Daily Tech News 5 March 2026

Top Story

As expected from recent leaks, Apple today introduced the new relatively low cost MacBook Neo. (MacRumors)

It uses the A18 processor found in the iPhone and... Well, the iPhone 16, basically.

It's available with 8GB of RAM expandable to... Not expandable at all, even at purchase time, because the A18 only has 8GB of RAM. And 256GB of 512GB of storage.

I/O consists of one USB3 port and one USB2 port, plus a headphone jack, and that's it. Screen is a 2408x1506 13" model with sRGB colour, though the specs don't mention what percentage of the sRGB colourspace it covers. Presumably no more than 100%.

It's... Fine, probably. 8GB of RAM is truly painful on Windows 11, but Linux runs just fine and I assume MacOS should do okay with lighter tasks.

Tech News

Google is ending its 30% cut of everything on the Play Store, reducing it to 20% or less for new purchases and a relatively reasonable 10% for subscriptions. (Engadget)

Thanks to Epic Games, whose lawsuit forced this upon a very unwilling Google.
Your car can be tracked everywhere you go by your tire pressure sensors. (Dark Reading)

Which transmit unique identifiers, unencrypted, readable by anyone withing a 50-meter range.
Speaking of which, a new Android app detects anyone nearby wearing smart glasses. (Tech Crunch)

Assuming the glasses are sending a Bluetooth signal, which is what the app detects. So in fact it lets you detect any device in range with Bluetooth enabled, and there are a lot more of those than smart glasses wearers.
The CEO of Qualcomm said the thing. (Fortune)

Literally:
"If you actually believe in the AI revolution, 6G will be required. Resistance is futile."
It may also turn people into animals.

Micron has announced 256GB SOCAMM2 memory modules, as used in some - a total of two so far, I think - recent laptop models. (Tom's Hardware)

For servers, not for you.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is in a slap fight with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. (Tech Crunch)

Again.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: There is a planet in the Solar System inhabited entirely by robots.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Morning!

Posted by: Pete Bog at March 05, 2026 04:00 AM (eBSBx)

2 Morning all

Posted by: Tuna at March 05, 2026 04:00 AM (lJ0H4)

3 BOING!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:01 AM (1o8D5)

4 w00t

Posted by: m at March 05, 2026 04:01 AM (+YA9H)

5 430 FWP: 4AM hypersonic missile launches. I feel bleh!
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 01:09 AM (1o8D5)

Stay safe, Biden's Dog!

Posted by: m at March 05, 2026 04:05 AM (+YA9H)

6 Entry MAC is probably fine for 95% of people as we have essentially migrated back to PC’s being dumb but occasionally mobile terminals. Heaven forbid the network goes down.

Where will I spend my bitcoin?

Posted by: Pete Bog at March 05, 2026 04:05 AM (eBSBx)

7 Thanks. Apparently no harm or damage done.

Meanwhile, things all over Iran keep on getting blown to bits.

Our youngest pup just received his (expected) call-up order.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:07 AM (1o8D5)

8 2 drones, not 1:

Open Source Intel @Osint613
6m
NEW 🔴

Azerbaijan says Iran launched 2 drones into its territory, injuring 2 civilians, and summoned the Iranian ambassador.

And to think just last week we had good friends over who told us of their coming vacation plan to take a tour of Azerbaijan. Not gonna happen!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:09 AM (1o8D5)

9 Per NY Post:
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged President Trump to “take care of Iran for good,” praising the bold military action – Operation Epic Fury – that resulted in the death of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Posted by: Tuna at March 05, 2026 04:11 AM (lJ0H4)

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Posted by: TheCatAttackedMyFoot at March 05, 2026 04:12 AM (jrgJz)

11 Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged President Trump to “take care of Iran for good,” praising the bold military action – Operation Epic Fury – that resulted in the death of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Posted by: Tuna at March 05, 2026 04:11 AM (lJ0H4)
-

Not a Rice fan but at least she's intelligent.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:14 AM (1o8D5)

12 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at March 05, 2026 04:18 AM (L1JuH)

13 Very special gesture:

Blake Neff @BlakeSNeff
9h

Two people sent Erika (Kirk) their Purple Hearts.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:28 AM (1o8D5)

14 Catching up on the ONT; here's some good news!

83 Wife is officially in labor, looks like tonight could be the night, Little girl is on her way.
Posted by: Inogame at March 04, 2026 10:24 PM (fcoLq)

Posted by: m at March 05, 2026 04:30 AM (+YA9H)

15 G'Day everyone
What a strange night

Posted by: Skip at March 05, 2026 04:31 AM (Ia/+0)

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Posted by: TheCatAttackedMyFoot

7 whole milliseconds?!

I'll have to work harder.

Posted by: Minx 0.8 beta at March 05, 2026 04:33 AM (BLOW1)

17 It's... Fine, probably. 8GB of RAM is truly painful on Windows 11, but Linux runs just fine and I assume MacOS should do okay with lighter tasks.

At $599 for the base model with 256GB storage it's not a bad deal for somebody who just wants to use it for web browsing, email, light office tasks.

It won't be as snappy as a Macbook with a M-chip and 16GB RAM but it should be fine with 8GB as long as you don't open 50 tabs in the browser at the same time.

As near as I can tell it's a Liquid Retina screen and the whole package comes across as an iPad/Macbook Air hybid with a built-in keyboard and trackpad. You have to upgrade to the 512GB/$699, model to get the fingerprint sensor as well.

It could use a touchscreen, which Apple is rumored to be working on for next year in some of their laptops, a first for them as Steve Jobs always hated the idea of touchscreens on laptops ("Nobody wants to touch their screen").

If I was in the market for a cheap student/media consumption laptop I'd consider one, especially with the pricing on computer parts these days. Apple's RAM pricing looks normal, or even a decent deal, in comparison now.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at March 05, 2026 04:40 AM (6ydKt)

18 7 Thanks. Apparently no harm or damage done.

Meanwhile, things all over Iran keep on getting blown to bits.

Our youngest pup just received his (expected) call-up order.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:07 AM (1o8D5)

I will repeat my demand that you and your spawn remain healthy and whole throughout this... malarkey.

Posted by: tcn in AK at March 05, 2026 04:44 AM (I40wl)

19 Not a Rice fan but at least she's intelligent.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:14 AM (1o8D5)

She really is much too smart to be in government service of any kind.

Posted by: tcn in AK at March 05, 2026 04:45 AM (I40wl)

20 Your car can be tracked everywhere you go by your tire pressure sensors. (Dark Reading)

Which transmit unique identifiers, unencrypted, readable by anyone withing a 50-meter range.

Thankfully the things break so often a lot of people don't have to worry about it.

Like me, with the "tire pressure sensor" warning light on in my car dashboard for awhile now.

Considering they charge you an arm and a leg just to replace them I think I'll let that light stay on awhile longer.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at March 05, 2026 04:46 AM (6ydKt)

21 I'm never sure why being tracked by some entity is so threatening. It's not like I'm doing anything nefarious. Honestly, why should anyone care that I pay my bills and go to the grocery store? And I seriously doubt they give one solid crap that I drove to the liquor store last week.

Good luck monetizing that.

Most people, including myself, are boring as hell.

Posted by: tcn in AK at March 05, 2026 04:47 AM (I40wl)

22 “The main reason [OpenAI] accepted [the DoD’s deal] and we did not is that they cared about placating employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuses,” Amodei wrote.

Yes, I've been so impressed by Silicon Valley preventing any and every government from abusing their technologies for about thirty or forty years now.

They invent this stuff that can enable things they don't want (government surveillance) and then give them the ultimate tool (like AI) to do just that, and then say: "But we don't want you to use it like that when we sell it to you."

Good luck on putting all of those genies back in the bottles, boys, bots, & girls.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at March 05, 2026 04:51 AM (6ydKt)

23 I will repeat my demand that you and your spawn remain healthy and whole throughout this... malarkey.

Posted by: tcn in AK at March 05, 2026 04:44 AM (I40wl)
-

Thanks. And you watch out for grizzlies!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:53 AM (1o8D5)

24 G'morning, all!

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 04:55 AM (iMotb)

25 SecWar basically told folks that drones are indeed a significant challenge to defend from.

The Poor Man's Air Force is pretty damn cost effective.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 04:57 AM (iMotb)

26 SecWar basically told folks that drones are indeed a significant challenge to defend from.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 04:57 AM (iMotb)
-

The world is only going to be a much worse place with drones.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:59 AM (1o8D5)

27 There's a new numbers station transmitting into Iran.

Shortwave Observer
@shortwave78
·
11h
The Farsi-language Numbers-Station broadcast again, today at 18:00 UTC.

Andrea Borgnino IW0HK
@aborgnino
·
18h
Strong jamming from Iran on Radio Farda. The shortwave site for jamming is still operating.

作家崔成浩
@cuichenghao
·
Mar 3
Translated from Chinese
A company in mainland China released a video claiming that a batch of small, remotely controllable tracked "agricultural machinery" was urgently packed and shipped to Iran. (Autonomous gun platforms)

Posted by: 13times at March 05, 2026 05:00 AM (Kz8X6)

28 Most people, including myself, are boring as hell.

Posted by: tcn in AK at March 05, 2026 04:47 AM (I40wl)

It's not a big problem now for most of us, but I can see a future where the government starts charging taxpayers by miles driven every year and at the point they'll know everywhere you've ever driven.

It's always incremental tyranny in the West to get to the Big Brother sureveillance state so many leftists desire.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at March 05, 2026 05:03 AM (6ydKt)

29 "Translated from Chinese
A company in mainland China released a video claiming that a batch of small, remotely controllable tracked "agricultural machinery" was urgently packed and shipped to Iran. (Autonomous gun platforms)"

Translated from English:

' If you need it, TEMU has it''

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:04 AM (iMotb)

30 I was delighted to see that Ace's Quick Hits yesterday touched on some of the corruption in Baltimore.

It's one of those places that slide under the radar, but can put the Chicago Way to shame.

Thanks, Ace!

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:06 AM (iMotb)

31 Posted by: tcn in AK at March 05, 2026 04:47 AM (I40wl)

Socialists will never, ever stop trying to get absolute power over everyone forever; that is just too big of a prize to abandon. And Big Data plus AI gives them false hope of overcoming the Impossibility of Social Calculation, since they never understood that problem in the first place. To them, your prosaicness doesn't make you uninteresting; it makes you easier to predict, and from there to control.

Their premise is wrong anyway; collecting and collating all the data won't actually solve the problem. The threat is not that they will know it all and be able to scientifically manage society, but that they will fool themselves into thinking they can; the danger is that they will overcome their rational insecurity, and fallaciously rationalize their Will To Power. The more data we can deny them or pollute, the harder it will be for them to sell the socialist lie to themselves and their marks.

Posted by: SciVo at March 05, 2026 05:07 AM (Sy6m/)

32 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at March 05, 2026 05:07 AM (2Ez/1)

33 The world is only going to be a much worse place with drones.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 05, 2026 04:59 AM (1o8D5)

It's kinda frightening what the drones will be like once they make them autonomous with AI.

It'll be like a Black Mirror horror story at some point.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at March 05, 2026 05:08 AM (6ydKt)

34 Birdbath is field stripped, cleaned and reassembled, with the pump and spray working well.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:08 AM (iMotb)

35 New Heat Pump gets put in today.

New 75 inch TV arrives Monday.

Finally, after 6 years of being here, I installed the key safe, so we can keep track of the many dozens of keys we have collected over the decades.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:10 AM (iMotb)

36 AND...

When South Carolina went to Constitutional Carry back in 2024, they also put into law that if you wished to also get a CWP, the State would be required to offer the CWP course at no cost, at a minimum of twice per month in every county in the State.

And with our Church standing up their physical security, it's time to do the deed.

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

37 And Jesus said that the poor will always be with us.

Canadian government said 'Hold my beer'

https://tinyurl.com/3ffynmd2

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:16 AM (iMotb)

38 >>>Your car can be tracked everywhere you go by your tire pressure sensors.

>Ha! First time I tried to calibrate all stems after a blowout, the system refused to recognize the new tire, so I let the whole system fail. Now, like when I got my learner's permit so many years ago, I do a visual, and screw the useless automobile geek tech.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 05, 2026 05:17 AM (jS10z)

39 New 75 inch TV arrives Monday.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:10 AM (iMotb)

At that size in Mini-LED that thing will probably weigh over 100 pounds with the stand on it.

Hope you got somebody to help you set it up because you'll definitely need four hands to move it around.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at March 05, 2026 05:19 AM (6ydKt)

40 Article out of Malta about a man's successful lawsuit against Al Gayeda.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-man- prosecuted-for-ex-gay-testimony-found-not-guilty.html

Posted by: NR Pax at March 05, 2026 05:22 AM (RjOoY)

41 Now, like when I got my learner's permit so many years ago, I do a visual, and screw the useless automobile geek tech.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 05, 2026 05:17 AM (jS10z)

Mine is still warning me when pressure is low.
I guess they still work even when it tells you to replace them?

Posted by: SpeakingOf at March 05, 2026 05:23 AM (6ydKt)

42

66.8 pounds with stand.

So Mrs VIA only needs to be able to lift about 34 pounds.

And it's a low 24" lift, so together, I think we can get it.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:25 AM (iMotb)

43 And with that...time for the morning walk.

BBIAB

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 05, 2026 05:27 AM (iMotb)

44
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 05, 2026 05:28 AM (tljrc)

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