TWiT 1090: Flock of SQLs - Apple & Microsoft Grapple With Soaring Hardware Prices

Tech giants and chipmakers are facing off as AI-fueled memory shortages trigger sweeping price hikes on everything from Macs to game consoles. Hear why global supply chain standoffs, long-term contracts, and old-school market forces are quietly reshaping your daily technology.

• Apple and Microsoft hike prices on devices amid global memory shortages
• Surge in AI data centers drives RAM and storage crisis
• Intel's comeback: Core Ultra chips compete with AMD in handheld gaming
• Microsoft's pivot to ARM, Qualcomm-NVIDIA alliance, and x86 rivalry
• AI fear and backlash; organic concern amplified by international actors
• White House abruptly pulls Anthropic's Fable model, sparking industry uproar
• US government U-turns on AI regulation, restricts top models to select partners
• Tension over AI innovation vs. regulatory "rug pull" and global competition
• Smart home chaos: Matter 1.6 standard, Samsung and Level Lock shake-up
• Debate over local vs. cloud smart home control and API access fees
• Ring and Flock cameras ignite privacy and surveillance state concerns
• Social media bans for under-16s fail in Australia, UK, and Norway plan similar rules
• BBC Radio 4 long wave broadcast ends after a century
• Meta gets caught tracking employees for AI; PlayStation deletes owned movies
• US regulators propose removing brake pedals from Robotaxis
• Ford's automated systems flop, company rehiring engineers
• Farewell to tech journalist and GigaOm founder Om Malik

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Dan Patterson, and Daniel Rubino

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