Daily Tech News 13 March 2026

Top Story

Reducing Europe's nuclear energy sector was fucking stupid, says... Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. (Reuters)

Yeah, Ursula.

We know.

Everybody knows.

Everybody knew the entire time.

They only people pushing this idiocy were Europe's enemies, like the environmentalist lobby.

Tech News

Why cats always land on their feet. (New York Times)

Because landing on someone else's feet would be gauche.
Perplexity AI has announced Perplexity Computer, a service where you pay $200 per month to run AI tasks on your own hardware. (Perplexity)

It's not a bubble.

It's worse.
Crimson Desert is a new single-player computer game that... Might not suck? (WCCFTech)

People who were in on the early tests are raving about it, and the recommended specs are a welcome return to normalcy. You do need 150GB of storage - SSD mandatory - but apart from that a five year old Ryzen 5 5600, 16GB of RAM, and a mid-range Radeon 6700 XT should be fine. And that's the recommended hardware; the minimum spec lists a Ryzen 2600X processor from 2018, and a Radeon 5500 XT, a low-end graphics card from 2019.

Nice change from games like Borderlands 4 which perform poorly even with a 9800 X3D and an RTX 5090.

It's also coming to the PlayStation 5 but there's a small problem there: It's a 150GB game and the maximum capacity of the BDXL disks the PlayStation uses is 100GB. There's a 48GB day-one download you need to install before it will run.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Nah, we're outta bear claws.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Morning all

Posted by: Tuna at March 13, 2026 04:00 AM (lJ0H4)

2 Gosh, this is early for the Daily Tech News.

Posted by: Born Free at March 13, 2026 04:02 AM (raD1m)

3 G'Day everyone TGIF

Posted by: Skip at March 13, 2026 04:04 AM (Ia/+0)

4 Pixy, you got any starvin', crazed weasels?

Posted by: RandomDave at March 13, 2026 04:05 AM (aJQbY)

5 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at March 13, 2026 04:05 AM (bQ4nt)

6 anti-woot!

Posted by: w at March 13, 2026 04:08 AM (NKG8q)

7 Not bad. It's good to see that Gerry Rafferty wasn't just a one-trick pony.

Posted by: Born Free at March 13, 2026 04:09 AM (raD1m)

8 Wait a second, I’ll go check…
* guitar solo *

Posted by: Buzz Adrenaline at March 13, 2026 04:10 AM (JRP2U)

9 Because landing on someone else's feed would be gauche.

Yeah, I don't like feet in my feed either.

Posted by: olddog in mo at March 13, 2026 04:10 AM (bQ4nt)

10 4 Pixy, you got any starvin', crazed weasels?
Posted by: RandomDave

Nah, we're outta starvin' crazed weasels.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at March 13, 2026 04:11 AM (BLOW1)

11 Mornin'

I was looking online at the Apple laptop mentioned yesterday (Neo?). I then looked at the other Apple laptop offerings, as a curiosity. My main issue with them is price. They are pricey. I can afford it but I'm naturally cheap. I blame the Scottish bloodlines. Anyway, I'm entertaining buying a Apple laptop.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at March 13, 2026 04:13 AM (sAmhv)

12 7 Not bad. It's good to see that Gerry Rafferty wasn't just a one-trick pony.
Posted by: Born Free

Baker Street was lightning in a bottle, but not his only good song.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at March 13, 2026 04:13 AM (BLOW1)

13 A Gerry Raferty song that isn't 'Baker Street'. He was good. His life was a blues song though. Drank himself to death.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at March 13, 2026 04:21 AM (sAmhv)

14 BOING!

Busy.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 13, 2026 04:21 AM (1o8D5)

15 Flump. Going back to bed.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at March 13, 2026 04:40 AM (/HDaX)

16 Garry Rafferty died in January 2011 from severe alcoholism. Prior to this, while in the middle of complete alcoholic chaos he released his final album, Life Goes On, in November 2009. It is a mix of religious music and contemplative originals. To me it is a clear statement that he knew he was dying and this work would be likely his last. During 2010 he spent living with Enzina Fuschini until November 2010 when he was put on life support due to liver failure. The final song from Life Goes On is Silent Night and was arranged with multi layered vocals, mostly if not all his, and paired with a sparse droning horn accompanist. He will always be one of my favorite composers and performers.

https://youtu.be/tHsREPHqzBg

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions at March 13, 2026 04:40 AM (BnDlA)

17

*hic*

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at March 13, 2026 04:41 AM (DDJSl)

18 Morning, Tech Peeps

Posted by: fluffy at March 13, 2026 04:45 AM (AN2gy)

19 So now that Apple has released the MacBook Neo are we to conclude that our next computer is going to be a laptop and not an iPad. That nonsense never did fly right side up.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions at March 13, 2026 04:51 AM (BnDlA)

20 First world problem

Blustery night

Power flickering

And I wake up every time itflickers

Posted by: 2009Refugee at March 13, 2026 04:52 AM (LyEzZ)

21 Cats land on their feet because they are torsional rotation machines. Plus murderers.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions at March 13, 2026 04:56 AM (BnDlA)

22 So it turned out, Life has ended for Gerry

Posted by: Skip at March 13, 2026 05:01 AM (Ia/+0)

23 So Perplexity is killing SAAS by introducing local SAAS AI.

Okay.

Posted by: Pete Bog at March 13, 2026 05:03 AM (qlUA+)

24 Kind and brave woman in South Philadelphia stops thief in South Phidaepha:

https://tinyurl.com/yeh9t9kt

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 13, 2026 05:05 AM (Nx5jP)

25 What are those funny wheels with the ribbon running from one to the other?

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 13, 2026 05:12 AM (M9gjJ)

26 Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at March 13, 2026 05:13 AM (Ia/+0)

27
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 13, 2026 05:16 AM (tljrc)

28 G'morning, all!

35 degrees out, brrrrrr.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 13, 2026 05:17 AM (iMotb)

29 Have you ever seen a Winchester drive as big as a Volkswagen and it sounds like an F-4 winding up for take-off?

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 13, 2026 05:18 AM (M9gjJ)

30 Its Friday the 13, car told me

Posted by: Skip at March 13, 2026 05:19 AM (mw8z7)

31 shit

Posted by: TheCatAttackedMyFoot at March 13, 2026 05:21 AM (jrgJz)

32 The dream machine from Brainstorm?

Posted by: Buzz Adrenaline at March 13, 2026 05:22 AM (JRP2U)

33 Replying to 25

Posted by: Buzz Adrenaline at March 13, 2026 05:22 AM (JRP2U)

34 13 A Gerry Raferty song that isn't 'Baker Street'. He was good. His life was a blues song though. Drank himself to death.
Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at March 13, 2026 04:21 AM (sAmhv)

Metal is ultimately just blues with distortion and upper respiratory tract vocals, right?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at March 13, 2026 05:24 AM (Ot/FD)

35 Old time hymn-When morning gilds the skies :
I thought of this yesterday as I drive to the store and there was a beautiful sunrise:

https://tinyurl.com/5atfdvy7

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 13, 2026 05:28 AM (ix8EF)

36 I got accepted to college on a Friday the 13th. I started going out with my wife on a Friday the 13th. It's been a historically lucky day for me. I have no idea if that's a stain on my character. But I don't own a cauldron or burn sage or do weird things with dead livestock on the weekends, so that's good.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at March 13, 2026 05:29 AM (Ot/FD)

37 They only people pushing this idiocy were humanity's enemies.

Hope you don't mind the edit.

Posted by: NR Pax at March 13, 2026 05:31 AM (+4yJ5)

38 But I don't own a cauldron or burn sage or do weird things with dead livestock on the weekends

OK, now let's talk about the weekday... -:-)

Posted by: NR Pax at March 13, 2026 05:32 AM (+4yJ5)

39 Metal is ultimately just blues with distortion and upper respiratory tract vocals, right?
Posted by: Warai-otoko at March 13, 2026 05:24 AM (Ot/FD)

Metal was Frankfort School "music" that introduced the future chaos we have now.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at March 13, 2026 05:33 AM (g8Ew8)

40 Psalm 27:1-14 King James version :

https://tinyurl.com/5ahvm9p8

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 13, 2026 05:36 AM (ix8EF)

41 Transitions- Devotional on Psalm 27:1-14

https://tinyurl.com/mptbx86f

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 13, 2026 05:38 AM (ix8EF)

42 Evening and morning for all on this Friday the 13th! Hey, it's a Friday, so it's still the consummation devoutly to be wished.

Like you, Warai-otoko, I've found these 13ths to be lucky, or at least no more unlucky for me than a Monday the 17th, to pick an example out of the air. I've always understood that Fri. 13th's bad rep came from two ideas: that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and that there were thirteen diners at the Last Supper. (Amazing how people can connect wildly separate ideas -- like peas rolling around on a plate, in the immortal words of Lord Peter Wimsey.)

Anyway! 'Tis chilly this morning for here, 58 F. I'll do a light workout and then, to enjoy this weather, head out to breakfast before washing the car and hitting Walmart. Howzabout choo?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 13, 2026 05:53 AM (wzUl9)

43 Good morons morons

Ursula de Leyen should do the right thing and jump in front of a train.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 13, 2026 05:55 AM (RIvkX)

44 Gerry Rafferty first surfaced with Stealer's Wheel, didn't he? ("Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right -- here I am, stuck in the middle with you!") And he had a single called "Right Down the Line" after "Baker Street."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 13, 2026 05:58 AM (wzUl9)

45 Mornin', Horde. 42 degrees & mostly clear in Kentuckiana; oddly, that's up 4 degrees in the last 3 hours.

Posted by: Nazdar at March 13, 2026 05:58 AM (NcvvS)

46 And so Stirling, big black cat, begins his fifth year on the planet, as Dagny La Siberienne counts down to the end of her fourth. (Somehow I doubt such things ever surface in their little cat minds. They are blissfully free of such concepts as time -- and responsibility and ethics, too.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 13, 2026 06:00 AM (wzUl9)

47 Rafferty also produced a lot of albums - he did one with Richard & Linda Thompson.

Posted by: Nazdar at March 13, 2026 06:02 AM (NcvvS)

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