give creators more opportunities to focus on 'truly important' elements of design. -

B-roll of CompUSA from the year 2000 was recently uploaded to YouTube: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1whsc_We7YU

NAND flash prices have surged by over 300% in a single year, driven largely by the massive storage requirements of AI data centers. - https://www.notebookcheck.net/SSD-prices-explode-by-303-in-a-year-as-AI-fuels-NAND-flash-shortage.1433261.0.html

A tour of HPE's Technology Renewal Centre shows the process behind giving enterprise-grade server and storage hardware a second life. - https://www.techradar.com/pro/we-take-a-tour-of-hpes-technology-renewal-centre-to-see-how-old-tech-is-getting-a-second-life

YouTube is rolling out a redesigned Home page featuring custom feeds and more prominent access to subscriptions. - https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/youtube-home-custom-feeds-subscriptions-redesign/

New AI-driven hacks and scripts claiming to remove bloatware from smart TV interfaces may pose significant security and stability risks. - https://www.pcworld.com/article/3266473/please-dont-use-ai-hacks-to-debloat-your-tv.html

A coalition of tech companies is opposing the 'Targeting Illegal Sites Act,' which could require VPN providers to block access to pirate websites. - https://torrentfreak.com/vpns-at-risk-tech-coalition-pushes-back-on-piracy-blocking-duties-for-vpns/

Reports indicate that a software-only exploit has successfully jailbroken the Nintendo Switch 2. - https://wccftech.com/nintendo-switch-2-hacked-jailbreak/

Electronic Arts is reportedly closing BioWare, the iconic studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, marking a massive shift in the gaming industry landscape. - https://overclock3d.net/news/software/bioware-is-shutting-down-and-mass-effect-is-cancelled/

Elon Musk clarified that the upcoming Tesla Cybercab is intended primarily for a Tesla-owned taxi service rather than individual purchase. - https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/tesla-wants-you-to-ride-its-cybercab-not-own-one-and-musk-just-made-that-painfully-clear/

Although an automatic midday update can be disruptive it was good to see Synology on top of this PHP vulnerability.

Spotify has taken aggressive action against low-quality, AI-generated music spam by removing 50 million tracks that were flooding its platform. - https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/spotify-has-kicked-50-million-ai-slop-tracks-out-of-your-recommendations/

A new regulatory update indicates that HBO and Showtime will be merged into a single entity following a major industry consolidation involving Skydance and Paramount. California regulators have reportedly placed no restrictions on how the combined company manages these premium networks, clearing th…

Check out my latest video! Alexa Tablet 11 Review - Amazon's New Google Tablets? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hWHGOObqEk

While Chinese RAM production is expected to surge through 2028, analysts warn this may not lead to lower prices for consumers. -

New analysis reveals that popular AI platforms including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are passing chat titles, links, and even entire prompt snippets to third-party trackers. - https://www.notebookcheck.net/ChatGPT-Claude-Grok-Your-chats-end-up-with-trackers.1421879.0.html

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has stated that China's chip manufacturing capabilities remain highly competitive despite heavy U.S. sanctions and lack of access to advanced EUV machines. -

AMD is reportedly working on Arm-based CPUs codenamed 'Soundwave' to power future Microsoft Surface devices. - https://wccftech.com/amd-arm-action-microsoft-surface-laptops-soundwave-apus/

New research suggests AI models trained on junk social media data develop 'brain rot,' losing reasoning capabilities. - https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/ai-brain-rot-study-finds-junk-data-can-harm-reasoning-and-memory/

A sophisticated crime ring successfully stole over $5 million in gift cards by infiltrating Staples' customer service systems. -

Google is transitioning its help documentation into an interactive experience called 'Ask Google Help,' powered by the Gemini AI. - https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/google-wants-you-to-chat-with-gemini-to-fix-issues-instead-of-scrolling-through-support-pages/

Facing hardware shortages and high resale prices, Microsoft is encouraging users to trade in their current Xbox Series X consoles for Best Buy gift cards. - https://www.notebookcheck.net/Microsoft-asks-Xbox-console-owners-to-sell-used-Series-X-amid-high-prices-and-shortages.1428346.0.html

As the tech industry moves toward autonomous AI agents that can perform tasks like booking travel or making reservations, major websites have begun implementing blockers. - https://www.techbuzz.ai/articles/ai-agents-hit-a-wall-as-major-websites-block-access

The first Windows laptops featuring Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X chips are now available, including the Surface Laptop Ultra and Asus ProArt P16. These systems start at $2,599 and are focused on high-performance local AI tasks, aiming to compete directly with Apple's M-series silicon. -

Energize Lab, the creator of the Eiliko robot, left its entire fleet open to remote takeover, potentially exposing millions of private conversations. - https://www.techspot.com/news/114235-eiliko-robot-maker-energize-lab-left-entire-fleet.html

Scammers are increasingly using calendar invites to push phishing links directly to user devices, as these notifications often bypass traditional spam and email filters. - https://www.techspot.com/news/114244-google-calendar-phishing-scams-increased-exponentially-year.html

Check out my latest video! Local AI Coding from Scratch: A Practical Beginner's Guide - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBnhKwMxIhs

The code that landed Apollo 11 on the Moon ran on less computing power than your thermostat, and the full source is free to download. Better Stack does a deep dive into the code and runs it in an emulator. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACAd_w3D-io

Researchers at Citizen Lab have uncovered a sophisticated covert operation where advertising platforms are being used to identify specific targets and install spyware without requiring the user to click anything. -

Analogue has announced 'plus' versions of its popular FPGA-based SNES and Genesis recreations, featuring updated aesthetics and quality-of-life improvements. - https://gizmodo.com/analogue-super-nt-plus-super-sg-plus-2000827062

EverDrive Maker Krikzz Is Working on a Plug-and-Play PlayStation Optical Drive Emulator - https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/10/everdrive-maker-krikzz-is-working-on-a-plug-and-play-playstation-optical-drive-emulator

Jailbroken PlayStation 5 consoles can now run local Large Language Models (LLMs) natively. By accessing the GPU and unified memory, the console achieves high-speed inference of over 100 tokens per second. -