Automakers, Apps, and Autonomy

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Happy Friday, tech fam!

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You're tuned in to Tech Between the Lines,

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where we break down the week's wildest
tech stories.

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I'm Between Two Pixels, and as always,

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I'm joined by the man who still thinks a
floppy disk is a viable backup

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solution-Finn Circuit.

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Hey, Between.

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You know, at least my backups don't get
lost in the cloud.

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Welcome back, everyone.

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If you're new here, we're the podcast
that tries to make sense of the

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tech circus-sometimes with more sarcasm
than sense.

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Yeah,

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and if you missed our last couple
episodes,

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we've been deep-diving into Apple's
Liquid Glass redesign,

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the AI takeover of podcasting,

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and last week's "Summer of
Disruption"-which,

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honestly,
feels like every week in tech lately.

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Right.

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We've covered everything from foldable
phones to robotaxis that can't

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quite decide if they're ready for prime
time.

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And, uh,
spoiler: that's not changing today.

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Nope!

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Today we've got Tesla's robotaxi drama,

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Honda shooting for the
stars-literally-Trump's latest phone

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hustle,

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and a bunch more.

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Let's get into it.

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Alright, let's start with the big one:
Tesla's robotaxi

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launch in Austin.

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So, on June 22nd, they rolled out about a
dozen Model Ys with Full Self-Driving

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Unsupervised,
but only for a select group of users.

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You hail a ride through their new app,

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and it's a flat $4.

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20 per trip.

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Yes, four-twenty.

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Elon's never met a meme he didn't like.

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Yeah,

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and you don't even get to ride alone.

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There's a Tesla employee in the front
seat,

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just in case the car decides to,

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I dunno,
take a detour through a taco stand.

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They're calling it "safety monitoring,"
but it's more like "please don't

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let the car embarrass us on TikTok."It's
all geofenced to South Austin,

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so the cars avoid tricky intersections
and bad weather.

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But even with those guardrails,

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videos started popping up almost
immediately-robotaxis swerving,

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stopping in the middle of intersections,

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just classic FSD weirdness.

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The NHTSA jumped in,
asking Tesla for answers,

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and now there's a full-on investigation
brewing.

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I saw one clip where

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the car just... stopped.

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In the middle of a left turn.

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Reminded me of the early days of
self-parking cars-remember those?

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They'd spend five minutes trying to find
the curb,

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and you'd end up parking it yourself
anyway.

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Some things never change.

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I actually tried to hail one,

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but I didn't get the golden ticket.

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I was ready to livestream the whole thing,

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but maybe it's for the best.

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I don't need to go viral for getting
stuck in a Model Y that thinks a

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stop sign is a suggestion.

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You'd have more luck with a city bus,

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honestly.

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And let's not forget, Texas lawmakers
tried to delay this whole thing

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until new AV laws kick in this September.

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They want more safety checks,
emergency plans,

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the works.

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Tesla just plowed ahead anyway,

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saying they're following the current
rules.

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Classic move.

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It's wild,
because this is a huge bet for Tesla.

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The robotaxi thing is central to their
whole future-stock price,

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company vision, all of it.

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But the tech's still not there.

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Like, there was that demo where FSD hit a
mannequin at a fake school

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bus stop.

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Not exactly confidence-inspiring.

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Yeah,

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and every time there's a new "autonomous"
launch,

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it's the same story: big promises,

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shaky execution,
and a lot of regulatory heat.

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I get the ambition, but maybe don't use
the public as beta testers.

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Just a thought.

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But you gotta admit,

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it's a milestone.

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Even if it's messy, it's progress.

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I mean, we're literally watching the
future get debugged in real time.

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It's like the early days of the
internet-chaotic,

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but you can't look away.

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Yeah, well,

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let's hope the future doesn't run a red
light.

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Or three.

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Switching gears-pun intended-let's talk
about Honda's surprise

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rocket test in Japan.

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This is wild.

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On June 17th,
Honda's R&D team launched a 6.

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3-meter reusable rocket,

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hit 271 meters altitude, and landed it
just 37 centimeters from the target.

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That's, like, sub-meter precision.

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For a car company!

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Yeah, I saw that.

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Honda,
the folks who brought you the Civic,

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now want to bring you to orbit.

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The rocket's not huge, but the tech is
impressive-vertical takeoff,

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controlled landing,
all the stuff SpaceX made look easy.

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Except, you know, it's not easy.

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Totally.

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They've been doing engine and hover tests
for a while,

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but this was the first full vertical
flight and landing.

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And it's not just a PR stunt-Japan's
government is pouring billions into

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private space, trying to double the
industry's value by the 2030s.

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Honda's aiming for suborbital launches by
2029,

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maybe more if the tech scales.

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I'm old enough to remember when car
companies

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did "moonshot" projects just for the
headlines.

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GM's lunar rover, anyone?

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But this feels different.

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There's real government backing,

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and the tech is actually working.

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Still, going from a 271-meter hop to
orbital launches is a whole different

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ballgame.

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That's like going from building go-karts
to Formula 1.

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Yeah,

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but the parallels to SpaceX are
obvious-retractable legs,

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grid fins, all that.

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Social media's already calling it "Honda
Falcon." But can they scale

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it?

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That's the big question.

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Right now, it's a cool demo,
but orbital launches need way more power,

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reliability, and, like,
a whole new level of engineering.

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And let's not

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forget, Honda hasn't even decided if
they'll commercialize this.

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It's still R&D.

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But it's a sign that automakers are
looking way beyond cars.

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Toyota's in the space game too.

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Maybe in a few years, you'll be able to
lease a rocket with zero down

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and 0% APR.

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I'd sign up for that.

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"Honda Rocket-now with lane assist."Just
don't let it parallel park itself

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on the moon.

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Alright,
let's get into the Trump Mobile saga.

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So, the Trump Organization just launched
their own mobile service-Trump

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Mobile-with the "47 Plan" at $47.

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45 a month.

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That's unlimited everything,
plus roadside assistance and telehealth.

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And, of course, there's the T1 Phone-a
gold Android device for $499.

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Yeah,

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and the best part?

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They originally claimed it was "made in
America." Turns out,

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it's just another cheap Chinese phone,

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rebranded and wrapped in a flag.

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After people started poking around,

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they quietly changed the website to say
"designed with American values."

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Whatever that means.

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It's classic Trump playbook-big branding,

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lots of hype, and then, oops,
the details don't quite add up.

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The phone's got decent specs,
but it's nothing special.

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And the service is just an MVNO
piggybacking on the big carriers.

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It's not even the cheapest option out
there.

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It's just another way to

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cash in on the brand.

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First it was steaks, then water,

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then the Bible, now a phone.

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I mean, what's next?

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Trump-branded USB-C cables?

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Actually, don't give them ideas.

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And the monthly cost isn't even that

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low once you add taxes and fees.

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Plus, ethics experts are already raising
eyebrows about using the presidency

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for commercial gain.

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But, hey, if you want a gold phone that
says "brought to life in the

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USA," go for it.

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I'll stick to my vintage ThinkPad,

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thanks.

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At least I know where that was made.

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Probably.

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Quick PSA for all the gamers out there-if
you're looking for

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a used Nintendo Switch 2, be careful.

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Nintendo's bricking consoles that have
been used with Mig Cartridges,

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and the secondhand market is getting
flooded with these locked-out devices.

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Yeah,

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it's the wild west out there.

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If the price looks too good to be true,

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it probably is.

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You don't want to end up with a $400
paperweight.

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Exactly.

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Always check the serial,
ask for proof it's not banned,

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and maybe just buy new if you can swing
it.

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The used market's a minefield right now.

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Alright,

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let's talk Windows 10.

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Microsoft just announced they're giving
users a free year of Extended

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Security Updates-if you sync your PC with
a Microsoft Account and use

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the Windows Backup app to back up to
OneDrive.

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So, you get security patches until
October 2026,

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but you gotta play by their cloud rules.

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Yeah,

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and if you don't want to use OneDrive,

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you can pay $30 or cash in 1,
000 Microsoft Rewards points for the same

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deal.

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But let's be real, this is all about
nudging people into the Microsoft

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ecosystem.

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They want your data in the cloud,

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and they want you thinking about Windows
11.

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Totally.

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Some users are relieved there's a free
option,

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especially since over half of Windows PCs
are still on 10.

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But a lot of folks are grumbling about
the OneDrive requirement.

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It's a clever way to get people hooked on
cloud backup,

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but it's not exactly altruism.

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Nope.

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It's the old "free sample" trick.

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Give you a taste, then upsell you later.

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But hey,
at least you get another year of security.

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Just don't expect any new features or
actual support.

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It's like life support for your old
laptop.

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And if you're still on Windows

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10,
maybe start thinking about that upgrade.

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Or, you know,
join Finn in the Linux club.

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Hey,

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at least my OS doesn't nag me every five
minutes.

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Alright,

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quick lesson in customer service-Dbrand
style.

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So, Dbrand released their Kill Switch
case for the Switch 2,

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and people started complaining it was
damaging their consoles.

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Dbrand's response?

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Basically, "You're holding it wrong.

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No one actually uses it like that."Yeah,

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classic Dbrand.

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They're known for their brash,

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"we don't care" attitude,
but this time it backfired.

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Telling your customers they're the
problem is never a good look,

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even if you're trying to be edgy.

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To their credit,

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they are sending out replacements to
everyone who bought the case.

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But, man, the damage is done.

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Maybe next time, just say "Sorry,

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we'll fix it," and leave the snark for
Twitter.

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Yeah,

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or just make a case that doesn't break
the console.

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Radical idea, I know.

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Whew, that was a packed episode.

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We hit Tesla's robotaxi chaos,

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Honda's rocket ambitions,
Trump's phone hustle,

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Nintendo's secondhand minefield,

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Microsoft's Windows 10 lifeline,

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and a masterclass in what not to do from
Dbrand.

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00:09:21,922 --> 00:09:26,062
If you made it this far,

251
00:09:26,062 --> 00:09:29,266
congrats-you're officially up to date on
the week's tech drama.

252
00:09:29,266 --> 00:09:32,970
And hey, don't forget,
Samsung Unpacked is coming up July 9th.

253
00:09:32,970 --> 00:09:36,685
You can reserve your $50 Samsung credit
over on our site.

254
00:09:36,685 --> 00:09:40,314
Might as well get something for all those
leaks you've been reading.

255
00:09:36,685 --> 00:09:40,314
Thanks

256
00:09:40,314 --> 00:09:41,231
for listening, everyone.

257
00:09:41,231 --> 00:09:43,286
We'll be back next week with more chaos,

258
00:09:43,286 --> 00:09:47,118
more hot takes, and probably more
robotaxis doing weird stuff.

259
00:09:47,118 --> 00:09:49,091
Finn, always a pleasure.

260
00:09:47,118 --> 00:09:49,091
Yeah, yeah.

261
00:09:49,091 --> 00:09:52,179
Try not to get run over by a self-driving
car before then.

262
00:09:52,179 --> 00:09:53,862
See you next time, folks.