Daily Tech News 4 May 2026

Top Story

Utah has decided to make it a crime to use VPNs to bypass age verification checks. (Tom's Hardware)

Since anyone can set up a VPN of their own in minutes using open source software and any of a thousand cloud service providers, and tear it down right after leaving no trace of its existence, this is stereotypical malicious idiocy.

So of course the UK and France are pushing similar legislations as fast as they can.

Tech News

Microsoft now recommends 32GB of RAM as a practical minimum for running games. (Tom's Hardware)

That's 2GB for the game and 30GB for Windows.
Anthropic is looking to buy new inference chips from British startup Fractile that don't use DRAM. (Tom's Hardware)

These are specialised devices that store their data in on-chip static RAM rather than in a large pool of DRAM. But they can't perform tasks that require a large memory pool.
Why TUIs are back. (Alcides Fonseca)

TUI here stands for terminal user interface - what everyone had before GUIs.

Also what NetHack used (and still uses).
The text mode lie: Why modern TUIs are a nightmare for accessibility. (Xogium)

The keyword here is modern. The same developers who crapped up the web have turned their attention to the text console with predictable results.
Micron's CEO says that the memory situation is going to improve. (WCCFTech)

For him, not for you. You're still screwed.
Leaked documents reveal that the EU wants to force a merger of Bluesky and Twitter. (Gript)

That would be hilarious.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Beep.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 G'Day everyone

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

2 w00t

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 04:31 AM (RtN13)

3 BOING!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 04, 2026 04:31 AM (5UTWB)

4 Leaked documents reveal that the EU wants to force a merger of Bluesky and Twitter. (Gript)

Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
ELO + Bluesky

haha ELO is almost Elon

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 04:37 AM (RtN13)

5 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 04, 2026 04:43 AM (sAmhv)

6 The 550 5.7.9 Delivery Status Notification (Failure) response email that I received yesterday referencing an email that I had just sent from one of my accounts: that email that I had just sent did indeed fail, was not received by my Intended Recipient. So it was True!

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 04:43 AM (RtN13)

7 Ace, wake up and eat your heart out!

https://tinyurl.com/hf66szuj

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 04, 2026 04:47 AM (5UTWB)

8 There's one man on earth who can bring Spirit Airlines back from the brink.

Try not to laugh:

https://tinyurl.com/yvza9wak

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 04, 2026 04:51 AM (5UTWB)

9 7 Ace, wake up and eat your heart out!

https://tinyurl.com/hf66szuj
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 04, 2026 04:47 AM (5UTWB)

Quoth the raven

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 04:51 AM (RtN13)

10 ELO! I have quite a few of there CDs in my vast collection. Still listen to them quite a bit. Great band and Jeff Lynne seems like an alright dude.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at May 04, 2026 04:54 AM (sAmhv)

11 You all know the name Soros.

But do you know who the Goodlanders are? You need to.

https://tinyurl.com/2fusjdrs

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 04, 2026 05:03 AM (5UTWB)

12 Good morning Horde. Thx Pixy.
Always liked ELO, but the best thing Jeff Lynne ever did was help bring together the Traveling Wilburys

Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 04, 2026 05:05 AM (gu0hJ)

13 Long commute today
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at May 04, 2026 05:06 AM (Ia/+0)

14
a merger of Bluesky and Twitter.

Right. How about a merger of North and South Korea?

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at May 04, 2026 05:06 AM (n7rxJ)

15 Um... so you wanna star in a ton of Hollywood blockbuster movies?

https://tinyurl.com/7awmhsxk

https://tinyurl.com/22hpvh3f

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at May 04, 2026 05:09 AM (5UTWB)

16
TUIs are back? And to think, we all laughed at that hokey MS-DOSSY computer on the Nostromo.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at May 04, 2026 05:09 AM (n7rxJ)

17 14 a merger of Bluesky and Twitter.

Right. How about a merger of North and South Korea?
Posted by: Blonde Morticia at May 04, 2026 05:06 AM (n7rxJ)

Fine people on both sides ...?

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 05:10 AM (RtN13)

18 G'mornin' everyone!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at May 04, 2026 05:15 AM (VyBeY)

19
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at May 04, 2026 05:15 AM (8iYDv)

20 Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky

Happy springtime!

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 05:16 AM (RtN13)

21
With the collapse of Spirit Airlines, where will in-flight drama players find a location to perform?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:18 AM (xG4kz)

22
Bluesky and Twitter were once merged. It was called, surprisingly enough, "Twitter".

Then when the woke and statist types, would be authoritarians all, could no longer ban the unclean thinkers within Elon Musk's Twitter, they bounced to their new utopia, Bluesky.

Whereupon they formed new circular firing squads and took pot shots at the impure ones among their hitherto unsullied ranks. More just desserts could not have been found.

And you Euroweenies calling for a rejoining of matter and anti-matter, you can fuck right off. What makes you think that you are in charge?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:27 AM (xG4kz)

23 21 With the collapse of Spirit Airlines, where will in-flight drama players find a location to perform?
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:18 AM (xG4kz)

They've been dispirited, you might say.

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 05:31 AM (RtN13)

24
And you Euroweenies calling for a rejoining of matter and anti-matter, you can fuck right off. What makes you think that you are in charge?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:27 AM (xG4kz)

_____________

We should respond in that tone of voice adults use toward children who propose something childish, "Isn't that nice? Well, you run along and let us grown-ups talk."

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 04, 2026 05:32 AM (HdYcL)

25
I guess that "... gonna take me up, spirit in the sky ..." is right out, yah?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:33 AM (xG4kz)

26 All the people who flew Spirit Airlines either won't fly or will go to other airlines. Coming to a plane near you , in flight brawls

Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 04, 2026 05:33 AM (gu0hJ)

27
We should respond in that tone of voice adults use toward children who propose something childish, "Isn't that nice? Well, you run along and let us grown-ups talk."

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

When howling and bloodthirsty mobs of Islamic rage boys storm and demolish the Euroweenies' offices in Brussels, will they protest, "But we haven't finished forcing our diktats upon the world!!"

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:36 AM (xG4kz)

28
I am taking my every-two-years trip in a flying machine next month. Truly, I cringe at how much more public behavior will have declined when I get to the airport.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 04, 2026 05:36 AM (HdYcL)

29
ELO --

I've got a fever ... and the only thing that will cure it is MOAR ANVIL!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:39 AM (xG4kz)

30 G'morning Horde.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 04, 2026 05:40 AM (O7YUW)

31
A really enterprising airline would hire the "That fucker is not real!" babe and have her deliver her performance art on random flights throughout their system. Feed the zeitgeist, as it were.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:43 AM (xG4kz)

32 That's 2GB for the game and 30GB for Windows.

lol

Microsoft is never going to be able to get over what they've done to Windows.

They better hope this impending 'revamp' of Win11, to better satisfy customer complaints, goes well. I'm not too confident with the same people in charge of the same employees.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 04, 2026 05:45 AM (6ydKt)

33 Bluesky and Truth Social...now that would be fun.

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convicitions at May 04, 2026 05:45 AM (glnUu)

34 Happy Birthday to Frederic Edwin Church- man who started the Hudson River School- born 200 years ago today:

https://tinyurl.com/3cewr6ub

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2026 05:50 AM (2sfNr)

35 That's 2GB for the game and 30GB for Windows.

lol

Microsoft is never going to be able to get over what they've done to Windows.

They better hope this impending 'revamp' of Win11, to better satisfy customer complaints, goes well. I'm not too confident with the same people in charge of the same employees.
Posted by: SpeakingOf

It is pretty amusing. The initiative to fix Windows is named K2, like after the mountain because it is difficult to climb and take complete commitment to make the summit. K2's nickname is the Widowaker because it is considered the deadliest 8000 meter class mountain to climb.

And just like that behold: Widowmaker 11. Killing off credibility because we can!

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convicitions at May 04, 2026 05:52 AM (glnUu)

36 22 Bluesky and Twitter were once merged. It was called, surprisingly enough, "Twitter".

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:27 AM (xG4kz)

Good point.

Posted by: m at May 04, 2026 05:53 AM (RtN13)

37
When howling and bloodthirsty mobs of Islamic rage boys storm and demolish the Euroweenies' offices in Brussels, will they protest, "But we haven't finished forcing our diktats upon the world!!"
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 04, 2026 05:36 AM (xG4kz)

And their last words as the Musloids slit their throats will be to gurgle, "You stupid Americans!"

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 04, 2026 05:53 AM (HdYcL)

38 Brussels has drawn up plans that would effectively see the operations of US-owned social media platforms — including Elon Musk’s X — forcefully merged with those of their more EU-favoured counterparts, such as BlueSky and Mastodon.

The 275-page document published on April 29 discusses the feasibility of forcing both vertical and horizontal interoperability onto all major social media applications, naming X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as major targets.

According to the study, these platforms could be forced to platform content from their more moderation-focused rivals, as well as be legally obligated to make their recommender algorithms, news feeds, and user accounts interoperable with websites more favoured by Brussels, such as BlueSky.

The EUSSR is going to have to find out the hard way that U.S. companies are not going to be their political censors while also being their piggy banks to which they can add huge fines to the huge taxes they already collect.

At some point U.S. tech corps are going to determine the juice is not worth the squeeze and pull out completely.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at May 04, 2026 05:54 AM (6ydKt)

39 Leaked documents reveal that the EU wants to force a merger of Bluesky and Twitter.

And when I dream, I have a pony.

Posted by: NR Pax at May 04, 2026 05:55 AM (BpO1e)

40 Looks like a nice weather day ahead, which is welcome after a chilly weekend.

May your day be healthy and productive!

Posted by: Huck Follywood at May 04, 2026 05:55 AM (ytIvj)

41 Franz Stanislaus Spindler was born on May 4, 1763. He went on to become a music composer. He probably should have become a sausage maker.

https://youtu.be/k6r2gaI62MI

Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convicitions at May 04, 2026 06:01 AM (glnUu)

42 Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Rejoinder: Boop.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at May 04, 2026 06:02 AM (xvhJH)

43 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at May 04, 2026 06:04 AM (2Ez/1)

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