Daily Tech News 16 May 2026

Top Story

SpaceX has shown off its Starship V3 and is planning for a test flight as early as this week. (Teslarati)

The upgrades include an improved PEZ dispenser.

Disappointingly, the PEZ dispenser is the name given to the release system for satellite clusters launched to orbit and doesn't actually dispense PEZ.

Starship V3 completed a static fire test last month and the test flight is scheduled for the 19th.

Tech News

OpenAI wants ChatGPT to access your bank accounts. (The Verge)

Not their bank accounts. Just yours.
Americans would rather have a nuclear power plant in their backyard than a datacenter. (The Register)

I wonder what might be causing this negative sentiment.
SK Hynix workers are now the hottest marriage prospects in South Korea, ahead of doctors, lawyers, and corporate executives. (WCCFTech)

In unrelated news, the company just gave its workers an aggregate $2.5 billion in bonuses. I think that's for a single quarter.
Meanwhile Samsung is facing the prospect of a protracted strike by its own staff after failing to reach an agreement on bonuses. (PC Magazine)

If the strike goes ahead as planned, the company faces losses of around $1 billion per day.

Memory prices have increased on the news, because of course they have.
Scientific paper preprint site ArXiv plans to ban researchers for a year if they submit AI-generated slop. (404 Media) (archive site)

One em-dash and you're out.
The problem is the threat is only effective if they catch you. (The Verge) (archive site)

And AI is getting better at disguising its slop.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Pay no attention to the voices in your head, especially when they try to sell you extended warranties.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 !!

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:31 AM (G+2/5)

2 Called the otters.

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:33 AM (G+2/5)

3 Headed for third

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:33 AM (G+2/5)

4 Inside the park?

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:34 AM (G+2/5)

5 Poke?!

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:34 AM (G+2/5)

6 Rejoinder: It's the only way I can have an intelligent conversation.

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:36 AM (G+2/5)

7 Guten morgen, horde. Where ever did you go?

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:37 AM (G+2/5)

8 Maybe they're sleeping. It's the weekend after all.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at May 16, 2026 04:38 AM (BLOW1)

9 Disclaimer: Pay no attention to the voices in your head, especially when they try to sell you extended warranties.

It's also unacceptable to lose arguments to the voices in your head...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 16, 2026 04:39 AM (ynpvh)

10 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at May 16, 2026 04:40 AM (m5P/4)

11 AI and secure connection do not belong in the same sentence much less in regard to your bank accounts.

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:41 AM (G+2/5)

12 Looks like Samsung is making another bad decision by not telling its union employees to go pound sand.

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:44 AM (G+2/5)

13 11 AI and secure connection do not belong in the same sentence much less in regard to your bank accounts.

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 04:41 AM (G+2/5)

Like security and IOT...lots of IOT devices are wholly insecure and can be easily hacked. Yeah, lets put cameras and other devices with gaping security holes inside the house so strangers can hack 'em and access 'em...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 16, 2026 04:44 AM (ynpvh)

14 w00t
clarence, you are on a roll

Posted by: m at May 16, 2026 04:49 AM (6wpGE)

15 C'mon AI bubble, pop already...

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 16, 2026 04:49 AM (O7YUW)

16 I wonder what might be causing this negative sentiment.

Those pushing AI onto the masses have done a piss poor job explaining it. When they do, they all come across as human hating meglomaniacs. Meanwhile, data centers are popping up all over the place and complaints, legit or not, are met with 'Go Fuck Yourself Peasant'. The 'expert class' suck.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at May 16, 2026 04:50 AM (m5P/4)

17 16 I wonder what might be causing this negative sentiment.

Those pushing AI onto the masses have done a piss poor job explaining it. When they do, they all come across as human hating meglomaniacs. Meanwhile, data centers are popping up all over the place and complaints, legit or not, are met with 'Go Fuck Yourself Peasant'. The 'expert class' suck.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at May 16, 2026 04:50 AM (m5P/4)

Well...some of them ARE human-hating Megalomaniacs...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 16, 2026 04:52 AM (ynpvh)

18 G'morning, all.

Can we mix tech and politics for a moment?

Yesterday the name Rom Reddy came up, both on this thread and later with a link by JJ on the morning report.

And then later yesterday a voiceover ad from Reddy came up on the tv, and I swear it was Mike Rowe.....but not Mike Rowe.

Then we had another ad by a different candidate for a different office, and I am watching the actual candidate talking directly into the camera, but the voice has a 'touch' of the distinctive Mike Rowe voice. Not identical, but inflections that give you that 'I can trust this guy' feeling. And no discernible accent. But at the end of the ad there is the spoken 'My name is xxxx, and I approve this ad' And what do you know, the voice is different, and the distinctive, almost Henry McMaster southern gentleman accent is very present.

I genuinely believe that Reddy, and many other folks are using AI voice models to create ads.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at May 16, 2026 04:57 AM (iMotb)

19 *peeks barely above parapet*

*hopes nobody who bans notices*

Posted by: A Miklosian Test at May 16, 2026 04:59 AM (7K7cA)

20 I genuinely believe that Reddy, and many other folks are using AI voice models to create ads.
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice

Da Guvna, Henruh, would sue anybody who tried to mimic his voice.

He called a Special Session to do redistricting because, mark this, he and the Missus will be Their Excellencies at some Embassy in a nice place this time next year.

Posted by: Additional Miklosian Beta Test at May 16, 2026 05:03 AM (7K7cA)

21 AWS to Quick admins: The access control didn't work, but you weren't using it anyway, so what's the problem?
If a setting fails in the forest and nobody hears it ...
****

https://ziply.pk/ecuI25

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 05:06 AM (G+2/5)

22 "Da Guvna, Henruh, would sue anybody who tried to mimic his voice."

True dat!

But the reassuring "Mike Rowe' type voice seems to be cropping up everywhere.

Here is a link to a Rowe voice model available for creating lyrics and voice tracks for a song.

Ignore all that, and read the part about Mike's distinctive voice, and how it is perceived by listeners.

https://aicover.art/voice-library/rowe-resonate

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at May 16, 2026 05:08 AM (iMotb)

23 That is not my longest streak here on the tech thread.

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 05:09 AM (G+2/5)

24 Morning! The voices in my head aren’t so bad. But the banging sounds they make at three in the morning when I’m sound asleep are the worst.

Posted by: Pete Bog at May 16, 2026 05:10 AM (P/t0H)

25 https://aicover.art/voice-library/rowe-resonate
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice

Another way to develop a deeper and resonating voice is to smoke.

Yeah I'm lazy

Posted by: Deeply resonant not Miklos at May 16, 2026 05:11 AM (7K7cA)

26 Morning! The voices in my head aren’t so bad. But the banging sounds they make at three in the morning when I’m sound asleep are the worst.
Posted by: Pete Bog

Mental Irish Step dance is an accepted homeopathic treatment

Posted by: Miklos-Michael Flatley at May 16, 2026 05:15 AM (7K7cA)

27 Mental Irish Step dance is an accepted homeopathic treatment
Posted by: Miklos-Michael Flatley at May 16, 2026 05:15 AM (7K7cA)

I was going to suggest it was called the “Crazy Irishman” but that’s redundant.

Posted by: Pete Bog at May 16, 2026 05:29 AM (P/t0H)

28 @19/Miklos: "*peeks barely above parapet*"

I wondered why I hadn't seen any posts by you in a long while. You caught a ban? WTF?

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 16, 2026 05:33 AM (O7YUW)

29 24 Morning! The voices in my head aren’t so bad. But the banging sounds they make at three in the morning when I’m sound asleep are the worst.
Posted by: Pete Bog at May 16, 2026 05:10 AM (P/t0H)

yikes

Posted by: m at May 16, 2026 05:35 AM (6wpGE)

30 Evening and morning, Saturday toilers and early risers!

Voices? "I can't come in to work. The voices told me to stay home and clean all the guns today."

We used to think that was funny because it rarely happened ("going postal"). Now . . .

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 05:41 AM (wzUl9)

31 I had trouble getting to sleep last night because I was thinking about the house I video-toured yesterday afternoon. It's small, 924 sq. ft., 2 BR and 1 bath, a dining room and a garage (not together), and only a crawlspace instead of a basement. There's not really enough storage space, and one BR is only big enough to be a small home office. But it's attractive, it faces east, it has a decent yard. And the price is low enough that I can easily afford to have the floors redone in laminate as I want and to buy a couple of tables and lamps and even rugs.

It makes no sense. But last night I was picturing where I'd put my current furniture and was considering visiting Lowe's this morning to price standard refrigerators, as the place does not have one, and storm doors. Madness.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 05:47 AM (wzUl9)

32 Voices sound, ever fleeting
Rain, wind and fire come and go
Darkness, light and I

fin

Posted by: clarence at May 16, 2026 05:48 AM (G+2/5)

33 Sons of Koran sing Psalm 139- about our identity in God:

https://tinyurl.com/4xjvf7hx

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 16, 2026 05:52 AM (rZCVI)

34 Always liked Laura Branigan's "Self-Control," the one with the chorus "I live among the creatures of the night . . ."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 05:53 AM (wzUl9)

35 Hi, Miklos

Someone was mentioning yesterday that they hadn't seen you for a while. You were missed!
Hope you are doing o.k.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 16, 2026 05:55 AM (rZCVI)

36 This was one of the plants we saw yesterday in the field around the senior center. "Perennial flax". So pretty!

https://tinyurl.com/ydfn6mph

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 16, 2026 05:58 AM (rZCVI)

37 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 05:47 AM (wzUl9)

Sounds like a nice place!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 16, 2026 06:03 AM (PFs9e)

38 Good morning morons

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 16, 2026 06:10 AM (RIvkX)

39 The voices in my head are a cacaphony.

There is one lady who has been droning "Javid Shah, Javid Shah. Javid Shah!" since January.

Also Peter Gabriel has been singing "Supper's Ready" the last few weeks.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 16, 2026 06:13 AM (RIvkX)

40
Sounds like a nice place!
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 16, 2026

***
It's cozy and quite nice. The large bedroom is in the front, the smaller one in the middle, the living room and dining room are both rather square. Out back, off the kitchen, there is a little paved area that would serve as a patio. I guess I could have a small shed put in the yard for storage.

Central air, gas heat, electric stove, washer and dryer. And the garage has a carport next to it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 06:14 AM (wzUl9)

41 G'Day everyone
Am I late to this thread

Posted by: Skip at May 16, 2026 06:16 AM (Ia/+0)

42 Madness.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 05:47 AM (wzUl9)
====

Sounds great!

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 16, 2026 06:17 AM (RIvkX)

43
Good morning, Hordians. Up, dressed, morning prayers said, dogs taken care of, now sitting in the Command Center at Schloss Hadrian with a big double cup of coffee and a toasted Lebanon bologna and provolone cheese sandwich.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 16, 2026 06:24 AM (HdYcL)

44 41 G'Day everyone
Am I late to this thread
Posted by: Skip at May 16, 2026 06:16 AM (Ia/+0)

Yes! Drop and give me 20 droll comments!

Posted by: AoSHQ DI at May 16, 2026 06:25 AM (U/s6V)

45 Sounds great!
Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 16, 2026

***
The place has peculiarities. The previous owner obviously added the kitchen on to the back; the glass-paned door that apparently used to be the back door is still there in the dining room, with the stove on the other side in the new kitchen. The space that must have been the old kitchen has been refurbished into a sort of wide short hall with a tiny west window leading to the new back door. The crawlspace is accessed through a white-trimmed trap door in the dining room floor, with a ring handle to pull it up.

And the small bedroom used to have a door into the bathroom. The owner put up a painted wallboard in its place, not solidly anchored, and a linen closet on the other side in the bathroom proper.

It's all very nicely done. Just smaller than I was thinking. But . . . it might work.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 06:28 AM (wzUl9)

46 Central air, gas heat, electric stove, washer and dryer. And the garage has a carport next to it.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere

No house is perfect. How many of your requirements does this one meet?

Posted by: Tuna at May 16, 2026 06:30 AM (lJ0H4)

47 Good morning Horde. Hope you are all well. Happy Saturday.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 16, 2026 06:31 AM (gu0hJ)

48
Good morning, everyone. New project for the Bewalski household.

• repurpose a recently discarded by Junior-ette desktop system with a Slackware Linux build
• install pi-hole and configure the home network router to only use the Linux pi-hole system as the only dns

Poof. No more ruku adds.

I should have done this earlier, but was able to suffer through without all the damned political adds we're getting now.

Posted by: BifBewalski - at May 16, 2026 06:31 AM (QVmho)

49 Yes! Drop and give me 20 droll comments!
Posted by: AoSHQ DI

LOL

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 16, 2026 06:32 AM (PFs9e)

50 Central air, gas heat, electric stove, washer and dryer. And the garage has a carport next to it.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere
*
No house is perfect. How many of your requirements does this one meet?
Posted by: Tuna at May 16, 2026

***
A lot. I know no house would be perfect; it's why I'm thinking about what I can do to it to have it approach that ideal.

The first house I video-toured *would* have been perfect, but the price including the home insurance was too much, and somebody grabbed it the second day anyhow. The second was not suitable at all.

The agent gave me the name and number of a flooring guy. I'll call him to get a ballpark figure on replacing the flooring; I'm estimating some 600 sq. ft.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 06:34 AM (wzUl9)

51 "A lot. I know no house would be perfect; it's why I'm thinking about what I can do to it to have it approach that ideal."

Sounds like you're a little bit excited so I hope it works out to your satisfaction.

Posted by: Tuna at May 16, 2026 06:39 AM (lJ0H4)

52 A 3BR/2BA 1st fl condo a few blocks away sold in about 2 weeks. They were asking $1.9 million.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 16, 2026 06:39 AM (RIvkX)

53
Disco balls?!

Surely you intended to cite Discobolus instead and thus launch a vigorous give and take regarding the prospects for the Los Angeles Olympics of 2028?

To have gone so badly off track is, indeed, sad.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) Imprison! Imprison! Imprison! at May 16, 2026 06:39 AM (s9VOe)

54 Anyway, aside from a visit to Lowe's, I need to hit Walmart for a few things like a mop refill and the oil for the Buick's next change. Rumors on the 'Net say that 5W-30 engine oil may not even be available soon (true?), and I want to grab my six quarts before any more price increases anyway.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 06:40 AM (wzUl9)

55 "A lot. I know no house would be perfect; it's why I'm thinking about what I can do to it to have it approach that ideal."
*
Sounds like you're a little bit excited so I hope it works out to your satisfaction.
Posted by: Tuna at May 16, 2026

***
Yeah, when you lie awake for a while at night picturing how your new place will look with your furniture in it, the place you're considering must have a lot to recommend it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at May 16, 2026 06:41 AM (wzUl9)

56 mornin yall. California has banned the Kars4Kids commercials, not for the annoying song, but because K4K supports THE JEWS!

Posted by: fd at May 16, 2026 06:43 AM (vFG9F)

57 Under the ruling, Kars4Kids can no longer air its commercials in California unless the ads include “an express, audible disclosure” explaining the charity’s religious affiliation, where donations go and who benefits from the funds.

The organization is also barred from using young children in its ads.

Posted by: fd at May 16, 2026 06:44 AM (vFG9F)

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