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 (twit.tv/people/leo-laporte)

Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy (twit.tv/people/jennifer-pattison-tuohy), Dan Patterson (danpatterson.com), and Daniel Rubino (twit.tv/people/daniel-rubino)

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