This Week in Tech 1082

Big Tech is pouring hundreds of billions into AI, but with rising signs of an industry bubble and some real-world fallout, this week’s episode digs into who actually wins, who stands to lose, and whether Apple’s patient strategy may outsmart the hype.

• Big Tech firms beat earnings expectations amid AI spending questions
• RIP the $599 Mac Mini, you were too beautiful for this world
• Microsoft lifts 2026 AI spend by $25 billion to cover component price rises
• Microsoft speeds up in Big Tech's data center spend-off
• Crosswording the Situation
• Meta’s historic loss in court could cost a lot more than $375 million
• Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks
• Australia unveils a 2.25% levy on Meta, Google, and TikTok
• Meta found in breach of EU law for failing to keep children off Facebook and Instagram
• Meta inks deal for solar power at night, beamed from space
• Musk v. Altman week 1: Elon Musk says he was duped, warns AI could kill us all, and admits that xAI distills OpenAI’s models
• OpenAI-backed 1X opens California factory targeting 10,000 home humanoid robots in year one
• Sam Altman asked GPT-5.5 to plan its own launch party. Its requests were 'beautiful' but 'strange.'
• Sam Altman says Elon Musk can come to his GPT 5.5 party: 'World needs more love'
• The US Senate unanimously passed a rule barring senators from trading on prediction markets like 
• Kalshi and Polymarket, amid rising concern over insider trading
• ‘We Know You Live Right Here’: No Secrets in America’s New Surveillance Dragnet
• California to begin ticketing driverless cars that violate traffic laws
• China Suspends New Autonomous Driving Permits After Baidu Outage
• China has decided that firing a worker because an AI can do their job is illegal. No Western country has done the same.
• Maryland Is First to Ban A.I.-Driven Price Increases in Grocery Stores
• The most severe Linux threat to surface in years catches the world flat-footed
• Hackers are actively exploiting a bug in cPanel, used by millions of websites
• The Hottest Anti-AI Gadget Is a Cyberdeck
• Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot Divine launches to the public
• GameStop eyes eBay takeover in audacious $46 billion bet on Ryan Cohen’s e-commerce vision
• AI-generated actors and scripts are now ineligible for Oscars
• Ukraine says it's training drone pilots in 'Grand Theft Auto V'
• This free website is like Wikipedia meets the CIA
• Light Phone III Is a Delightfully Minimalist Smartphone Alternative
• Valve Steam Controller is here, it's a gamepad in search of a console
• Bluetooth Connected - The Voices Behind the Connection
• Spirit Airlines shuts down after Trump’s war on Iran doubled jet fuel prices
• Ask.com has shut down, marking the official farewell to the Internet's favorite butler
• Pioneering geneticist and decoder of the human genome J. Craig Venter dies at age 79

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Links

• Big Tech firms beat earnings expectations amid AI spending questions
• RIP the $599 Mac Mini, you were too beautiful for this world
• Microsoft lifts 2026 AI spend by $25 billion to cover component price rises
• Microsoft speeds up in Big Tech's data center spend-off
• Crosswording the Situation
• Meta’s historic loss in court could cost a lot more than $375 million
• Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks
• Australia unveils a 2.25% levy on Meta, Google, and TikTok
• Meta found in breach of EU law for failing to keep children off Facebook and Instagram
• Meta inks deal for solar power at night, beamed from space
• Musk v. Altman week 1: Elon Musk says he was duped, warns AI could kill us all, and admits that xAI distills OpenAI’s models
• OpenAI-backed 1X opens California factory targeting 10,000 home humanoid robots in year one
• Sam Altman asked GPT-5.5 to plan its own launch party. Its requests were 'beautiful' but 'strange.'
• Sam Altman says Elon Musk can come to his GPT 5.5 party: 'World needs more love'
• The US Senate unanimously passed a rule barring senators from trading on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, amid rising concern over insider trading
• ‘We Know You Live Right Here’: No Secrets in America’s New Surveillance Dragnet
• California to begin ticketing driverless cars that violate traffic laws
• China Suspends New Autonomous Driving Permits After Baidu Outage
• China has decided that firing a worker because an AI can do their job is illegal. No Western country has done the same.
• Maryland Is First to Ban A.I.-Driven Price Increases in Grocery Stores
• The most severe Linux threat to surface in years catches the world flat-footed
• Hackers are actively exploiting a bug in cPanel, used by millions of websites
• The Hottest Anti-AI Gadget Is a Cyberdeck
• Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot Divine launches to the public | TechCrunch
• GameStop eyes eBay takeover in audacious $46 billion bet on Ryan Cohen’s e-commerce vision
• AI-generated actors and scripts are now ineligible for Oscars
• Ukraine says it's training drone pilots in 'Grand Theft Auto V'
• This free website is like Wikipedia meets the CIA
• Light Phone III Is a Delightfully Minimalist Smartphone Alternative
• Valve Steam Controller is here, it's a gamepad in search of a console
• Bluetooth Connected - The Voices Behind the Connection
• Spirit Airlines shuts down after Trump’s war on Iran doubled jet fuel prices
• Ask.com has shut down, marking the official farewell to the Internet's favorite butler - Engadget
• Pioneering geneticist and decoder of the human genome J. Craig Venter dies at age 79